Solar tower Power Technology

Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) is a high-temperature solar thermal technology engineered to convert Direct Normal Irradiance (DNI) into dispatchable electricity through advanced optical concentration and thermodynamic conversion cycles. Unlike photovoltaic systems that rely on semiconductor photoelectric effects, CSP leverages precision mirror geometries, heat transfer fluids, and conventional steam turbines to deliver grid-scale renewable power with embedded storage capability.

In order to mitigate debris in orbit and to avoid dramatic collisions on Earth after atmospheric reentry at their end-of-life, the spacecraft missions have to take into account the influence of atmospheric re-entry conditions on the spacecraft survivability. The non-equilibrium air plasma flow impinging the material enhances oxidation phenomena and also heat flux by species recombination. Oxidation, ablation, and melting coupled phenomena can occur on the material leading to an important increase of heating and damage of the materials. In this way, oxidation in air plasma conditions close to those encountered during re-entry was studied on metallic alloys such as SS 316L and Invar in order to obtain degradation kinetic laws at high temperature (up to the melting point of the alloys) and for short time duration (few minutes). Then, measurements of the total directional emissivity -and hemispherical values obtained by integration -at high temperature were carried out on the same virgin alloys -in secondary vacuum to avoid oxidation -and on samples pre-oxidized in air plasma conditions, and also oxidized in situ in standard air. An increase of the total emissivity for oxidized samples by a factor 3 to 4 is obtained compared to virgin samples. Some results on oxidation and emissivity obtained for SS 316L and Invar with microstructural characterization on virgin and pre-oxidized surfaces using different techniques such as SEM, XRD and 3D roughness profilometry will be presented.

In order to mitigate debris in orbit and to avoid dramatic collisions on Earth after atmospheric reentry at their end-of-life, the spacecraft missions have to take into account the influence of atmospheric re-entry conditions on the spacecraft survivability. The non-equilibrium air plasma flow impinging the material enhances oxidation phenomena and also heat flux by species recombination. Oxidation, ablation, and melting coupled phenomena can occur on the material leading to an important increase of heating and damage of the materials. In this way, oxidation in air plasma conditions close to those encountered during re-entry was studied on metallic alloys such as SS 316L and Invar in order to obtain degradation kinetic laws at high temperature (up to the melting point of the alloys) and for short time duration (few minutes). Then, measurements of the total directional emissivity – and hemispherical values obtained by integration – at high temperature were carried out on the same vir...

The receiver in a concentrated solar power (CSP) tower system accounts for a considerable proportion of plant capital costs, and its role in converting radiant solar energy into thermal energy affects the cost of generated electricity. It is imperative to utilize a receiver design that has a high thermal efficiency, excellent mechanical integrity, minimal pressure drop, and low cost in order to maximize the potential of the CSP system. In the present work, thermal, mechanical, and hydraulic models are presented for a liquid tubular billboard receiver in a representative CSP plant. A liquid sodium heat transfer fluid as well as a number of receiver configurations of heat transfer area, tube diameter, and tube material have been analysed. The thermal analysis determines tube surface temperatures for an incident heat flux, thereby allowing for the calculation of thermal losses and efficiency. The mechanical analysis is carried out to establish creep deformation and fatigue damage that the receiver may undergo through a life service. The hydraulic analysis is concerned with calculating the required pumping power for each configuration. Results show that thermal efficiency increases for a decreasing heat transfer area, however reducing receiver area comes at the penalty of increasing tube surface temperatures and thermal stresses. The selection of tube diameter is critical, with small diameters yielding the greatest thermal efficiency and mechanical life, however the increased pressure drop reduces the overall plant efficiency due to a necessary increase in pumping power. The optimum receiver configuration is established by finding an appropriate trade-off between thermal performance, service life, pressure drop, and material costs, by using the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) as the objective function. The analysis highlights necessary trade-offs required to optimise the design of a solar receiver.

The central receiver system (CRS) concept is an attractive method to achieve an extremely high concentration of solar radiation for electrical power generation, and other applications, on a large-scale. In this paper we present an algorithm giving the preliminary design of a solar field of heliostats in a solar tower power plant in order to define the optimal position coordinates to each heliostat. From this position we can analyze the optical performance of the plant in a preliminary manner for any point design given. The results obtained by this method of programming for optimization of a circular field of heliostats are in good concordance with those found in the literature, both in the geometric distribution of the solar field, and value of the optical efficiency. We have continued this work to study the distribution of solar flux on the receiver, reflected by each of heliostat. The model is applied to a group of heliostats of a real field to obtain the resulting flux distributi...

