Fractal volumetric receiver

Figure below shows a novel hierarchically-layered fractal-like volumetric absorber, designed to be employed in high temperature concentrating solar power applications, as imported in Tonatiuh++ in the focal region of a parabolic dish. The possibility of importing .obj files offers advanced simulation possibilities for complex geometries that cannot represented with analytical functions. The novel hierarchically-layered fractal-like volumetric absorber shown in Figure below is designed to be employed in high temperature concentrating solar power applications [1]. The Figure shows the receiver as imported in Tonatiuh++ in the focal region of a parabolic dish.

For importing a component as a CAD .obj geometry, the user needs to simply include the .obj file of the geometry in the same folder of the Tonatiuh++ project. To import the file, on a new Shape select the Mesh value for the shapeRT parameter as shown below. This will prompt for a file below. In the value for the file write the name of the .obj file as ''fractal_receive.obj'' and press enter. This will load in the CAD geometry associated with the .obj file.

When imported, the user can set the optical characteristics of the surface and perform simulations.

References [1] S. Luque, G. Menéndez, M. Roccabruna, J. González-Aguilar, L. Crema, and M. Romero. Exploiting volumetric effects in novel additively manufactured open solar receivers. Solar Energy, 174:342 – 351, 2018. ISSN2580038-092X. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2018.09.030.