Available online at www.sciencedirect.

com

ScienceDirect
Solar Energy 110 (2014) 174187
www.elsevier.com/locate/solener

Thermomechanical behavior of a plate ceramic solar receiver

irradiated by concentrated sunlight
J. Capeillere a,b, A. Toutant a,c,, G. Olalde a, A. Boubault a
a
Laboratoire PROcedes, Materiaux, Energie Solaire (PROMES), UPR 8521 CNRS, 7 rue du Four Solaire, 66120 Odeillo, France
b
TOTAL Energies Nouvelles, 2 place Jean Miller, La Defense 6, 98078 Paris La Defense cedex, France
c
Universite de Perpignan Via Domitia (UPVD), 52 avenue Paul Alduy, 66860 Perpignan cedex, France

Received 13 March 2014; received in revised form 28 August 2014; accepted 29 August 2014
Available online 29 September 2014

Communicated by: Associate Editor Robert Pitz-Paal

Abstract

The thermomechanical behavior of a plate solar receiver with asymmetric heating is studied in this paper. The large-scale absorber/
exchanger module is made of silicon carbide. It is irradiated by concentrated solar energy and heats pressurized air owing inside tex-
tured channels up to high temperature. We look for the best compromise in terms of thermomechanical reliability, thermal eciency and
cutting conditions fulllment of the exchanger. In particular, special attention has to be paid to its thermomechanical behavior in order
to prevent the structure from being damaged. A parametric investigation (solar irradiance map, geometric characteristics: shell thickness,
bridge between the textured and the smooth faces, number of channels) is carried out by 3D stationary thermal and thermomechanical
simulations. The thermal gradient between the upper and the lower shells of the absorber is suciently reduced to guarantee the reliabil-
ity of the structure. The numerical results show that the choice of the shape and levels of the solar irradiance map is crucial. The dis-
tribution of the most relevant incident solar ux and the geometry compromise are determined.
2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Concentrated solar radiation; High temperature; Pressurized solar receiver; Thermal and thermomechanical behavior; Silicon carbide

1. Introduction systems, the receiver constitutes the major component. Dif-

The development of concentrated solar systems that are
capable of working at high and very high temperatures
constitutes a reliable means of producing electric power
from renewable energy. Among the dierent techniques
employed to reach high conversion eciency of solar radi-
ation into electricity, the use of combined cycles based on
gas/solar energy thermodynamic cycles is regarded as
one of the most promising ways. In such concentrated solar
Corresponding author at: Universite de Perpignan Via Domitia
(UPVD), 52 avenue Paul Alduy, 66860 Perpignan cedex, France.
E-mail address: adrien.toutant@promes.cnrs.fr (A. Toutant).
ferent solar receivers (Amsbeck et al., 2008; Flores and
Almanza, 2004; Vrinat et al., 2008, 2009, 2010; Grange
et al., 2011, 2012; Bellard et al., 2012; Karni et al., 1998;
Kribus et al., 1999; Rubin et al., 2001; Agraotis et al.,
2007; Buck et al., 2002; Romero et al., 2002; European
Commission, 2005; Roger et al., 2006) have already been
tested for such applications. In particular, plate solar recei-
ver architectures have been studied for heating up pressur-
ized air to high temperature in order to supply a gas
turbine as part of a Brayton cycle. In various absorbers,
a turbulent uid heats by owing inside one or several
channels. Dierent internal geometries have already been
investigated in the literature to improve the eciency of

