Machine learning for high temperature solar receivers – SOLAIRE

The SOLAIRE project concerns the application field of high-efficiency concentrated solar power (CSP) plants using pressurized air Solar Receivers (SR) at very high temperature around 1000 ° C (the temperature of the heat transfer fluids of current commercial CSP is below 565 ° C). To achieve these temperatures, the key component of CSP is the SR which converts solar energy into thermal energy and transfers it to the heat transfer fluid. PROMES develops surface SR. Concentrated solar radiation is received by a single wall (the other wall is thermally insulated). This asymmetric heating creates a strong temperature gradient that modifies the turbulent flow. The strong velocity/temperature coupling requires adapted turbulence and thermal models. The SOLAIRE project offers knowledge and optimization of heat transfers based on the understanding of the velocity/temperature coupling as well as on the control of near-wall turbulence.