Heat transfer in a fluidized-bed solar thermal receiver

The authors investigated the use of a fluidized bed as a solar thermal receiver. A 0.3 m diameter, quartz-walled bed was designed, built, and tested at a 325 kW, solar thermal test facility. Various large-particle bed materials were tested, and we found that strong temperature gradients existed in the fluidized bed exposed to concentrated solar radiation. A heat transfer analysis is presented and effective bed thermal conductivities are estimated.