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2014.08.039
0038-092X/ 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 J. Capeillere et al. / Solar Energy 110 (2014) 174187
the thermal performance enhancement of such exchangers
(Lunsford, 1996; Velraj and Ranganayakulu, 2010; Walsh
and Lindemann, 1984; Daguenet-Frick et al., 2011, 2013;
Bhagoria et al., 2002; Kaci et al., 2010; Edwards and
Alker, 1974). Recently, an optimized innovative ribbed
channel architecture (Daguenet-Frick et al., 2012; Olalde
et al., 2009; Colleoni et al., 2013a) has been proposed. It
is composed of vortex generators followed by longitudinal
riblets, allowing both to improve the thermal exchange e-
ciency at the uid/wall interface and to reduce the pressure
loss inside the receiver (Colleoni et al., 2014). Besides, the
nature of the material that is used is another important
parameter of the receiver. Currently, metallic absorbers
are brought into play in pilot solar plants (Amsbeck
et al., 2008; Flores and Almanza, 2004; Vrinat et al.,
2008, 2009, 2010; Grange et al., 2011, 2012; Bellard et al.,
2012). Due to the intrinsic properties of the employed
sturdy metals, the temperature of the solid is limited to a
maximum of 1273 K. To remedy this thermal limitation,
an alternative consists in using ceramics (Karni et al.,
1998; Kribus et al., 1999; Rubin et al., 2001; Agraotis
et al., 2007), which are chemically stable until 1473 K. This
technology allows both to reach uid temperatures of over
1273 K and to improve the longevity of the absorber. Nev-
ertheless, due to the fragility of ceramic materials, their use
requires specic care in terms of thermomechanical behav-
ior. In this paper, we consider a large scale module of a
plate solar receiver that is asymmetrically irradiated by
concentrated sunlight, without taking into account the cav-
ity. The module is made of silicon carbide (SiC) and is com-
posed of the optimized ribbed internal geometry derived
from Colleoni et al. (2013a,b). The present study focuses
on the reliability of the large-scale plate module. In order
to decrease the thermomechanical stresses, we carry out a
parametric study of the solar ux density map as well as
the geometric characteristics.
This paper is organized as follows. Section 2 describes
the numerical approach. To be specic, it presents the char-
acteristics of the module, its thermal boundary conditions,
the failure probability denition approach and the simpli-
fying hypotheses. Section 3 presents the large-scale basic
module. Based on its conguration, Section 4 focuses on
a parametric study that provides the best compromise
(thermomechanical reliability, thermal eciency, cutting
conditions fulllment). Finally, Section 5 gives a global
overview of the results.
2. Numerical approach
The numerical approach focuses on the thermal and
thermomechanical simulations of the solid part of the
absorber, without simulating the air ow.
The 3D stationary thermal and thermomechanical simu-
lations of the absorber require several input data:
The 3D geometric design of the module (Section 2.1).
The boundary conditions (Section 2.2).
175
The required optical, thermal, mechanical and intrinsic
parameters of the SiC (Section 2.3).
2.1. Geometrical setup
The solar module geometry (Fig. 1) is a parallelepiped
solid box. One side is irradiated by concentrated sunlight.
The other one is insulated. On the internal surface of the
irradiated side, vortex generators increase convective heat
exchange and riblets increase the heat exchange surface.
Each channel consists of a number of identical textured
patterns (Fig. 1) composed of vortex generators followed
by longitudinal riblets (Colleoni et al., 2013a, 2013b)
(Fig. 1).
Because of the dimensions of the exchanger, the number
and the complexity of the textured elements architecture
and the coupled physical phenomena inside the structure,
we use simplifying hypotheses. This procedure allows to
avoid prohibitive calculation times and to keep relevant
results.
In the thermal and thermomechanical simulations, the
vortex generators (Fig. 1) are not taken into account.
Indeed, considering their small dimensions and the mass
that they constitute in the exchanges inside the solid, their
contribution to the thermal and thermomechanical elds is
negligible. Thus, in the thermal simulations, the textured
faces of the channels are only composed of riblets. In the
thermomechanical simulations, the presence of the riblets
has no signicant eect on the results. Consequently, these
elements are discarded.
The dimensions of the triangular riblets (Fig. 1) were
dened by RANS simulations (Colleoni et al., 2013a). In
practice, three llet radii (two lateral ones and another at
the end of the triangular basis) are located at the riblet edge
(Fig. 2a). These geometrical specicities signicantly slow
down the thermal simulations. In addition, they only serve
to enhance the results very lightly, compared to the results
which would be obtained in their absence (Fig. 2b). Conse-
quently, the riblet geometry with a sharp edge, called rib-
let without llet radius is nally selected for thermal
simulations (Fig. 2b).
To validate these hypotheses, we consider a 100 mm
long part of the module from its entrance ange. This
piece of the structure constitutes a test-case designed to
compare the calculation times and the representativeness
of the results of the thermal simulations. As we chose a
symmetrical irradiation, only the mid-width is consid-
ered. When taking into account the llet radii at the
edge of the riblets, the thermal simulation typically
requires more than 5 h. When considering the riblets
without llet radii, this calculation time signicantly
decreases (factor 326) to become quite acceptable
(about 1 min). In addition, the calculation result of this
simplied geometry only diers by 0.3% from the real
one, as regards the maximum temperature inside the
absorber.
176 J. Capeillere et al. / Solar Energy 110 (2014) 174187

Riblets

Vortex generator

Flow

Fig. 1. Simplied geometry, textured pattern and part of the 3D geometry of the solar module.

(a) Riblets with fillet radii (b) Riblets without fillet radii

Fig. 2. Real and simplied geometries of the riblets.

2.2. Boundary conditions
The thermal boundary conditions taken into account
are (Fig. 3):
The upper face of the absorber is exposed to concen-
trated solar radiation. It creates losses by convection
and radiation to the outside.
Fig. 3. Thermal boundary conditions (2D transverse plane).
The internal channel surfaces exchange heat by convec-
tion and radiation.
Among these thermal transfers, the incident solar radia-
tion is taken into account through an irradiance map
applied to the irradiated face of the absorber.
2.2.1. Incident solar ux density distributions
For the large-scale module case, the realistic ux density
distributions, which could be experimentally obtained, are
calculated at the focal plane of the 5 MWth THEMIS tower
solar concentrator. The employed software is the SOLar
FAcilities Simulation Tools (SOLFAST) which is based
on a ray-tracing Monte-Carlo optical code (Roccia et al.,
2012). The ux density maps are represented on a
1.2 m  1.2 m square target panel (Fig. 4). Given the
1280 mm long and 165 mm wide large-scale absorber, its
irradiated surface is 1200 mm  165 mm and is placed at
the center of the target panel (Fig. 4).
The reference ux density map is Gaussian (Fig. 5).
Its highest ux levels are distributed at the center of the
 J. Capeillere et al. / Solar Energy 110 (2014) 174187 177

0.55
0.45
0.35 400-416
0.25 350-400

Irradiance (kW.m 2)
0.15 300-350

0.05 250-300
Y (m) 200-250
-0.05
150-200
-0.15
100-150
-0.25
50-100
-0.35
0-50
-0.45
Fig. 4. Front view of the target panel. The black rectangle represents the -0.55
irradiated surface of the large-scale module at the center of the panel.
Maximum irradiance = 416 kW.m2
X (m) Power on module = 66 kW

0.55
Fig. 7. Descending ux density map (kW/m2) viewed from the front of
0.45 the target panel.
650-667
0.35
600-650
0.25 550-600 2.2.2. Convective transfer correlations and air temperature
500-550
Irradiance (kW.m2 )

0.15
450-500
evolution
0.05
Y (m) 400-450 Dierent approaches allow to calculate the correlations
-0.05 350-400 of the dimensionless internal convective heat transfer coef-
-0.15 300-350 cient. In this study, the evolutions of the Nusselt numbers
250-300
-0.25 200-250
of the textured face (Nuhigh) and of the smooth face (Nulow)
-0.35 150-200 of the channels (Fig. 3) combine experimental and numer-
-0.45
100-150 ical results obtained from Colleoni et al. (2013b). They are
50-100 expressed as follows:
-0.55 0-50

