Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is a powerful numerical analysis approach in solving various engineering and environment problems. It is a simulation technique that uses numerical equations and digital computers for iterative methods to model and to predict various heat, mass, and momentum transfer and fluid flow problems for the optimization of designs. Concentrated solar power (CSP) is a promising technology for harnessing and utilizing a clean and sustainable source of energy. CSP consists of a solar concentrator that collects and intensifies the heat energy from the Sun and a solar receiver that converts the heat generated to produce electrical energy.





Figure 3. The semantic network of the keywords and authors based on the Scopus search keywords “computational fluid dynamics” and “solar dish” or “parabolic dish” (1 December 2020).| References | Collector Size (mm) | Collector Reflectivity | Solar Irradiance (W/m | 2 | ) | Receiver Type | Receiver Size (mm) | Tube Size (mm) | Receiver Material |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [24] | [16] | - | 0.8 | 1000 | rectangular with helical pipe | - | - | highly oxidized stainless steel at 1000 K | |
| [25] | [17] | - | 0.95 | 500–1000 | cylindrical with helical tube | dr = 200, L = 300 | dt = 8 | steel with copper tube | |
| [26] | [18] | - | 0.95 | 800 | cylindrical porous volumetric receiver | dr = 50, L = 50 | 3 (pore size) | open-cell SiC ceramic foam absorber | |
| [27] | [19] | - | - | - | square porous absorber module | s = 10 × 10, L = 40 | - | ||
| [28] | [20] | D = 5060 * f = 3200 |
0.9 | 1000 | conical with built-in helical pipe | dmax = 460 L = 170–630 Loop no. = 4–15 |
dt = 42 | 304 stainless steel (pipe and outer cover) | |
| [29] | [21] | D = 1120 f = 700 |
0.95 | 800 | cylindrical porous volumetric receiver | dr = 50, L = 50 | 3 (pore size) | open-cell SiC ceramic foam absorber | |
| [30] | [22] | S = 1600 (square) | 0.92 | 826 | conical with helical tube | dmax = 38, L = 50 | - | Inconel sheets coated with Pyromark 2500 paint | |
| [31] | [23] | D = 2880 f = 1500 |
0.75 | 787 | cylindrical with helically baffled cavity | dr = 200, L = 400 | - | carbon steel | |
| [32] | [24] | - | - | - | porous volumetric solar receiver | - | - | SiC ceramic foam absorber | |
| [33] | [25] | - | - | - | cylinder with hollowed cylindrical cavity zoom with U-shaped air channel | dr = 290, L = 320 | w × t = 68 × 4 | ||
| [34] | [26] | D = 200 | 0.737 | 800 | porous volumetric solar receiver | - | 4 (pore size) porosity = 85% | SiSiC open cell foam absorber | |
| [35] | [27] | - | - | 500 | cylindrical container with 12 U-tubes | dr = 380, L = 440 | dt = 15 | Silicon Carbide (SiC) | |
| [36] | [28] | D = 5000 f = 1840 |
- | - | conical | dr = 300, L = 710 | - | ||
| [37] | [29] | D = 1000 | - | - | cylindrical, conical, and spherical with helical tube | dr = 200, L = 250 dr = 200, L = 354.3 dr = 200, L = 218 |
dt = 10 | copper tube | |
| [38] | [30] | D = 1000 to 5000 | - | 500–1000 | cylindrical, conical, and spherical with helical tube | dr = 225, L = 235 dr = 225, L = 240 d r= 225, L = 257 |
dt = 19 | copper tube | |
| [39] | [31] | D = 1000 f = 455–555 |
0.95 | 525 | cylindrical, conical, and spherical with helical tube | dr = 200, L = 250 dr = 200, L = 354.3 dr = 200, L = 218 |
dt = 20 | copper tube | |
| [40] | [32] | D = 3800 f = 2260 |
0.98 | 800 | flat circular disk with spiral coil receiver | dmax = 404 | dt = 9.3 | ||
| [41] | [33] | - | - | 906 | porous volumetric solar receiver | dr = 145.3 | 4 (cell diameter) 81.1% (porosity) |
open-cell SiC ceramic foam absorber | |
| [42] | [34] | - | - | - | cylindrical dish receiver | - | - | ||
| [43] | [35] | f = 13,100 A = 425 m | 2 | - | - | - | - | ||
| [20] | [36] | - | 0.95 | 1000 | shallow semi-ellipsoidal receiver, hemispherical, deep semi-ellipsoidal receiver | - | - | ||
| [44] | [37] | - | - | - | hemispherical with spiral tubes | copper tube | |||
| [18] | [38] | - | - | - | cylindrical with helical tube | dr = 330, L = 500 | dt = 9 | copper tube coated with polyurethane |

Figure 4. The maximum thermal efficiency of different types of solar dish receiver: (1) Craig et al. [24][16], (2) Zhang et al. [28][20], (3) Daabo et al. [38][30], (4–6) Daabo et al. [39][31], (7) Barreto et al. [26][18], (8) Barreto et al. [29][21], (9) Aichmayer et al. [34][26], (10) Aichmayer et al. [41][33], (11) Soltani et al. [31][23], (12) Giovannelli & Bashir [35][27], (13) Li et al. [20][36].