Effect of temperature on abrasion erosion in particle based concentrating solar powerplants

The use of solid particles as a heat transfer medium is being explored for concentrated solar power plants (CSP) to increase their efficiency by achieving operating temperature >700 degrees C. During operation, these hot particles are expected to move along the various components within the collector system, resulting in material degradation from a combination of high-temperature oxidation and erosion. In the present study, the performance of candidate materials was evaluated through a series of abrasion erosion experiments at room temperature as well as at 800 degrees C. Wear in metallic and refractory type materials was investigated using CarboBead (R) HSP 40/70 particles inside a resistance heated kiln. Cross-sectional scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS) analysis on the specimens tested at 800 degrees C determined that the specific wear rate in Inconel 740H and stainless steel 316 metallic specimens was influenced by the thermally grown oxide morphology. High chromium Inconel 740H specimens exhibited greater resistance to wear with a steady state specific wear rate of 1.92E-4 mm(3)N(-1)m(-1) compared to 5.7E-3 mm(3)N(-1)m(-1) for Stainless Steel 316.

Automated summary

This study evaluated the performance of candidate materials through abrasion erosion experiments, revealing that high-chromium Inconel 740H exhibits better wear resistance compared to stainless steel 316.