Maximum irradiance = 667 kW.m2 Nuhigh 0:0376  Re0:79

h Polyhigh x 1a
X (m) Power on module = 93 kW
Nulow 0:0348  Re0:8 0:4
h Pr Polylow x 1b
Fig. 5. Gaussian ux density map (kW/m2) viewed from the front of the
target panel. where Reh is the dimensionless Reynolds number based on
the channels height and Pr is the dimensionless Prandtl
number. The amplitudes of these Nusselt numbers are
0.55
determined experimentally. Polyhigh(x) and Polylow(x)
0.45
(Figs. 8 and 9) are functions that account for the local vari-
0.35 ations of these Nusselt numbers. They are calculated by
0.25 hydraulic numerical simulations. These correlations have
350-397
been validated (Colleoni et al., 2013b).
Irradiance (kW.m 2)

0.15
300-350
0.05
250-300 The air temperature prole inside the absorber is calcu-
Y (m)
-0.05 200-250 lated by a 2D numerical code created to design plate solar
-0.15 150-200 receivers (Colleoni et al., 2013b). It is based on a global
100-150
-0.25 50-100
thermal balance of each element in the absorber from
-0.35 0-50 which the average air temperature prole inside the module
-0.45 is deduced (Colleoni et al., 2013b).
-0.55

Maximum irradiance = 397 kW.m2

X (m) Power on module = 71 kW
Local variation of Nu_high

1.30
2 1.20
Fig. 6. Flat ux density map (kW/m ) viewed from the front of the
target panel. 1.10
1.00
0.90
module with 93 kW of power on its entire irradiated sur- 0.80
Poly_high(x) = -2.10x108 x6 + 5.67x107 x5 - 6.04x106x4 +
face. Two other shapes and levels of irradiance distribu- 0.70 3.22x105 x3 - 8.87x103 x2 + 1.07x102 x + 0.85
tions are used in this study (Figs. 6 and 7). Their highest 0.60
0 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08
ux levels are distributed either along the entire length of
Position inside the pattern with a length of 0.08 m long (m)
the module (Flat map: Fig. 6) or preferentially at its
entrance (Descending map: Fig. 7). Fig. 8. Local variation of the Nusselt number of the upper textured face.
178 J. Capeillere et al. / Solar Energy 110 (2014) 174187

1.30 et al., 2010). Among the dierent expressions aimed at rep-

Local variation of Nu_low

1.20 resenting the fracture of materials (Lamon and Evans,

1.10
1.00
0.90
0.80
0.70
Poly_low(x) = -2.79x107 x6 + 7.18x106 x5 - 5.97x105 x4 +
1.46x104 x3 + 1.58x102 x2 - 3.50x + 0.95
0.60
0 0.02 0.04
Position inside the pattern with a length of 0.08 m long (m)
Fig. 9. Local variation of the Nusselt number of the lower smooth face.
2.2.3. Mechanical boundary condition
The module is neither forced in displacement nor in
rotation, which means the mechanical boundary conditions
are free.
2.3. Silicon carbide properties and failure probability
denition approach
The thermal conductivity of the SiC from BOOSTEC is
given by (where the temperature, T, is in Kelvin):
13 5 10
k 1:09452  10 T 8:20645  10
 2:41391  1006 T 3 3:533120  1003 T 2
 2:65010 T 8:91263  1002
The other properties that are used in the simulations are
presented in Table 1. Given the operating temperature
range, these properties are considered as constant values
and taken at a temperature of 1273 K. Note that the exter-
nal air temperature is 293 K.
Thermomechanical modeling of the module allows to
predict its reliability within the operating conditions. For
that purpose, the rst criterion is the maximum thermome-
chanical stress supported by the module (rmax). Indeed,
given the fragility of the silicon carbide (SiC), its breaking
tensile limit is much lower than its compression limit. The
second criterion is the failure probability (Pb) of the absor-
ber, which allows to take into account both the thermome-
chanical eld as well as the volume to which it is applied. In
fact, in contrast to the metals, the ceramics, and particu-
larly the silicon carbide, present a statistical behavior
towards breaking which is partly due to the structure vol-
ume (Boch et al., 2001; Haussonne et al., 2005; Boniface
1983; Stanley et al., 1973), Weibulls law (Haussonne
et al., 2005) is the best suited to the case of ceramics. It
allows to calculate the failure probability (Pb) by:
   x 
V eff rmax
P b 1  exp  3
0.06 0.08 V0 ro
where the reference volume (V0), the reference stress (r0)
and the Weibull modulus (x) are the required mechanical
properties (Table 1). rmax is the maximum stress inside
the structure and Ve is its eective volume dened as fol-
lows (Haussonne et al., 2005; Dortmans and de With,
1990):
ZZZ  x
r
V eff dV 4
volume of the structure rmax
The failure probability (Pb) enables to take into account
the eect of the volume change.
3. Large-scale module basic conguration
4
T
The large-scale module is 1280 mm long and 165 mm
wide. The irradiated and insulated faces have the same
thickness of 6 mm. The module is composed of two identical
2
channels, in which the owing air heats up from entrance to
exit (Fig. 1). Inside the module, each channel consists of 16
identical textured patterns of 80 mm length taking into
account the space between them (Fig. 1). The air entrance
temperature and the pressure inside the channels are
623 K and 10 bar, respectively, and the air mass ow is
86 g/s (nominal conditions). The absorber is irradiated by
the Gaussian solar ux distribution (Fig. 5). As both the
geometry of the module and the irradiance map are symmet-
rical at the mid-width of the absorber, the simulations only
take half of its width into account (mid-module). Further-
more, this enables us to reduce the calculation times.
As expected, the lowest temperature of the module
(660 K) occurs close to its entrance (Fig. 10a). This temper-
ature is higher than the air entrance temperature inside the
channels (623 K) (Fig. 10b).
As the Gaussian ux density map is centered in the
middle of the irradiated face of the module (Fig. 5), the
highest thermal gradient between its shells is found at its