HFLCAL is a program for layout and optimization of heliostat fields of central receiver systems (CRS) based on annual performance calculation. Computation time for performance estimation is saved by using a simplified mathematical model for the concentrator optics: the reflected image of each heliostat is described by a circular normal distribution. This approximation is justified when the standard deviation of the statistical mirror error exceeds 1 mrad. The paper shows details about the mathematical model and its validation. The HFLCAL code has been continuously used and enhanced in numerous R&D projects. The current features of HFLCAL comprise (among others) automatic multi-aiming, secondary concentrator optics, tower reflector systems, various receiver models and the ability of least-cost optimization with various optimization algorithms. A graphical user interface has been added to the program that supports menu-driven interactive commands and depicts calculation results in a d...

This work proposes a new empirical direct methodology to estimate both the solar flux distribution and intensity on the surface of central receivers. In solar power tower plants with deteriorated heliostats, the numerical simulations to estimate the incident solar flux are not precise. Hence the thermal behaviour of the receivers cannot be determined. In those cases, direct measurement or semi-empirical methodologies are required to characterize the radiant power on the receiver. The new methodology proposed, named "Superposition method", consists in the hourly characterization of the reflected solar beam of each individual heliostat by means of a pyrheliometer, a passive screen, a flux sensor, a camera and digital image analysis. According to the aiming strategy used during receiver operation, each individual solar flux distribution and intensity can be gathered to obtain the total incident radiant power on the solar receiver. This non-real-time method has the advantage of reproducing any solar flux distribution on the receiver at present and past time.

Energy generation in Afghanistan is limited and heavily dependent on fossil fuels and imported electricity. Due to rapid population growth and progress in the industry, services, and agriculture sectors, the existing energy sources are not fulfilling the current energy needs of the country. Meanwhile, there is a big gap between power supply and demand, which led to an energy shortage in Afghanistan. Consequently, there is a need to develop power generation and assure energy sustainability by concentrating on renewable energy sources. This paper aims to analyze the theoretical, practical, and economic potential of solar energy in Afghanistan with the main focus on PV power technology. Power generation from solar sources is theoretically, practically, and economically suitable for Afghanistan and can be a perfect solution for the energy shortage in the country. The Afghan government should consider developing solar energy as a priority for energy security, socio-economic development, and improving the quality of life in Afghanistan.

So far, the studies regarding the innovative High-Entropy Borides (HEBs), which belong to the more general class of Ultra-high temperature ceramics (UHTCs), have been entirely confined to their fabrication or characterization from the microstructural, mechanical and oxidation resistance viewpoints. In this work, the optical properties of two members of HEBs, i.e. (Hf0.2Zr0.2Ta0.2Mo0.2Ti0.2)B2 and (Hf0.2Nb0.2Ta0.2Mo0.2Ti0.2)B2, are evaluated for the first time to assess their possible utilization in the thermal solar energy field. The bulk samples (96.5 and 97.4% dense, respectively) are obtained as singlephase products by Spark Plasma Sintering (1950 °C/20 min/20 MPa) starting from powders previously synthesized by Self-propagating High-temperature Synthesis (SHS). The optical characterization, whose results are discussed by comparing HEBs to the individual borides, shows that they are characterized by intrinsic spectral selectivity and low thermal emittance, resulting therefore interesting for hightemperature solar absorbers applications.

Two different wire mesh open volumetric receivers (OVRs) are studied together with six different coatings and two different working conditions in order to assess their effect on the performance of the OVR comparing them to the two baseline OVRs, uncoated and state-ofthe-art. The results show that selective coatings produce the best OVR thermal results, having the best results when the solar absorptance is as high as possible and the thermal emittance is as low as possible.

