Radiation and Convection Heat Transfer in a Porous Bed

The one-dimensional steady-state temperature distribution within an isotropic porous bed subjected to a collimated and/or diffuse radiation heat flux and a transparent flowing fluid has been determined by numerical methods. The porous bed was assumed to be nonscattering and to have a constant absorption coefficient. Part of the radiation absorbed by the porous bed is reradiated and the remainder is transferred to the fluid by convection. Due to the assumed finite volumetric heat transfer coefficient, the bed and fluid have different temperatures. A bed with an optical depth of six and with a normal incident collimated radiation heat flux was investigated in detail. The radiation incident on the bed at the fluid exit was assumed to originate from a black surface at the fluid exit temperature. The investigation covered the range of incident diffuse and collimated radiation heat fluxes expected in a nonconcentrating solar energy collector. The results are presented in terms of a bed collection efficiency from which the fluid temperature rise can be calculated.