Table 1
Physical parameters of the SiC used for the simulations and for the failure probability calculations.
SiC property Value References
3
Theoretical density q (kg/m ) 3210 Boostec (2010)
Emissivity e 0.85 Touloukian and De Witt (1972)
Specic heat capacity Cp (J/K/kg) 1180 Boostec (2010)
Elasticity modulus E (GPa) 430 Boostec (2010), Nimitech (2013)
Poissons ratio m 0.16 Boostec (2010), Nimitech (2013)
Expansion coecient a 6.6  106 Boostec (2010), Nimitech (2013)
Reference volume V0 (mm3) 3780 Boostec (2010), Nimitech (2013)
Reference stress r0 (MPa) 383.7 Boostec (2010), Nimitech (2013)
Weibull modulus x 8.2 Boostec (2010), Nimitech (2013)
 J. Capeillere et al. / Solar Energy 110 (2014) 174187
(a) 3D temperature field (K)
inside the absorber along the half of its
width
Fig. 10. Thermal elds inside the basic geometry of the large-scale module.
mid-length (Fig. 10a). In the 640 mm transverse plane from
the entrance of the module, the maximum temperatures of
the absorber are reached in the chamfer area (Figs. 10a and
11a). Indeed, it is where the cooling is the lowest because it
is furthest from the ow inside the channel. The tempera-
tures obtained close to the surface of the smooth face are
the lowest ones (Fig. 11a). The irradiated side is much war-
mer than the insulated side (Fig. 11a). Thus, when consid-
ering the distortions of the module, its upper shell expands
more clearly and is consequently more bent than its lower
shell. Indeed, the latter shell is subjected to tensile stresses
while the upper shell sustains compressive ones. This phe-
nomenon is responsible for the global exing of the system
(thermal gradient bending) (Fig. 11b).
The maximum thermomechanical stresses (Fig. 11b) is
located on the smooth face along almost the entire length
of the exchanger. These levels of stress reach a maximum
value of almost 383 MPa (Fig. 11b). Besides, the contribu-
tion of both the internal pressure applied to the surfaces
of the channels as well as the gravity does not exceed
36 MPa on the global thermomechanical stresses. This
means that the dissymmetry of the thermal eld between
the two shells of the module (Fig. 11a) mainly causes the
high level of thermomechanical stress. In order to avoid
this, several working congurations of the large-scale mod-
ule are now considered.
4. Parametric study
To expand the tensile stress caused by the extension of
the irradiated side of the absorber and to counteract the
global exing of the system, dierent parameters are tested.
They focus on the incident solar irradiance and the overall
structure of the module (lower shell thickness, bridges
between the textured and the smooth faces as well as num-
ber of channels). In all working congurations, the geomet-
ric characteristics of the textured patterns remain
unchanged (Fig. 1). The rst strategy consists in increasing
the thickness of the insulated side (successively 12 mm and
179
Air exit temperature : 1219.9 K
Air entrance temperature : 623 K
(b) 2D temperature distribution (K)
of the gas inside theabsorber
18 mm) while keeping the same thickness for the irradiated
side.
4.1. Inuence of the lower shell thickness of the exchanger
Within the same Gaussian reference irradiance as
before (Fig. 5), similar trends as in the basic conguration
analysis can be observed when increasing the lower shell
thickness of the module, but in dierent proportions. The
greater the insulated side thickness, the higher the smooth
face temperature of the channel (Figs. 11a, 12a and 13a).
This is also the case for its insulated face (Figs. 11a, 12a
and 13a).
By increasing the lower shell thickness, the maximum
thermomechanical stresses (Figs. 12b and 13b) are still
located in the same area (Fig. 11b). Considering the 12 mm
lower shell thickness, there is an 18% decrease in the maxi-
mum stress (315 MPa) compared to the maximum value
reached for the 6 mm lower shell thickness. However, this
reduction is clearly not sucient to guarantee the reliability
of the exchanger. In addition, this conguration leads to a
prohibitively high failure probability (58%) of the structure.
Regarding the 18 mm insulated side thickness, the max-
imum stress (316 MPa) is nearly the same as the maximum
value reached for the 12 mm thickness. This means that
there is a saturation eect of the maximum thermomechan-
ical stress between the 12 mm and the 18 mm thicknesses of
the module. Thus, the 12 mm lower shell thickness is used
for the following tests.
Another means of decreasing the maximum thermome-
chanical stress and the failure probability of the module
consists in modulating the solar ux density map.
4.2. Inuence of the ux density distribution irradiating the
exchanger
For decreasing the thermomechanical stress level as
much as possible, the Flat (Fig. 6) and Descending
(Fig. 7) solar ux distributions are used here. As previously
180 J. Capeillere et al. / Solar Energy 110 (2014) 174187

1067 K

1073 K

(a) 2D temperature field (K) in the mid- (b) 3D stress field (MPa)
length transverse plane of the module particularly inside the lower shell

Fig. 11. Thermal and thermomechanical stress elds inside the module with 6 mm lower shell thickness and irradiated by the Gaussian ux density map.

1098 K

1110 K

(a) 2D temperature field (K) in the mid- (b) 3D stress field (MPa)
length transverse plane of the module particularly inside the lower shell

Fig. 12. Thermal and thermomechanical stress elds inside the module with 12 mm lower shell thickness and irradiated by the Gaussian ux density
map.

