Experimental methodology to calculate thermal losses of a molten salt cavity receiver

We report experimental results on the Integrated Storage and Receiver (ISTORE) designed and commissioned at the Platform for Research, Observation, and TEchnological Applications in Solar Energy (PROTEAS), Cyprus. These first experiments were aimed at gaining a detailed understanding of the ISTORE heat loss during operation and the validation of the detailed modeling of the system. Specifically, heat losses caused by ISTORE imperfect insulation and heat losses from the cavity volume via its aperture due to air convection and radiation were examined. Experimental and CFD simulation results are compared and good agreement is shown. The described methodology and modeling will be used for the design of future ISTORE devices.We report experimental results on the Integrated Storage and Receiver (ISTORE) designed and commissioned at the Platform for Research, Observation, and TEchnological Applications in Solar Energy (PROTEAS), Cyprus. These first experiments were aimed at gaining a detailed understanding of the ISTORE heat loss during operation and the validation of the detailed modeling of the system. Specifically, heat losses caused by ISTORE imperfect insulation and heat losses from the cavity volume via its aperture due to air convection and radiation were examined. Experimental and CFD simulation results are compared and good agreement is shown. The described methodology and modeling will be used for the design of future ISTORE devices.