The simulation of the light flux density distribution on a receiver plays an important role in energy estimation, design and optimization of a heliostat field and the focusing strategy for a central receiver system (CRS). However, this simulation is a time-consuming procedure. In this paper, we propose a fast simulation method that fully exploits the tremendous rendering and parallel computing capacities of contemporary graphics processing units (GPUs). First, an auxiliary spatial data structure is employed to organize the heliostats in the field, and a parallel light beam traversal algorithm is designed and performed on the GPU to determine the shadowing and blocking heliostats for each reference heliostat. Then, the flux spot reflected by each heliostat on the receiver is computed using the HFLCAL model and accumulated for the final flux density distribution. Both the computing stage and accumulation stage are accomplished via GPU rendering pipeline. The proposed method is verified by taking the PS10 power plant as an example. Because this method considers both shadowing and blocking effects, the simulation results are consistent with those in the official report. Due to its high efficiency, the proposed method has potential applications in CRS design and optimization.

In this paper a methodology has been developed for optimum planning of hybrid PV, Wind and diesel generator system with some battery backup in Kirkuk Technical College in Iraq. The local solar radiation, wind data and components database from different manufactures are analyzed and simulated in HOMER model to assess the technical and economic viability of the integrated system. Performance of each component was evaluated and sensitivity analysis was performed to optimize the system at different conditions. Optimal hybrid model has been selected on the basis of cost associated with the system and reliability using HOMER. The optimal cost of energy from the proposed hybrid system is (0.154 $/ kWh.). Comparison was also made with the cost per kilowatt hour from the National grid.

However, the design, control, and optimization of the hybrid systems are usually very complex tasks; the stand-alone hybrid solar–diesel power generation system is recognized generally more suitable than systems that only have one energy source for supply of electricity to off-grid applications. A proposed PV system has been designed and optimized using HOMER software computer model to supply a potato cooled store in Kirkuk city in Iraq. The result obtained from the optimization gives the cost of energy (COE) is 0.639 US$/kWh with 2axis trucking system and 0.692 US$/kWh with no trucking system. Energy cost is 0.796 US$/kWh when the load is supplied by the diesel generator alone.

Climate change, environmental impact and the limited natural resources urge scientific research and novel technical solutions. The monograph series Green Energy and Technology serves as a publishing platform for scientific and technological approaches to "green"-i.e. environmentally friendly and sustainable-technologies. While a focus lies on energy and power supply, it also covers "green" solutions in industrial engineering and engineering design. Green Energy and Technology addresses researchers, advanced students, technical consultants as well as decision makers in industries and politics. Hence, the level of presentation spans from instructional to highly technical.

In the construction industry, sustainability is evaluated, not only in terms of harmful emissions generated during the operation phase, but also in terms of the embodied emissions belonging to building materials and technical equipment. As a consequence, the implementation of highly efficient building materials has become crucial. The objective of this study is to investigate an insulation system based on parallel air chambers embodied in rockwool panels, and to correlate the implications of its implementation compared to an existing insulation system. The analysis was conducted on the first administrative/public building completed in Romania, according to passive house standards. The study begins with experimental investigations of insulation systems under laboratory conditions. Thus, the influence of air layers on the thermal properties of existing rockwool panels was assessed. On the basis of the experimental results, the theoretical energy demand of the high school building and ...

The city of Aswan, located at the south of Egypt, is characterized by a very high level of solar density. The Solar Power Plant (SPT) technology using the Concentrated Solar Power Plant (CSP) is expected to soon enter the renewable energy field in Egypt. Fortunately, considerable amount of informat ion about the PS10, which is a co mmercial SPT of power 11 MW are availab le for performing considerable attractive analysis. A co mparative performance analysis is developed between the existing PS10 in Sanlúcar la Mayor-Spain, and a modified one of similar specifications located in Aswan. In this study, the PS10 So lar Po wer Tower systems (SPT) design-layout is revised to suit the solar data in Aswan. Accordingly, the location of each heliostat is reviewed, analysed and modified. The solar irradiance model and sunshine duration (solar hours) of the existing plant in Spain are co mpared to those in Aswan. The study includes optical and geometric analysis of both SPTs. The annual average efficiency and SPT performance values in the existing and intended power stations are compared. Su itable mod ifications are introduced in the SP10 to fit the conditions in Aswan according to the innovated field of the heliostats. The main objective of this study is to find the relative advantage of installation of the CSPs in Aswan compared to the other locations in the world. The innovated model of PS10 in Aswan is believed to be more pro mising than that of the original one in Spain.

