External Problem 1: Efficiency of a solar receiver
In the central receiver concept (See Figure Below) of a solar power plant, many heliostats at
ground level are used to direct a concentrated solar flux q s'' to the receiver, which is positioned at
the top of a tower. However, even with absorption of all the solar flux by the outer surface of the
receiver, losses due to free convection and radiation reduce the collection efficiency below the
maximum possible value of 100 %. Consider a cylindrical receiver of diameter D = 7 m, length L
= 12 m, and emissivity 0.20 .
(a) If all of the solar flux is absorbed by the receiver and a surface temperature of
Ts 800 K is maintained, what is the rate of heat loss from the receiver? The ambient air
is quiescent at a temperature of T 300 K , and irradiation from the surroundings may be
neglected. If the corresponding value of the solar flux is qs'' 105 W / m 2 , what is the
collector efficiency?
(b) The surface temperature of the receiver is affected by design and operating conditions
within the power plant. Over the range from 600 to 1000 K, plot the variation of the
convection, radiation, and total heat rates as a function of Ts . For a fixed value of
qs'' 105 W / m 2 , plot the corresponding variation of the receiver efficiency.
Notes: Consider that the same correlations for vertical plates can be applied to vertical
cylinders. The properties of air at T f 550 K are as follows: k 0.0439 W / m.K ,
45.6 x106 m2 / s , 66.7 x106 m2 / s , Pr 0.683 , 1.82 x103 K 1 .
Solution:
a) Collector efficiency
The total heat loss is:
𝑞 = 𝑞𝑟𝑎𝑑 + 𝑞𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑣 = 𝐴𝑠 𝜀𝜎𝑇𝑠4 + ℎ̅𝐴𝑠 (𝑇𝑠 − 𝑇∞ )
𝑔𝛽(𝑇𝑠 −𝑇∞ )𝐿3 9.8×(1.82×10−3 )×500×123
with Ra𝐿 = = = 5.07 × 1012 , Eq. 9.26 yields:
𝑣𝛼 45.6×66.7×10−12
1 2
6
𝑘 0.387Ra𝐿 0.0439 W
h̅ = {0.825 + } = {0.825 + 42.4}2 = 6.83 2
𝐿 [1 + (0.492/Pr)9/16 ]8/27 12 m K
Hence, with 𝐴𝑠 = 𝜋𝐷𝐿 = 264 m2
𝑞 = 264 × 0.2 × 5.67 × 10−8 × 8004 + 264 × 6.83 × 500
𝑞 = 𝑞𝑟𝑎𝑑 + 𝑞𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑣 = 1.23 × 106 W + 9.01 × 105 W = 2.13 × 106 W
with 𝐴𝑠 𝑞𝑠′′ = 2.64 × 107 W, the collector efficiency is
𝐴𝑠 𝑞𝑠′′ − 𝑞 2.64 × 107 − 2.13 × 106
𝜂=( ) × 100 = ( ) × 100 = 91.9%
𝐴𝑠 𝑞𝑠′′ 2.64 × 107
b) Efficiency variation
As shown below, because of its dependence on temperature to the fourth power, 𝑞𝑟𝑎𝑑 increases
more significantly with increasing 𝑇𝑠 than does with 𝑞𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑣 and the efficiency is pronounced.
External problem 2: Heat loss from hot water pipes
A 6-m-long section of an 8-cm-dimater horizontal hot water pipe shown in the Figure below
passes through a large room whose temperature is 20 0C. If the outer surface temperature of the
pipe is 70 0C, determine the rate of heat loss from the pipe by natural convection. Consider
steady-state conditions and air as ideal gas.
The properties of air at the film temperature of T f (70 20) / 2 450 C are as follows:
k 0.02699 W / m.K , Pr 0.7241 , 1.749 x105 m2 / s , 1 / T f 1 / 318K 1 .
Solution:
The characteristic length in this case is the outer diameter of the pipe, Lc D 0.08m . Then the
Rayleigh number becomes:
g Ts T D 3 9.81 * 1 / 31870 200.08
3
Ra D Pr 0.7241 1.869 *106
2 1.749 *10 5 2
The natural convection Nusselt number in this case can be determined from the following
relation:
2 2
0.387 Re1D/ 6
0.387 1869 * 10 6
1/ 6
Nu 0.6 17.4
0.6
1 0.559 / Pr 9 / 16 8 / 27
1 0.559 / 0.7241 9 / 16 8 / 27
Then,
k 0.02699
h Nu 17.4 5.869 W / m 2 .K
D 0.08
As DL * 0.08 * 6 1.508 m2
and:
q hAs Ts T 5.869 *1.508 * 70 20 443 W
Therefore, the pipe will lose heat to the air in the room at a rate of 443 W by natural convection.
