Linear Receiver or Heat Collection Element

The receiver is a 4-meter-long, 70-mm diameter stainless steel tube with a special solar-selective absorber surface, surrounded by an anti-reflective evacuated 115-mm diameter glass tube. Located at the mirror focal line of the parabola, the receiver heats a special heat transfer fluid as it circulates through the receiver tube.

The receiver has glass-to-metal seals and metal bellows to accommodate for differing thermal expansions between the steel tubing and the glass envelop. They also help achieve the necessary vacuum-tight enclosure.

The vacuum-tight enclosure primarily serves to significantly reduce heat losses at high-operating temperatures. It also protects the solar-selective absorber surface from oxidation.

The selective coating on the steel tube has good solar absorption and a low thermal emittance for reducing thermal radiation losses. The glass cylinder features an anti-reflective coating to maximize the solar transmittance. Getters—metallic compounds designed to absorb gas molecules—are installed in the vacuum space to absorb hydrogen and other gases that permeate into the vacuum annulus over time.

The original Luz receiver design suffered from poor reliability of the glass-to-metal seal. Solel Solar Systems and Schott Glass have developed newer designs that have substantially improved:

  • Receiver reliability
  • Optical and thermal performance
  • The lifetime of receivers.
Solar Thermal Space Heating Comodo
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