IntroductionIn rainfed agricultural systems, sustainable and efficient water management practices are key to improved agricultural productivity and natural resource management. The agricultural system in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) relies heavily on the availability of rainfall. With the erratic and unreliable rainfall pattern associated with poor and fragile soils, agricultural productivity has remained very low over the years. Much of the SSA agricultural land has been degraded with low fertility as a result of ongoing cultivation and wind and water erosion. This has resulted in an increased food shortage due to the ever-increasing population and land degradation. Better agricultural and nutritional security are further hampered by the lack of reliable access to the available water resources in the subsurface hydrological system.MethodsThis study used socio-economic data from 112 farm households and Boolean and Fuzzy methods to understand farmers' perceptions and identify suitabl...

Climate change, environmental impact and the limited natural resources urge scientific research and novel technical solutions. The monograph series Green Energy and Technology serves as a publishing platform for scientific and technological approaches to "green"-i.e. environmentally friendly and sustainable-technologies. While a focus lies on energy and power supply, it also covers "green" solutions in industrial engineering and engineering design. Green Energy and Technology addresses researchers, advanced students, technical consultants as well as decision makers in industries and politics. Hence, the level of presentation spans from instructional to highly technical.

Submitted for the DFD16 Meeting of The American Physical Society Experimental validation of a solar-chimney power plant model NIMA FATHI, PATRICK WAYNE, IGNACIO TRUEBA MONJE, PETER VORO-BIEFF, University of New Mexico-In a solar chimney power plant system (SCPPS), the energy of buoyant hot air is converted to electrical energy. SCPPS includes a collector at ground level covered with a transparent roof. Solar radiation heats the air inside and the ground underneath. There is a tall chimney at the center of the collector, and a turbine located at the base of the chimney. Lack of detailed experimental data for validation is one of the important issues in modeling this type of power plants. We present a small-scale experimental prototype developed to perform validation analysis for modeling and simulation of SCCPS. Detailed velocity measurements are acquired using particle image velocimetry (PIV) at a prescribed Reynolds number. Convection is driven by a temperature-controlled hot plate at the bottom of the prototype. Velocity field data are used to perform validation analysis and measure any mismatch of the experimental results and the CFD data. CFD Code verification is also performed, to assess the uncertainly of the numerical model with respect to our grid and the applied mathematical model. The dimensionless output power of the prototype is calculated and compared with a recent analytical solution and the experimental results.

Renewable energy systems hold the key to a sustainable energy future, and at their core lies the pivotal influence of thermodynamics. This article comprehensively explores the fundamental thermodynamic principles that underpin renewable energy technologies, providing a robust foundation for understanding and optimizing their performance. In the context of renewable energy, temperature differentials drive energy flows, pressure and volume changes play crucial roles, and the conservation of energy is paramount. The Second Law of Thermodynamics, represented by entropy, guides the direction of natural processes within these systems. Exergy, a related concept, assesses the quality of energy within a system, facilitating efficiency evaluations. Renewable energy systems often operate on thermodynamic cycles, forming the basis for technologies like solar power plants and geothermal facilities. Heat transfer mechanisms, including conduction, convection, and radiation, are integral to these s...

In this study, a thermal analysis of a finned receiver prototype for a thermosolar tower system is presented. The experimental system consists of parallelepiped aluminum enclosure of 1.2 m high, 1.23 m wide and 0.1 m depth. At the interior, 1232 cylindrical fins with a diameter of 0.0095 m (3/8") and 0.09 m length increases the heat transfer area up to 225%. The vertical wall receives the incoming solar concentrated radiation from a group of heliostats whilst at the interior a constant flow of water removes the absorbed energy. Experimental temperature profiles were obtained at different heights and depths and a comparison was made with numerical results obtained with the use of commercial CFD software. It was found that the maximum thermal efficiency of the receiver was 94.4 %, decreasing as the radiative flux increases.

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The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. While the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication, neither the authors nor the editors nor the publisher can accept any legal responsibility for any errors or omissions that may be made. The publisher makes no warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein.

The exploitation of solar power for energy supply is of increasing importance. While technical development mainly takes place in the engineering disciplines, computer science offers adequate techniques for optimization. This work addresses the problem of finding an optimal heliostat field arrangement for a solar tower power plant. We propose a solution to this global, non-convex optimization problem by using an evolutionary algorithm. We show that the convergence rate of a conventional evolutionary algorithm is too slow, such that modifications of the recombination and mutation need to be tailored to the problem. This is achieved with a new genotype representation of the individuals. Experimental results show the applicability of our approach.

