Comprehensive Parametric Analysis and Sensitivity Study of Latent Heat Thermal Energy Storage System in Concentrated Solar Power Plants

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hermes Chirino ◽  
Ben Xu
Keyword(s):  
Energy Storage ◽  
Latent Heat ◽  
Parameter Space ◽  
Thermal Energy ◽  
Thermal Energy Storage ◽  
Parametric Analysis ◽  
Sensitivity Study ◽  
Storage Efficiency ◽  
Concentrated Solar Power ◽  
Energy Storage Efficiency

Compared to Solar Photovoltaics (PV), Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) can store the excess solar thermal energy, extend the power generation at night and cloudy days, and levelize the mismatch between energy demand and supply. To make CSP competitive, Thermal Energy Storage (TES) system filled with phase change material (PCM) is a promising indirect energy storage technique, compared to the TES system using concrete or river rocks. It is of great interests to solar thermal community to apply the latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES) system for large scale CSP application, because PCMs can store more thermal energy due to the latent heat during the melting/freezing process. Therefore, a comprehensive parametric analysis of LHTES system is necessary in order to improve its systematic performance, since LHTES system has a relatively low energy storage efficiency compared to TES systems using sensible materials. In this study, an 11-dimensionless-parameter space of LHTES system was developed, by considering only the technical constraints (materials properties and operation parameters), instead of economic constraints. Then the parametric analysis was performed based on a 1D enthalpy-based transient model, and the energy storage efficiency was used as the objective function to minimize the number of variables in the parameter space. It was found that Stanton number (St), PCM radius (r), and void fraction (ε) are the three most important ones. The sensitivity study was conducted then based on the three dimensionless-parameter space which will significantly influence the system performance. The results of this study make LHTES system competitive with TES system using sensible materials in terms of energy storage efficiency.

scholarly journals Si3N4 nanofelts/paraffin composites as novel thermal energy storage architecture

2020 ◽  
Vol 56 (2) ◽  
pp. 1537-1550
Author(s):  
Francesco Valentini ◽  
Andrea Dorigato ◽  
Alessandro Pegoretti ◽  
Michele Tomasi ◽  
Gian D. Sorarù ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Energy Storage ◽  
Thermal Energy ◽  
Thermal Energy Storage ◽  
Composite Structures ◽  
Liquid Paraffin ◽  
Stored Energy ◽  
Storage Efficiency ◽  
Novel Material ◽  
Energy Storage Efficiency ◽  
Change Material

Abstract The environmental problems associated with global warming are urging the development of novel systems to manage and reduce the energy consumption. An attractive route to improve the energy efficiency of civil buildings is to store the thermal energy thanks, during heating, to the phase transition of a phase-change material (as paraffin) from the solid to the liquid state and vice versa. The stored energy can be then released under cooling. Herein, we developed a novel material (nanofelt) constituted by Si3N4 nanobelts able to absorb huge amounts of liquid paraffin in the molten state and to act as an efficient shape stabilizer. The nanofelt manufacturing technology is very simple and easy to be scaled-up. The effect of the Si3N4 nanofelts density and microstructure on the paraffin sorption and leakage and on the thermal properties of the resulting composite structures is investigated. It is shown that the produced Si3N4/paraffin composites are able to retain enormous fractions of paraffin (up to 70 wt%) after 44 day of desorption test on absorbent paper towel. The thermal energy storage efficiency measured through calorimetric tests is as high as 77.4% in heating and 80.1% in cooling.

A Review of Latent Heat Thermal Energy Storage for Concentrated Solar Plants onthe Grid

2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Flores
Keyword(s):  
Energy Storage ◽  
Latent Heat ◽  
Thermal Energy ◽  
Thermal Energy Storage ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Concentrated Solar Power ◽  
Renewable Source ◽  
Solar Power Plants ◽  
Reducing Costs ◽  
Concentrated Solar Power Plants

Thermal Energy Storage has improved the dispatch ability of Concentrated Solar Power Plants(CSP), a renewable source of energy on the grid. Furthermore, Latent heat Thermal Energy Storage(LTES)shows potential as a storage technology by further reducing costs and improving eciencyfor CSP plants. This papers reviews the goals for LTES, the developments in phase change materialsfor LTES, the types of system congurations possible, and the challenges that LTES face. Fromthe scientic literature available, LTES systems can meet TES goals, and research is progressing inmaking it a scalable technology for CSP plants.

Parametric Study and Sensitivity Analysis of Latent Heat Thermal Energy Storage System in Concentrated Solar Power Plants

2019 ◽  
Vol 141 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hermes Chirino ◽  
Ben Xu
Keyword(s):  
Sensitivity Analysis ◽  
Energy Storage ◽  
Latent Heat ◽  
Thermal Energy ◽  
Thermal Energy Storage ◽  
Parametric Study ◽  
Solar Thermal ◽  
Thermal Engineering ◽  
Concentrated Solar Power ◽  
Dimensionless Parameters

Compared to solar photovoltaics, concentrated solar power (CSP) can store excessive solar thermal energy, extend the power generation, and levelize the mismatch between the demand and supply. Thermal energy storage (TES) system filled with phase change material (PCM) is a key to make CSP competitive, and it is also a promising indirect energy storage technique. It is of great interests to the solar thermal engineering community to apply the latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES) system for large-scale CSP application, because PCMs can store more energy due to the latent heat during the melting/freezing process. Therefore, a comprehensive parametric analysis of LHTES system is necessary in order to identify the most sensitive ranges of various parameters to design the LHTES system with better systematic performances. In this study, unlike the existing parametric study based on dimensional parameters, we aimed to provide a more general analysis using dimensionless parameters; therefore, an 11-dimensionless-parameter space of LHTES system was developed, by considering the technical constraints (material properties and operation parameters), without economic constraints. The parametric study and sensitivity analysis were then performed based on a 1D enthalpy-based transient model, and the energy storage efficiency was used as the objective function to minimize the number of variables in the parameter space. It was found that Stanton number (St), dimensionless PCM radius (r/D), and void fraction (ε) are the three most important dimensionless parameters. It is expected that the discovery of this study can bring more discussions in the solar thermal engineering community about the implementation of LHTES system in CSP plant, to further explore the significances of these three dimensionless parameters to the operation of the LHTES system.

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