Solar Heat-Pipe Receiver Wick Modeling

摘要

Stirling-cycle engines have been identified as a promising technology for the211u001econversion of concentrated solar energy into usable electrical power. In previous 211u001eexperimented work, we have demonstrated that a heat pipe receiver can 211u001esignificantly improve system performance-over a directly-illuminated heater head. 211u001eThe design and operating conditions of a heat pipe receiver differ significantly 211u001efrom typical laboratory heat pipes. New wick structures have been developed to 211u001eexploit the characteristics of the solar generation system. Typically, these wick 211u001estructures allow vapor generation within the wick. Conventional heat pipe models 211u001edo not handle this enhancement yet it can more than double the performance of the 211u001ewick. In this study, I develop a steady-state model of a boiling-enhanced wick 211u001efor a solar heat pipe receiver. The model is used for design-point calculations 211u001eand is written in FORTRAN90. Some limited comparisons have been made with actual 211u001etest data.