This thesis discusses the design of several microchannel solar receiver devices for use in CSP (concentrated solar power) using CFD (computational fluid dynamics) simulations. The goal is to demonstrate that, by taking advantage of the higher heat transfer coefficienct of microchannels, solar receivers can achieve higher efficiency than current receiver...
Concentrated solar power (CSP) plants have the potential to reduce the reliance on nonrenewable energies such as coal and natural gas and provide 24 hour, renewable electricity. A CSP system consists of a large field of heliostats that concentrate the sunlight on a centralized receiver, in this receiver a working...
An apparatus and method for calibrating planar laser induced fluorescence using a two-dye, two-color method was developed. A laser sheet was expanded from a 473 nm laser to excite dye solutions into higher energy states then fluoresced through spontaneous emission. The two fluorescent dyes selected for research and development were...
Characterization of a microchannel solar thermal receiver for supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO₂) is presented. The receiver design is based on conjugate computational fluid dynamics and heat transfer simulations as well as thermo-mechanical stress analysis. Two lab scale receivers with a 2x2 cm² absorber area are fabricated and experimentally characterized -...