1108 K

1128 K
(a) 2D temperature field (K) in the mid- (b) 3D stress field (MPa)
length transverse plane of the module particularly inside the lower shell

Fig. 13. Thermal and thermomechanical stress elds inside the module with 18 mm lower shell thickness and irradiated by the Gaussian ux density
map.

described, thanks to the symmetry of the conguration, the
simulations only take into account the mid-module.
Before presenting the thermomechanical results, a ther-
mal analysis is carried out. It is based on the study of the
average thermal dierence between the shells along the ow
axis (x) in three longitudinal planes (y is constant) of the
module (Fig. 14).
The pre-smoothing of the temperature curves enables us
to eliminate the low amplitude thermal oscillations caused
by the textured patterns. This is achieved through 6th
degree polynomial ttings, which guarantee correlation
coecients very close to the unity.
Regardless of the longitudinal plane (y is constant), the
proles of the average thermal dierences between the shells
(Fig. 15) globally follow the irradiance distributions along
the module (Figs. 6 and 7). For the Flat irradiance, the
maximum average temperature between the shells is reached
near the mid-length of the module around 600 mm from the
entrance. For the Descending irradiance, the maximum
average temperature can be observed around 200 mm from
the entrance of the module. These maxima occur (Fig. 15)
precisely where the two ux density distributions reach their
highest values (Figs. 6 and 7). The maximum dierence is
higher for the Descending irradiance than for the Flat
one. Given all these elements, the maximum thermomechan-
ical stresses are expected to occur around these transverse
positions and to be relatively higher in the Descending
irradiance conguration than in the Flat one.
 J. Capeillere et al. / Solar Energy 110 (2014) 174187
Fig. 14. Longitudinal planes (y) inside the channel in which the proles of the average thermal dierence between the shells along the ow axis (x) are
regarded.
Based on the thermomechanical analysis, the maximum
thermomechanical stresses continue to occur on the
smooth face of the absorber. Their maximum values can
be observed at distances of 537 mm (Fig. 16a) and
243 mm (Fig. 16b) from the entrance of the module, when
considering the Flat and the Descending ux density
maps, respectively. As expected, these transverse positions
nearly correspond to the occurrences of the maximum
average thermal dierences between the shells of the mod-
ule. In addition, the maximum thermomechanical stresses
are lower with the Flat ux density map (196 MPa)
(Fig. 16a) than with the Descending one (209 MPa)
(Fig. 16b). The respective failure probabilities of the struc-
ture are 2.6% and 2.5%. Note that, as expected, they are
considerably below the failure probability resulting from
the Gaussian conguration (58%). This emphasizes the
importance of the shape and the levels of the irradiance dis-
tribution regarding the reliability of the absorber.
In order to further decrease the latter thermomechanical
values, a strategy consists in inserting thermal bridges
between the two shells of the module.
4.3. Inuence of the connecting elements between the shells
of the exchanger
The goal of the connecting element is making a thermal
bridge. Within the 12 mm lower shell thickness congura-
tion, only the two ux density maps of interest (Figs. 6
and 7) are considered here. The maximum thermomechan-
ical stresses are located between the entrance and the
mid-length, along the center of the smooth face. Thus,
the connecting elements between the upper and the lower
faces of the channel (bridges) are inserted upstream from
the exchanger (Fig. 17). Inside the channel, the bridge is
a parallelepiped positioned along the rst eight textured
patterns (627 mm long). It is centered at the mid-width of
the channel, with 5 mm width and 10 mm height. The latter
181
dimensions correspond to the distance between two central
riblets and to the height of the channel respectively.
At the mid-width of the channel, the presence of the
bridge enables to reduce the average temperature dierence
between the shells of the absorber (Fig. 18). When consid-
ering the Flat and the Descending ux density maps,
their maximum values are 86 K and 78 K, respectively at
a distance of 737 mm and 191 mm from the entrance of
the module (Fig. 18). With the Descending irradiance
distribution, the decrease in the maximum average thermal
dierence between the shells (33.9%) is about twice as high
as with the Flat irradiance distribution (15.7%) (Fig. 18).
This phenomenon is triggered by the addition of the bridge
which causes a decrease in the temperatures of the irradi-
ated and textured faces as well as an increase in the temper-
atures of the smooth and insulated ones. Thus, the thermal
gradient between the two shells is reduced mainly below the
mid-length of the absorber (Fig. 18). Overall, the use of the
Descending ux density map leads to an almost constant
average thermal dierence between the shells (Fig. 18). On
average, it is slightly lower than with the Flat ux density
map.
The highest thermomechanical stress levels continue to
occur on the smooth face of the absorber. By adding the
bridges, their maximum values are 185 MPa and
180 MPa (Fig. 19a), with the Flat and the Descending
ux density maps, respectively. They correspond to respec-
tive decreases of 5.6% and 13.9%, compared with the geom-
etry without bridges. The failure probabilities of the
structure are also slightly reduced (1.7% and 1.2% when
considering the Flat and the Descending irradiances
respectively). However, in both cases, an area of higher
stress concentration (around 303 MPa and 248 MPa,
respectively) appears at the end of the bridge (Fig. 19b).
Even if its value is approximate, this grossly modeled sin-
gularity constitutes a potential mechanical breaking point
inside the structure, especially for the silicon carbide. In
182 J. Capeillere et al. / Solar Energy 110 (2014) 174187

Fig. 15. Proles of the average thermal dierence (K) between the shells along the ow axis (x) in the three chosen longitudinal planes (y is constant).

Entrance Entrance

Exit Exit

(a) Irradiation with the (b) Irradiation with the

Flat flux density map Descending flux density map

Fig. 16. 3D thermomechanical stress eld (MPa) inside the 12 mm lower shell thickness of the module.

Entrance Exit

Connecting elements between the shells (bridges)

Fig. 17. Dimensions (mm) of the geometry with bridges between the shells upstream from the exchanger. View of its textured face.
 J. Capeillere et al. / Solar Energy 110 (2014) 174187 183

Fig. 18. Proles of the average thermal dierence (K) between the shells along the ow axis at the mid-width of the channel with bridges upstream from
the exchanger.

