Hafnium and tantalum carbides for high temperature solar receivers

Abstract

Solar thermal technology is a safe, sustainable, and cost-effective energy SUPPL.y. The present paper reports on the comparative high-temperature emissivity characterization of hafnium and tantalum carbide ultra-high temperature ceramics to evaluate their potential as novel absorbing materials for concentrating solar power plants. For a more meaningful property assessment, ultra-high temperature ceramic samples have been compared also with silicon carbide, a material already used in volumetric solar receivers. © 2011 American Institute of Physics.