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Advanced Solar Thermal Technology
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Advanced Solar Thermal Technology

A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "A2: Solar Energy and Photovoltaic Systems".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (16 October 2024) | Viewed by 2688

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Rosa Christodoulaki

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Centre for Renewable Energy Sources and Saving, Solar Thermal Systems Department, 19009 Pikermi Hellas, Greece
Interests: solar thermal collectors; solar thermal systems; compact thermal energy storage; heating and cooling
Prof. Dr. Irene P. Koronaki

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Laboratory of Applied Thermodynamics, School of Mechanical Engineering, Thermal Engineering Section, National Technical University of Athens, Heroon Polytechneiou 9, Zografou Campus, 15780 Athens, Greece
Interests: thermodynamics; energy efficiency; renewable energy sources
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We cordially invite you to submit your original work to this Special Issue of Energies entitled “Advanced Solar Thermal Technology”.

Heat is the largest energy end-use, accounting for 50% of global final energy consumption and contributing to 40% of global carbon dioxide emissions. Of the total heat consumed every year, the 46% is consumed at relatively low temperatures, for space and water heating. Moreover, space cooling and air-conditioning accounts for almost 20% of the total electricity demand in buildings worldwide and by 2050, this demand will increase, reaching almost 30%. At the same time, the continents set goals to radically reduce greenhouse emissions and to reach climate neutrality.

Renewable heating and cooling solutions are therefore, the only way to cover these increasing demands without burdening the environment. Solar thermal technology takes precedence, since it efficiently produces heat, at a variety of temperatures. 

The aim of this Special Issue is to showcase the advances in Solar Thermal Technology in terms of theoretical, experimental and economic studies and to provide a deeper understanding of contemporary trends. Topics of interest for this publication include, but are not limited to:

  • Solar thermal collectors (materials, heat transfer fluids, absorber technology, design, performance analysis)
  • Solar thermal systems for heating, cooling and/or steam production
  • Compact thermal energy storage (phase change materials, tank design)
  • Smart control systems, real-time monitoring
  • Hybridisation of solar thermal systems with biomass, heat pumps and/or other technology as a holistic solution for the heating and cooling loads
  • Case studies of innovative applications
  • Environmental footprint of solar thermal collectors and systems
  • Solar thermal systems use in district heating, energy cooperatives, ESCOs

Creative extensions of the abovementioned topics are also welcome.

Dr. Rosa Christodoulaki
Prof. Dr. Irene P. Koronaki
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Energies is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • solar thermal collectors
  • solar thermal systems
  • compact thermal energy storage
  • heating and cooling
  • district heating
  • performance assessment of solar thermal systems

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 3383 KiB  
Article
Numerical Investigation on the Solar Absorption Performance of Plasmonic Nanoparticles in the Focused Electric Field
by Xueqing Zhang, Fengwu Bai, Xuesong Zhang, Tengyue Wang and Zhifeng Wang
Energies 2024, 17(9), 2138; https://doi.org/10.3390/en17092138 - 30 Apr 2024
Viewed by 889
Abstract
Planar light concentrators are potential applications for solar thermal conversion, in which the intensity of the electric field will exhibit strongly non-uniform characteristics. However, previous research has long ignored the solar absorption performance of plasmonic nanoparticles in the focused electric field. In this [...] Read more.
Planar light concentrators are potential applications for solar thermal conversion, in which the intensity of the electric field will exhibit strongly non-uniform characteristics. However, previous research has long ignored the solar absorption performance of plasmonic nanoparticles in the focused electric field. In this work, we use the finite element method (FEM) to study the optical behaviors of a single nanoparticle and multiple nanoparticles in the focused electric field formed by vertically and inwardly imposing the initial incident light on a quarter cylindrical surface. The results show that the focused electric field can significantly improve the solar absorption abilities compared with the parallel one for all the nanoparticles due to the local near-electric field enhancement caused by the aggregation of the free electrons on the smaller zone. Further studies on the focused electric field reveal that the plasmon heating behavior of Au spheres presents a rising trend with the decrease in inter-particle spacing, as the gap is less than the radius of Au spheres. As the number of nanoparticles increases along the focal line, the absorption power of the center nanoparticles gradually tends to be stable, and it is much lower than that of a single nanoparticle. As the nanoparticles are arranged along the y and z directions, the heterogeneity of the electric field makes the optical properties uneven. Notably, the strongest electric field appears slightly close to the incident surface rather than on the focal line. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Solar Thermal Technology)
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18 pages, 5611 KiB  
Article
Experimental and Numerical Evaluation of Solar Receiver Heat Losses of a Commercial 9 MWe Linear Fresnel Power Plant
by Edouard Montanet, Sylvain Rodat, Quentin Falcoz and Fabien Roget
Energies 2023, 16(23), 7912; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16237912 - 4 Dec 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1147
Abstract
Evaluating the heat losses of linear Fresnel concentrator (LFC) receivers is crucial for determining plant efficiency and managing the flow rate in solar lines. This becomes particularly significant when operating in direct steam generation to manage the steam quality at the line outlet. [...] Read more.
Evaluating the heat losses of linear Fresnel concentrator (LFC) receivers is crucial for determining plant efficiency and managing the flow rate in solar lines. This becomes particularly significant when operating in direct steam generation to manage the steam quality at the line outlet. In general, the LFC receiver heat losses are determined experimentally on prototype systems to control the inlet condition or numerically using 3D computational fluid dynamics models or 1D mathematical models. The originality of this work is in reporting the study of heat losses of a commercial 9 MWe solar Fresnel power plant without impacting its electricity production. The experimentally measured receiver’s linear heat losses were found to be well represented by a second-degree polynomial function of the difference between the inlet/outlet fluid temperature average and the ambient temperature. Finally, to express the strong influence of wind speed on the receiver heat losses, a 1D single-phase model was developed and adapted to include the current receiver degradation. To conclude, the model was validated by comparing the experimental and theoretical results. Based on this comparison, it can be concluded that the model accurately predicts experimental heat losses with an acceptable uncertainty of ±30%, regardless of the wind velocity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Solar Thermal Technology)
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