Numerical Analysis of a Solar-Powered Tube Heater

This paper evaluates the performance of a solar-powered tube heater that uses air impingement jets to heat steel tubes in the powder-based coating process. To evaluate the thermal performance of the tube heater, two numerical models, ANSYS FLUENT Dynamic Mesh (FDM) and ANSYS FLUENT Transient Thermal (FTT), were developed and their accuracy and computational efficiency were compared. The FDM model analyzed the heat transfer in the tube heater by simulating a moving steel tube with a steady heat source while the FTT model by simulating a steady steel tube with a moving heat source. Results showed the FDM model to be computationally more time and cost-efficient, requiring 4 processors and 4 days to run compared to the FTT model which required 40 processors and 31 days. On the other hand, the FDM model showed a more detailed temperature contour of the tube with higher temperatures on the edges due to air crossflow. However, this did not have any significant effect on the final average temperature of the tube which was found to reach 76oC by both models, consequently reducing the required load of the induction heater by 22% and the Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of the induction heater by 2.15 gCO2e/m.EU Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, Application of Solar Energy in Industrial processes (ASTEP), under grant agreement No 884411

Experimental validation of two numerical models of a solar-powered multiple air jets impingement tube heater

Abstract number 131 (https://more.bham.ac.uk/ukhtc-2024/programme/).This paper validates experimentally two numerical models of solar-powered tube heater that uses air impingement jets to heat steel tubes in the powder-based coating process as they move axially. A test rig is built to evaluate the thermal performance of the tube heater and validate both, its ANSYS FLUENT Dynamic Mesh model which simulated a moving target and ANSYS FLUENT Transient Thermal model which simulated a moving heat source. Results showed the experimental results to agree with those of the numerical models with an R2-value of 0.983-0.997 and error fit of 3-10% for tube velocities of 0.033-0.1 m/s.EU Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, Application of Solar Energy in Industrial processes (ASTEP), under grant agreement No 884411

Iron and the female athlete: a review of dietary treatment methods for improving iron status and exercise performance

Iron is a functional component of oxygen transport and energy production in humans and therefore is a critically important micronutrient for sport and exercise performance. Athletes, particularly female athletes participating in endurance sport, are at increased risk of compromised iron status due to heightened iron losses through menstruation and exercise-induced mechanisms associated with endurance activity. Conventionally oral iron supplementation is used in prevention or/and treatment of iron deficiency. However, this approach has been criticised because of the side effects and increased risk of iron toxicity associated with the use of supplements. Thus, more recently there has been a growing interest in using dietary modification rather than the use of supplements to improve iron status of athletes. Dietary iron treatment methods include the prescription of an iron-rich diet, or/and haem iron-based diet, dietary advice counselling and inclusion of novel iron-rich products into the daily diet. Although studies using dietary modification are still scarce, current literature suggests that dietary iron interventions can assist in maintaining iron status in female athletes, especially during intensive training and competition. Future research should focus on the most efficient method(s) of dietary modification for improvement of iron status and whether these approaches can have a favourable impact on sports and exercise performance.Department of Food & Tourism Management, Manchester Metropolitan University, U

The Use of Multiple Impingement Jets in a Solar-Powered Tube Heater for Decarbonization of the Steel Industry

The aim of this study is to numerically develop a novel tube heater that employs multiple impingement jets to effectively heat steel tubes and reduce the environmental impact of their powder-based coating process.EU Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, Application of Solar Energy in Industrial processes (ASTEP), under grant agreement No 884411 (https://astepproject.eu/)

Cereal-based dietary iron intervention for improvement of iron status in female runners

Poster presentation at The Nutrition Society Summer Meeting, Glasgow, UK, 14–17 July 2014, Carbohydrates in health: friends or foes

Review on the Economic Impacts of Solar Thermal Power Plants

Data availability: No data was used for the research described in the article.Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). A systematic literature review on the economic performance of solar thermal power plants including integrated solar combined cycle (ISCC) plants was conducted. A number of solar thermal technologies like parabolic trough (PT), solar tower (ST), linear Fresnel reflector (LFR) and solar dish (SD) were evaluated. The evaluation revealed that solar tower plants typically had the highest capital costs, followed by parabolic-trough and linear Fresnel plants. The results of the studies showed that at smaller capacities of 10–50 MW, PT plants achieved lower LCOE than ST plants, while at larger capacities of 100 MW and above, ST tend to have lower LCOE than PT. There was limited comparative studies on the economic performance of LFR and SD plants. Hence, future studies should focus on the economic impact of different solar thermal technologies including LFR and SD of various capacities using homogeneous modelling conditions. The economic performance of direct steam generation (DSG)-ISCC plants was compared to ISCC, combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) and conventional solar thermal plants and the results showed that DSG-ISCC plants achieved the lowest LCOE values. Studies also showed that in general, hybrid plants achieved lower LCOE than standalone solar thermal plants. LCOE and capital costs were the dominant financial metrics used in the literature, with very few studies using total life cycle cost, revenues, payback time and internal rate of return. Future studies should include these metrics in order to provide a comprehensive financial assessment of solar thermal power plants, enabling their economic performance to be compared with other renewable and non-renewable energy systems.EU Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, Application of Solar Thermal processes in Industrial Processes (ASTEP), under grant agreement No 884411