Flat volumetric receivers for central receiver tower (CRT) systems face two critical shortcomings: light spillage nearby the receiver and low exit air temperature due to suction of air in ambient condition. Here, a thorough design modification is proposed and analyzed to address both the issues by introducing a secondary optical addendum based on the principle of compound parabolic concentrator (CPC). As a case study, existing and modified designs of PS10 plant with flat heliostats are compared. For the same receiver, the modified plant increases the intercept efficiency by 6% whereas the incorporation of CPC augments the concentrated flux by 18%. A glass covered secondary optical element not only reduces operational difficulties due to absorber-soiling, but also provides an opportunity of heated air recirculation. If the heated air is partially recirculated, it can provide a control parameter, i.e. the air return ratio (ARR), by which the exit air temperature can be enhanced. It is demonstrated here that temperature as high as 1775 K is achievable for the modified PS10 plant when significant fraction of heated air is recirculated. Hence, the present study opens up optimization routes for CRT based plants based on limited area heliostat field and volumetric porous absorber through CPC based secondary optical element and fractional recirculation of heated air.

The paper gives a review of concentrating solar power technologies and shows their perspectives for sustainable development and climate protection. New concepts for the combined generation of power and water are presented together with instruments for enhanced project assessment using remote sensing technologies and geographic information systems. The vast solar energy resources of the South can be activated by international renewable energy alliances and allow for a smooth transition of the present electricity schemes to a sustainable power system based on renewable energy sources.

Renewable Energy Sources are still in continual progress to be used for electricity production, the most important of which is Concentrated Solar Energy, which has played a prominent role during the past years for electricity production. However, focusing on economic aspect remains important to ensure the implementation of these projects, as many countries focus on necessary cost of investing projects and electricity cost resulting from these modern technologies. In this study, we will present a survey and economic analysis of electricity production by concentrated solar energy in two technological systems: Stirling Dish, and Power Tower, and use an advanced electricity storage system, which is hydrogen production and storage. levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE) will be calculated in order to know the Total Electrical Cost of producing and storing electricity in this hybrid system as a function of Investment cost I t , Operation and maintenance cost (O&M), Interest price, and amount of Energy Produced. This system shows the possibility of application to produce electricity at low prices in terms of cost, as the cost of electricity produced from this hybrid system ranged between 0.112 and 0.172 $/kWh, which is a competitive cost that ensures the possibility of application and investment in addition to electricity production in sustainable and environmentally friendly methods.

When considering very large single-tower heliostat fields, the attenuation and spillage losses are growing with the distance to the central receiver. Therefore multi-tower configurations are modelled and investigated to find the thermo-economic optimal size of transition from single-to multi-tower plants. First a method of building a multi-tower layout is defined, second a criterion is set up to select which receiver an individual heliostat is instantaneously aiming at, and third the thermo-economic performance of a threetowers heliostat field is compared to that of an equivalent single-tower heliostat field. Subsequently, a sensitivity analysis and a thermo-economic optimisation are performed both on single-and multi-tower configurations to find the two energy/cost trade-off curves and their intersection, which gives the thermoeconomic optimum transition size from single-to multi-tower plants.

This article examines exergetic performance of an experimental TRS18 turbojet engine built in Anadolu University Faculty of Aeronautics and Astronautics Test-Cell Laboratory. In the analysis, engine performance parameters (pressure, temperature, fuel and airflow, thrust force) are taken from the test-cell measurement devices. At the end of the work, total exergy efficiency of the target drone engine is obtained to be 42%. For TRS18, exergy destruction rate is 0.872 MW in the combustor due to the physical and chemical exergy destruction. For maximum exergy, destruction rate is obtained to be 0.872 MW in the combustor due to the physical and chemical exergy destruction, while it is 1.21 MW for the total for the engine. Improvement rates (IP) for combustion chamber, compressor and turbine are calculated to be 0.34 MW, 0.0025 MW and 0.007 MW, respectively. As a conclusion, it is expected that results from this study can be useful to future design, research and experimental works related to small turbojets, auxiliary power units and target drone power systems.

