Thermal Performance of Solar Cavity Receivers

Solar cavity receivers are critical components of concentrated solar power systems, converting concentrated sunlight into thermal energy within an enclosed geometry designed to minimise heat losses. Their thermal performance is governed by optical efficiency, thermal absorption and emission properties, and heat transfer processes such as conduction, convection and radiation. Optimising cavity shape and aperture, absorber coatings, and fluid‐flow configurations enhances conversion efficiency at temperatures exceeding 600 °C, enabling applications in power generation, industrial process heating and thermal storage. Advanced modelling techniques—ranging from coupled 1D–3D numerical simulations to machine‐learning predictors—support design iterations that balance high absorptivity with low emissivity to reduce radiative heat loss. Experimental validation campaigns further refine receiver designs and verify performance under on‐sun conditions. Material selection, surface coatings and receiver geometry collectively influence thermal efficiency, with current research focused on minimising convective losses through optimised cavity depths and exploring novel heat transfer fluids and exchanger configurations. Integration with hybrid systems and thermal storage offers pathways to continuous operation despite solar intermittency, underscoring the global significance of solar cavity receiver technology in the transition to carbon-neutral energy systems.

Research from Nature Portfolio

No recent Nature Portfolio content available.

Thermal Performance of Solar Cavity Receivers publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in thermal performance of solar cavity receivers across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Solar cavity receiver: An enclosed heat‐absorbing receptacle designed to capture concentrated sunlight while reducing heat loss through an aperture.

Thermal efficiency: The ratio of useful thermal energy output to incident solar energy on the receiver aperture.

Absorptivity: The fraction of incoming solar radiation absorbed by the receiver’s surface.

Emissivity: The efficiency with which a surface emits thermal radiation relative to a blackbody at the same temperature.

Convective heat loss: Heat removed from the receiver surface by air movement within and around the cavity.

Radiative heat loss: Thermal energy emitted from the receiver surfaces as infrared radiation through the aperture.

Cavity geometry: The shape and dimensions of the receiver enclosure, including aperture size and depth, influencing optical flux concentration and heat transfer.

References

1. Cavity-shaped direct solar steam generator employing conical helical tube for high-temperature application: Model development, experimental testing and numerical analysis. Energy Conversion and Management X (2023).
2. Effects of Absorber Emissivity on Thermal Performance of a Solar Cavity Receiver. Advances in Condensed Matter Physics (2014).
3. Experimental and numerical performance analyses of Dish-Stirling cavity receivers: Radiative property study and design. Energy (2019).
4. Analysis of a solar dish–Stirling system with hybridization and thermal storage. International Journal of Energy and Environmental Engineering (2014).
5. Thermo-mechanical solar receiver design and validation for a micro gas-turbine based solar dish system. Energy (2020).