Entrance

Exit
(a) Lower shell, particularly (b) Stress concentration at the end of the
smooth face of the absorber connecting element between the shells

Fig. 19. 3D thermomechanical stress eld (MPa) inside the 12 mm lower shell thickness of the module with connecting elements between the shells
upstream. Irradiation with the Descending ux density map.

order to avoid it, a solution is to increase the length of the

bridge until the exit of the absorber.
A channel bridged along its entire length constitutes in
fact two channels. The impact of bridge(s) along the entire
module is considered equivalent to the inuence of a given
number of channels.

4.4. Inuence of the number of channels inside the exchanger

Within the 12 mm lower shell thickness conguration,

only the two ux density maps of interest (Figs. 6 and 7)
are considered here. Fig. 20 shows the thermal eld of
the module composed of 3 channels with the descending
ux density map.
The thermomechanical behavior of the module com- Fig. 20. 3D thermal eld (K) inside the 12 mm lower shell thickness of the
posed of three channels is pretty much the same as of the module composed of 3 channels. Irradiation with the Descending ux
module composed of two channels. Indeed, when consider- density map.
ing the Flat and the Descending ux density maps, the
maximum thermomechanical stresses (around 202 MPa (Fig. 21a). These maximum values are very close to those
and 213 MPa) can be observed at distances of 550 mm obtained with the absorber composed of two channels with-
and 256 mm respectively from the entrance of the module out bridges. However, when considering the module com-
184 J. Capeillere et al. / Solar Energy 110 (2014) 174187
Entrance
256 mm
transverse plane
(a) View in the entrance side of
the lower shell of the module
Fig. 21. 3D thermomechanical stress eld (MPa) inside the 12 mm lower shell thickness of the module composed of 3 channels. Irradiation with the
Descending ux density map.
posed of three channels, the thermal gradient bending
eect along its width (Fig. 21b) is much more important
than that of the modules composed of two channels. This
can be explained by the position of the bridge. Indeed, with
two channels, the bridge is located at the center of the
module.
The failure probabilities of the structure (2.6% and
2.3%, respectively) are almost identical to those of the
module composed of two channels without bridges. In
order to improve this situation, a variant of the latter is
the geometry composed of four channels.
The geometric characteristics of the exchanger com-
posed of four channels are presented in Fig. 22. The length,
height and number of the textured patterns along the mod-
ule remain the same as before. Each channel is 28 mm wide
so vortex generators with llet radii of 4 mm can be
inserted. The distance between the ends of the two consec-
utive central channels is 15 mm whereas it is only 5 mm
between the external channels. Thus, the total width of
the absorber is slightly broadened (167 mm instead of
165 mm). The vortex generators and the riblets are sym-
metrically arranged in each of the four channels. Although
Fig. 22. Dimensions (mm) of the exchanger geometry composed of 4 channels.
(b) View in the 256 mm transverse
plane from the entrance of the module
their llet radii are only 1 mm, the nishing cutter allows us
to perform such small roundings.
Both the geometry of the module composed of four
channels (Fig. 22) and the calculated irradiance maps of
interest (Figs. 6 and 7) are symmetrical at the mid-width
of the absorber. Thus, as with the module composed of
two channels, the simulations only take into account the
half of its width (mid-module) (Fig. 23).
The respective maximum stresses are 162 MPa and
170 MPa (Fig. 23b), when considering the Flat and the
Descending ux density maps, respectively. The failure
probabilities of the structure are 0.5% and 0.4%,
respectively.
As regards thermal eciency, the maximum number of
vortex generators (Table 2) per textured pattern inside
the entire width of the exchanger (NVG) is reached in the
two channels without bridges geometry. Regardless of
the tested conguration (Table 2), the number of vortex
generators varies little. Thus, the thermal eciency of the
two channels without bridges conguration shows only
a slight decrease compared to the three or four channels
without bridges congurations.
 J. Capeillere et al. / Solar Energy 110 (2014) 174187 185

Entrance

Exit
(a) 3D thermal field (K) (b) 3D thermomechanical stress field
(MPa) in the lower shell

Fig. 23. 3D thermal and thermomechanical stress elds inside the 12 mm lower shell thickness of the module composed of 4 channels. Irradiation with the
Descending ux density map.

Table 2
Number of riblets and vortex generators along both the width of each channel and of the module within the dierent congurations. N channel
VG is the number
of vortex generators per textured pattern inside each channel width. NVG is the number of vortex generators per textured pattern inside the module width.
Module Number of riblets Number of riblets N channel
VG NVG
per channel width per module width
2 Channels without bridges 8 16 9 18
2 Channels with bridges First mid-length 6 12 8 16
upstream Second mid-length 8 16 9 18
3 Channels without bridges 4 12 5 15
4 Channels without bridges 3 12 4 16

Table 3
Thermomechanical values of the criteria dening the potential reliability of the exchanger within the dierent congurations.
Tested parameters Thermomechanical results
Thickness of the Number of Flux density Bridges Maximum Singularity Failure
lower shell (mm) channels distribution between the thermomechanical (higher stress probability
shells stress (MPa) concentration) (MPa) (%)
6 2 Gaussian No 383 No 58
12 315 58
18 316 58
12 Flat 196 No 2.6
Descending 209 2.5
Flat Upstream 185 303 1.7
Descending 180 248 1.2
3 Flat No 202 2.6
Descending 213 2.3
4 Flat 162 0.5
Descending 170 0.4

