Abstract

The numerical evaluation of the radiative heat transfer in a multichanneled solar reactor coated with ZnFe2O4 thin-film is performed by using a channel-level simulation. A ray-tracing simulation of a 25 kW solar furnace allows obtaining the radiation distribution at each channel aperture. Then a Monte Carlo ray tracing is performed to analyze the radiative heat transfer on the monolith to optimize the channel-level geometry and film thickness for maximum absorptance and more homogeneous temperature distributions. The model considers the optical properties of ZnFe2O4 films deposited on zirconia substrate, obtained through the characteristic matrix method. This approach allows accounting for important reactor design parameters and operational conditions, such as ZnFe2O4 layer thickness, incoming radiation profile, diameter and length of pores and position of the monolith in the focal zone of the solar furnace.