Proposal of a microchannel receiver for Fresnel technology to supply solar heat for industrial processes

Data availability: Data will be made available on request.Copyright © 2023 The Authors. This work is focused on the linear Fresnel technology to supply solar heat for industrial processes, proposing a new microchannel receiver design for pressurised gases. This design consists of two absorber panels converging at the focal line of the Fresnel system; each of these panels consists of a compact core fin structure attached to both front and back plates. The fluid flows through the receiver along its length in several passes, so that the compactness is constant and greater than in the previous pass. This arrangement improves heat transfer and, therefore, the cooling of the more thermally stressed areas of the panel, without over penalising the pressure drop. A thermal resistance model has been formulated to quantify the fluid heating along the panel length and the thermal gradient along the panel thickness. This model has been used to perform a thermo-exergy optimisation based on several characteristic parameters: the aperture half-angle of the cavity shaped by the two converging panels; and the channels dimensions in each pass of the panel. For each of these parameters, a maximum exergy efficiency has been obtained accounting for the receiver heat losses, the fluid pressure drop and the optical performance of the primary mirror field.This work has been developed in the frame of the ASTEP project, funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research programme under grant agreement N°884411

Environmental impact of cool roof paint: case-study of house retrofit in two hot islands

SMART GEMS; EPSRC DTP of Brunel University Londo

Integration and Simulation of Solar Thermal Energy to Diary Processes

This conference paper was presented at SolarPACES: SOLAR POWER & CHEMICAL ENERGY SYSTEMS: 27th International Conference on Concentrating Solar Power and Chemical Energy Systems 27 September–1 October 2021, Online.The application of the Solar Thermal Energy (STEn) systems to the dairy processes have shown a great potential for reducing fossil fuels use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. There are thirty- three STEn systems currently operating in the dairy industries worldwide providing temperatures from 140 oC to 200 oC that are mainly used for the heating purposes in the processes like pasteurization, preheating, and cleaning. The challenges of those systems include various operational issues such as shad and unoptimized equipment that affect the performance of the collector, tracking and control systems and other apparatus that could be overcome by a preliminary analysis of the dairy plant’s thermal load and use of integrated STEn systems. This study relates to a case study of the dairy industry, analyses the current thermal and cooling demands for production of skimmed milk, yogurt and cream, recommends two new scenarios for the integration and simulation of the STEn systems and evaluates the potential the process optimization. The Specific Energy Consumption (SEC) for each product and operational capacity requirement for the current and simulated processes are calculated and the most technically efficient solution considered.EU Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, Application of Solar Energy in Industrial processes (ASTEP), under grant agreement No 884411

An investigation of the recent advances of the integration of solar thermal energy systems to the dairy processes

Data availability: No data was used for the research described in the article.Copyright © 2022 The Authors. The dairy industry uses a number of energy intensive thermal processes like cooling, heating and cleaning that require thermal and electrical energy. Those processes use temperatures between 4 °C and 200 °C that could be potentially powered using solar thermal energy but one of the main challenges is the complexity of selection and integration of the components used for the solar system such as solar collectors, solar heating and cooling equipment. The heating processes with the temperature requirements between 300 °C and 400 °C are mainly powered using solar parabolic trough collectors and linear Fresnel reflectors while cooling processes with solar absorption chillers. The excesses of energy of above 200 °C could be stored in a thermal energy storage system. This study critically evaluates the thermal demands of the dairy processes, reviews their existing solar thermal applications and recommends a concept design for solar thermal energy integration based on the available data. The concept design includes connection of the solar collectors and thermal energy storage to the thermal energy supply line through the absorption chiller and steam drum. The benefits comprise flexibility of the heat transfer fluid selection, independency of solar energy production to conventional production and no further modification of the conventional production system or additional capacity to support the future upgrades are required.EU Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 884411