Given these ndings, the four channels without
bridges geometry with the descending ux density map
is the best compromise in terms of reliability of the struc-
ture, cutting conditions fulllment and thermal eciency.
5. General synthesis
Firstly, in the basic geometry (two channels without
bridges), considering a Gaussian irradiance, the 12 mm
lower shell thickness of the large-scale module is retained
(Table 3). Nevertheless, this conguration leads to fairly
high maximum thermomechanical stress and to a prohibi-
tive failure probability of the structure (Table 3). Secondly,
in order to reduce these factors, the strategy consists in
modulating the solar ux density map. Flat and
Descending irradiances distributed along the absorber
are used (Table 3). They lead to a signicant reduction in
the maximum thermomechanical stress and in the failure
probability of the module. Subsequently, to further
decrease the thermomechanical results, bridges between
the textured faces and the smooth faces of the channels
are inserted. As the maximum stress is observed on the
186 J. Capeillere et al. / Solar Energy 110 (2014) 174187
entrance side of the lower shell of the module, the bridges
are placed upstream from the exchanger. Even if this con-
guration leads to slight decreases in the latter thermome-
chanical values (Table 3), it presents an area of higher
stress concentration at the end of the bridges (Table 3),
constituting potential mechanical breaking points inside
the structure. In order to avoid it, a solution is to increase
the length of the bridge until the exit of the channel, which
constitutes in fact two channels. The impact of having one
or more bridge(s) along the entire module is seen as equiv-
alent to the inuence a given number of channels might
have. Due to the position of the bridge, the three chan-
nels conguration provides thermomechanical results that
are almost identical to those obtained with the two chan-
nels without bridges conguration (Table 3). Finally, the
four channels conguration leads to the highest decrease
in the maximum thermomechanical stress and in the failure
probability of the module (factors of around 100) com-
pared with the basic conguration (Table 3). It is the best
compromise in terms of structure reliability, cutting condi-
tions fulllment and thermal eciency (Tables 2 and 3). In
the general case, the choice of the shape and levels of the
irradiance distribution is essential to guarantee the reliabil-
ity of the structure.
6. Conclusion
This study predicts the reliability of a large-scale plate
solar module made of silicon carbide that is capable of
heating up pressurized air to high temperatures. For this
purpose, the maximum stress and the failure probability
of the structure are calculated by a sequence of multi-scaled
2D and 3D stationary codes. Given a basic conguration of
the large-scale module, a parametric study is carried out. It
provides the optimal conguration in terms of thermome-
chanical reliability, thermal eciency and cutting condi-
tions fulllment of the exchanger. An absorber that is
composed of four channels irradiated by a Descending
ux density distribution is the best compromise.
Further investigation consists in experimental testing of
the selected conguration in order to corroborate the reli-
ability of the large-scale plate solar module.
Acknowledgements
This study was supported by the TOTAL New Ener-
gies group within the SiCSOL project started in 2010. The
authors wish to thank everyone who has been involved in
the industrial partnership for their contribution in terms
of helpful discussions. We are especially grateful to Dr B.
Boniface for his contribution to the thermomechanical cal-
culations and J-Y Peroy for the drawings of the module
geometries.
References
Agraotis, C.C., Mavroidis, I., Konstandopoulos, A.G., Hoschmidt, B.,
Stobbe, P., Romero, M., Fernandez-Quero, V., 2007. Evaluation of
porous silicon carbide monolithic honeycombs as volumetric receivers/
collectors of concentrated solar radiation. Sol. Energy Mater. Sol. C
91, 474488.
Amsbeck, L., Buck, R., Heller, P., Jedamski, J., Uhlig, R., 2008.
Development of a tube receiver for a solar-hybrid microturbine
system. In: Proc. 14th Int. SolarPACES Conf., Las Vegas, USA,
March 47.
Bellard, D., Ferriere, A., Pra, F., Couturier, R., 2012. Experimental
characterization of a high-temperature pressurized air solar absorber
for the Pegase project. In: Proc. 18th Int. SolarPACES Conf.,
Marrakech, Morocco, September 1114.
Bhagoria, J.L., Saini, J.S., Solanki, S.C., 2002. Heat transfer coecient
and friction factor correlations for rectangular solar air heater duct
having transverse wedge shaped rib roughness on the absorber plate.
Renew. Energy 25, 341369.
Boch, P., 2001. Proprietes et applications des ceramiques. Paris, Hermes-
Science, traite MIM.
Boniface, B., 2010. Modelisation thermomecanique et abilite des
echangeurs reacteurs en carbure de silicium. These de Doctorat de
lUniversite de Toulouse soutenue le 09/12/10, Specialite : Genie
Mecanique, Mecanique des Materiaux.
Boostec Industries, Silicon carbide (SiC) for scientic instrumentation and
industrial equipment 2010. General properties of Boostec sintered
silicon carbide. Internal document.
Buck, R., Pfander, M., Schwarzbozl, P., Tellez, F., Brauning, T., Denk,
T., 2002. Solar-hybrid gas turbine-based power tower system
(REFOS). J. Sol. Energy Eng. 124 (1), 29.
Colleoni, A., Toutant, A., Olalde, G., Foucaut, J.-M., 2013a. Optimiza-
tion of winglet vortex generators combined with riblets for wall/uid
exchange enhancement. Appl. Therm. Eng. 50, 10921100.
Colleoni, A., 2013. Intensication des transferts de chaleur en regime
turbulent pour le developpement dun recepteur solaire surfacique a
haute temperature en ceramique. These de Doctorat de lUniversite de
Perpignan soutenue le 13/02/13, Specialite : Energetique et
