Abstract
Reticulated materials can play a key role in numerous solar energy applications including detoxification, power production, and process heat. These open-cell materials allow efficient volumetric absorption of solar energy and free flow of gases. They have large surface areas for supporting catalysts and for convective heating of gases, and they are compatible with high-temperature applications.The radiative transport properties of these materials must be determined before one can calculate how these materials scatter and absorb the sun's energy. However, the complex geometry of these materials is not amenable to direct calculation of their radiative transport properties. This paper presents a method for determining radiative transport properties of reticulated materials. The methodhas both experimental and analytical components. A polar nephelometer is used to measure the scattering profile of a sample of the reticulated material. The results of a Monte Carlo simulation of the experiment are then combined with the experimental results to give the scatter albedo and extinction coefficient. This paper presents the results of using this method to determine the radiativetransport properties of four different porosities (I 0, 20, 30, 65 pores per inch) of cylindrical reticulated alumina samples ranging in thickness from 0.5 inches to 2.5 inches.
| Original language | American English |
|---|---|
| Number of pages | 11 |
| State | Published - 1992 |
| Event | 1993 ASME/ASES Joint Solar Energy Conference - Washington, D.C. Duration: 4 Apr 1993 → 8 Apr 1993 |
Conference
| Conference | 1993 ASME/ASES Joint Solar Energy Conference |
|---|---|
| City | Washington, D.C. |
| Period | 4/04/93 → 8/04/93 |
Bibliographical note
Prepared for the 1993 ASME/ASES Joint Solar Energy Conference, 4-8 April 1993, Washington, DCNREL Publication Number
- NREL/TP-432-5071
Keywords
- concentrated solar energy
- Monte Carlo simulations
- polar nephelometry