This article examines exergetic performance of an experimental TRS18 turbojet engine built in Anadolu University Faculty of Aeronautics and Astronautics Test-Cell Laboratory. In the analysis, engine performance parameters (pressure, temperature, fuel and airflow, thrust force) are taken from the test-cell measurement devices. At the end of the work, total exergy efficiency of the target drone engine is obtained to be 42%. For TRS18, exergy destruction rate is 0.872 MW in the combustor due to the physical and chemical exergy destruction. For maximum exergy, destruction rate is obtained to be 0.872 MW in the combustor due to the physical and chemical exergy destruction, while it is 1.21 MW for the total for the engine. Improvement rates (IP) for combustion chamber, compressor and turbine are calculated to be 0.34 MW, 0.0025 MW and 0.007 MW, respectively. As a conclusion, it is expected that results from this study can be useful to future design, research and experimental works related to small turbojets, auxiliary power units and target drone power systems.

Usually hot springs spa and evaluation of district heating Southeastern Anatolia and Eastern Anatolia between 45 ° C and 125 ° C, less dense the population is not economically in the region. there is a great need for storage of excess energy which is cleaner than the energy produced from the fossil fuel power plants. This storage has facilitated the increasing penetration of storage technologies and primarily from renewable energy sources (RES). The efficienrt use of excess energy sources in today's electricity networks may minimize the threat of global warming and climate change. However, the cost of power output and storage of these energy sources should be considerable and easy to adjust to changing demand cycles as the current and future energy storage technologies used for energy. Model data trends observed in the average of approaches were examined and evaluated as a very well-parametric analysis of costs. It has been expanded by recent model costs. This risk analysis and plant construction, investors can provide insurance companies for risk assessment and decision-makers geothermal wells. Thus, the risk analysis will help in calculating the correct budgeting and insurance premiums. The overall objective of hybrid the parabolic dish CSP solar panels and geothermal energy is the presence of a hybrid geothermal system can be produced economically. Geothermal energy was started in the vast area to be searched, amended as a result of the research data, the field is narrowed down to investigate to direct heating of regional area. At the same time studies in the cost-benefit criterion it has been considered, and thus became the economic research work.

Total global renewable energy capacity has been increasing worldwide, i.e. doubled from 2007 to 2016. The main disadvantage of most renewable energy based plants is the lack of reliability for constant electricity production. Solar chimney is a renewable based plant with a power production of near zero during the night times. In this study, we have proposed a renewable integrated cycle by combining two plants and thereafter produce a reliable amount of electricity all the time. The proposed combination is achieved by injecting outlet air from the condensers of Tehran's waste to energy plant into the bottom of the chimney tower, just below the turbine. Tehran's average climate data for 12 months of the year is initially obtained and the Manzanares prototype is used for the solar chimney power plant model. The solar chimney power plant is simulated with 3D CFD simulation. The final power output of the solar chimney power plant reaches 20-70 kW and increased 20%-1200%, compared to the case without injection. This means power output of solar chimney power plant is at least 20 kW in the hottest night of the year with 5% relative humidity. We have concluded that by combining these renewable based plants, one of the most important solar chimney disadvantages could be removed.

The solar receiver is considered the cornerstone of the solar tower power system. In particular, it receives hightemperature heat flux rays, and extracts the maximum heat energy to be transferred to the heat transfer fluid, while minimising any thermal and mechanical stresses. Reducing the solar receiver size helps to reduce the loss of spillage; consequently, the thermal stress increases. Using a solar receiver with inserted triangular longitudinal fins enhances the heat transfer as well as strengthens the receiver tube. This study aims to optimise the number of fins, heat flux aiming point, heat transfer fluid, nanoparticle effect with molten salt as the base fluid, and type of receiver material. Non-uniform heat flux with the cosine and Gaussian effects have been considered. When the number of fins (N) increases, the maximum temperature (T max) decreases and the heat transfer is enhanced. When N ¼ 20, T max ¼ 656.4 K and when N ¼ 1, T max ¼ 683.55, while the efficiency for N ¼ 1 is greater by 3% compared to when N ¼ 20. The cosine distribution of heat flux has a higher maximum temperature than the Gaussian distribution by 29% and is 102% higher in receiver efficiency. The thermal efficiency when the heat flux is aimed at the middle point of the receiver is higher by 10% compared with a lower or upper aiming point. Using Al 2 O 3 nanoparticles with a concentration of 0.5 wt.% increases the thermal efficiency by 14% more than when using pure molten salt when Re ¼ 38000. Using liquid sodium is not required to monitor the peak heat flux, and by adding triangular fins the displacement and thermal stress are 6.5 % lower compared to a smooth receiver.