Environnement.
Colleoni, A., Toutant, A., Olalde, G., 2014. Simulation of an innovative
internal design of a plate solar receiver: comparison between RANS
and LES results. Sol. Energy 105, 732741.
Daguenet-Frick, X., 2011. Etudes numeriques et experimentales des
ecoulements turbulents dans les echangeurs a chauage asymetrique.
Application aux recepteurs solaires a haute temperature. These de
Doctorat de lUniversite de Perpignan soutenue le 02/12/11, Specialite
: Energetique et Environnement.
Daguenet-Frick, X., Toutant, A., Bataille, F., Olalde, G., 2013. Numerical
investigation of a ceramic high temperature pressurized-air solar
receiver. Sol. Energy 90, 164178.
Daguenet-Frick, X., Foucaut, J.M., Coudert, S., Toutant, A., Olalde, G.,
2012. Experimental analysis of the turbulent ow behavior of a
textured surface proposed for asymmetric heat exchangers. Flow,
Turbulence Combust. 89 (1), 149169.
Dortmans, L.J.M.G., de With, G., 1990. Weakest-link failure predictions
for ceramics using nite element post-processing. J. Eur. Ceram. Soc.
6, 369374.
Edwards, F.J., Alker, C.J.R., 1974. The improvement of forced convection
surface heat transfer using surface protrusions in the form of (a) cubes
and (b) vortex generators. In: Proc. 5th Int. Heat Transf. Conf. 2,
Tokyo, Japan.
European Commission, 2005. SOLGATE. Solar hybrid gas turbine
electric power system. Final publishable report, EUR 21615.
Flores, V., Almanza, R., 2004. Behavior of the compound wall copper-
steel receiver with stratied two-phase ow regimen in transient states
when solar irradiance is arriving on one side of receiver. Sol. Energy
76, 195198.
 J. Capeillere et al. / Solar Energy 110 (2014) 174187
Grange, B., Ferriere, A., Bellard, D., Vrinat, M., Couturier, R., Pra, F.,
Fan, Y., 2011. Thermal performances of a high temperature air solar
absorber based on compact heat exchange technology. ASME J. Sol.
Energy Eng. 133 (3), 031004-1-11.
Grange, B., 2012. Modelisation et dimensionnement dun recepteur solaire
a air pressurise pour le projet PEGASE. These de Doctorat de
lUniversite de Perpignan soutenue le 17/07/12, Specialite : Energe-
tique et Environnement.
Haussonne, J.M., Carry, C., Bowen, P., Barton, J., 2005. Ceramiques et
verres : principes et techniques delaboration. Lausanne, Presses
polytechniques et universitaires romandes.
Kaci, H.M., Habchi, C., Thierry, L., Dominique, D., Hassan, P., 2010.
Flow structure and heat transfer induced by embedded vorticity. Int. J.
Heat Mass Transfer 53, 35753584.
Karni, J., Kribus, A., Rubin, R., Doron, P., 1998. The Porcupine: a novel
high-ux absorber for volumetric solar receivers. ASME J. Sol. Energy
Eng. 120, 8595.
Kribus, A., Doron, P., Rubin, R., Karni, J., Reuven, R., Duchan, S.,
Taragan, E., 1999. A multistage solar receiver: the route to high
temperature. Sol. Energy 67 (13), 311.
Lamon, J., Evans, A.G., 1983. Statistical analysis of bending strengths for
brittle solids: a multiaxial fracture problem. J. Am. Ceram. Soc. 66,
177182.
Lunsford, K.M., 1996. Understand the use of brazed heat exchangers.
Chem. Eng. Prog. 92 (11), 4453.
Nimitech Etudes, Engineering company 2013. Silicon carbide parameters.
Internal data.
Olalde, G., Flamant, G., Daguenet-Frick, X., Toutant, A., Coudert, S.,
Foucaut, J-M. 2009. Recepteur surfacique modulaire texture fonc-
tionnant a haute temperature. Brevet francais CNRS n 0957204, 14
October 2009, Textured modular solar surface receptor operating at
high temperature, International patent application n WO 2011/
045301 A2, April 21st 2011.
Roccia, J.P., Piaud, B., Coustet, C., Caliot, C., Guillot, E., Flamant, G.,
Delatorre, J., 2012. SOLFAST, a ray-tracing Monte-Carlo software
187
for solar concentrating facilities. Eurotherm. Conf. No. 95: Comp.
Therm. Rad. Part. Media IV, J. Phys. Conf. Ser. 369, 012029110.
Roger, M., Pfanfer, M., Buck, R., 2006. Multiple air-jet window cooling
for high temperature pressurized volumetric receivers: testing, evalu-
ation and modeling. ASME J. Sol. Energy Eng. 128 (3), 265274.
Romero, M., Buck, R., Pacheco, J., 2002. An update on solar central
receiver systems, projects and technologies. ASME J. Sol. Energy Eng.
124 (2), 98108.
Rubin, R., Reuven, R., Kribus, A., Karni, J., Doron, P., Taragan, E.,
Duchan, S., 2001. Performance of a directly-irradiated annular
pressurized receiver (DIAPR) operating at 20 bar and 1200 C. ASME
J. Sol. Energy Eng. 123 (1), 1017.
Stanley, P., Fessler, H., Sevill, A.D., 1973. An engineers approach to the
prediction of failure probability of brittle components. Proc. Br.
Ceram. Soc. 22, 453487.
Velraj, I.L.R., Ranganayakulu, C., 2010. Studies on pumping power in
terms of pressure drop and heat transfer characteristics of compact
plate-n heat exchangers. Renew. Sust. Energy Rev. 14, 478485.
Touloukian, Y.S., De Witt, D.P., 1972. Thermal Radiative Properties:
Nonmetallic solids, Collection: Thermophysical Properties of Matter
8. IFI/Plenum, New-York/Washington.
Vrinat, M., Ferriere, A., Pra, F., Mercier, P., 2008. Development of a high
temperature air solar receiver based on compact heat exchanger technol-
ogy. In: Proc. 14th Int. SolarPACES Conf., Las Vegas, USA, March 47.
Vrinat, M., Ferriere, A., Sans, J-L., Daniel, M., Mercier, P., Pra, F., 2009.
Experimental qualication of a high temperature air solar absorber
based on compact heat exchanger technology. In: Proc. 15th Int.
SolarPACES Conf., Berlin, Germany, September 1518.
Vrinat, M., 2010. Contribution au developpement dun absorbeur
surfacique a air pressurise haute temperature pour centrale solaire a
concentration a tour. These de Doctorat de lUniversite de Perpignan
soutenue le 02/07/10, Specialite : Energetique et Environnement.
Walsh, M.J., Lindemann, A.M., 1984. Optimization and Application of
Riblets for Turbulent Drag Reduction. American Institute of Aero-
nautics and Astronautics, 84-0347.