The solar central receiver is the most crucial part of a solar tower power plant (CSP). In this study, a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) framework was used for analysing four circular designs (with same surface area and mass flow rate of heat transfer fluid) of the central tower receiver. In this study, a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) framework was developed for analyzing four circular (stain steel) designs of the central tower receiver, namely, a circular constant tube diameter (CCD), a circular vertical constant tube diameter solar receiver (CUTD), a circular variable tube diameter (CVTD) receiver and a leaf type circular solar receiver (LTSR). This analysis studied the solar radiation heat transfer efficiency, temperature distribution, and fluid outlet temperature; pressure and velocity distributions for the designs using CFD. It was found that the LTSR design helped achieve a higher rise in temperature of the heat transfer fluid (HTF) when the mass flow rate was in the range of 0.1 to 0.2 liter per minute. The LSTR model of circular receiver was more efficient in heat transfer circular receiver designs compared with other circular designs for same surface area and strength of solar beam irradiations. © 2022 International Information and Engineering Technology Association. All rights reserved.