Project Name: Carbonized Microvascular Composites for Gas Receivers
Funding Opportunity: Solar Energy Technologies Office Fiscal Year 2018 Funding Program (SETO FY2018)
SETO Team: Concentrating Solar Power
Location: Tulsa, OK
SETO Award Amount: $1,277,345
Awardee Cost Share: $319,337
Planned Timeline: 2019-2021
-- Award and cost share amounts are subject to change pending negotiations --
Solar receivers in concentrating solar-thermal power (CSP) plants absorb the energy from sunlight and convert it to heat. This team is testing an advanced solar receiver made from carbon-carbon composites and has microchannel heat exchangers embedded in it to transfer heat to a fluid for thermal energy storage in a CSP plant. This design will allow the receiver to absorb about 96% of the sun’s energy without the application of an additional coating.
APPROACH
The composite materials under development have the potential to absorb heat better than conventional metallic materials and will may be more stable at high temperatures. In addition, the design will lead to cost savings because the built-in microchannel heat exchanger may be able to be manufactured more efficiently in carbon-carbon composites than in metals using existing methods.
INNOVATION
The team is using its experience in manufacturing advanced carbon-carbon composites to test new models of solar receivers that trap heat more effectively and transmit it to a microchannel heat exchanger. The increased stability of the composites being tested can help reduce leakage of heat-transfer fluid from the system and lower system degradation over the long term. If successful, the heat exchanger will offer efficiencies of above 90% with greater stability than existing models.