Solar receiver configuration
View Patent ↗A solar receiver configuration (receiver) adapted to include a plurality of receiver heat transfer passes. Each pass includes a plurality of panels. Further, each panel includes a plurality of tubes, tangentially arranged, vertically extending between horizontally placed lower and upper headers. The headers, which are pipe assemblies with closed ends, of adjacent panels are horizontally and vertically offset one to another to form a substantially continuous tube surface. Such continuous tube surface enables solar heating of the fluid flow therefrom in at least a parallel flow arrangement and a serpentine flow arrangement.
1. A solar receiver configuration, comprising:
a plurality of receiver heat transfer passes, each pass having a plurality of panels enabling fluid flow therefrom; and
each of the plurality of panel having a plurality of tubes, tangentially arranged, vertically extending between horizontally placed lower and upper headers, wherein the headers, pipe assemblies with closed ends, of side-by-side adjacent panels are horizontally and vertically offset one to another to form a substantially continuous tube surface to enable solar heating of fluid flow therefrom in at least a parallel flow arrangement and a serpentine flow arrangement;
wherein each panel having a vertically offset header is adjacent to, on each side, a panel having a horizontally offset header to form horizontally and vertically offset adjacent headers, one to another;
wherein at least one of the panels having the upper header vertically offset is adapted to comprise the lower header horizontally offset, to balance the characteristic pressure drop of the adjacent panels having a similar combination of vertically and horizontally offset headers for each panel assembly.
2. The solar receiver configuration as claimed in claim 1 , wherein adjacent headers are adapted to be disposed at minimum vertical distance between top and bottom curvatures thereof to enable convenient assembly and dis-assembly of the plurality of panels.
3. The solar receiver configuration as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the adjacent headers are adapted to be disposed at a minimum horizontal distance between respective centerlines of the adjacent headers, allowing an edge tube of one of the panel to clear an outermost, near-side edge of the header of the adjacent panel to enable convenient assembly and dis-assembly of the plurality of panels.
4. The solar receiver configuration as claimed in claim 1 , wherein at least one tube of the plurality of tubes in each panel is assigned to be coupled at a bottom-most portion of the respective upper header to allow self-draining of the fluids from each of the plurality of panels.
5. The solar receiver configuration as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the plurality of tubes comprises a predetermined number of bent tube assemblies adapted to be bent two-dimensionally at proximate to each of the lower and upper headers enabling equal fluid distribution to each tube within the panel.