NUMERICAL INVESTIGATION OF LUNAR REGOLITH THERMAL ENERGY STORAGE IN A LUNAR BASED SOLAR THERMAL POWER SYSTEM

Author(s):  
Xiaochen Lu ◽  
Wei Yao ◽  
Rong Ma ◽  
Chao Wang
2014 ◽  
Vol 137 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rafael Guédez ◽  
James Spelling ◽  
Björn Laumert

The operation of steam turbine units in solar thermal power plants is very different than in conventional base-load plants. Due to the variability of the solar resource, much higher frequencies of plant start-ups are encountered. This study provides an insight to the influence of thermal energy storage (TES) integration on the typical cycling operation of solar thermal power plants. It is demonstrated that the integration of storage leads to significant reductions in the annual number of turbine starts and is thus beneficial to the turbine lifetime. At the same time, the effects of storage integration on the electricity costs are analyzed to ensure that the designs remain economically competitive. Large storage capacities, can allow the plant to be shifted from a daily starting regime to one where less than 20 plant starts occur annually. Additionally, the concept of equivalent operating hours (EOHs) is used to further analyze the direct impact of storage integration on the maintenance planning of the turbine units.


Author(s):  
Louis A. Tse ◽  
Richard E. Wirz ◽  
Adrienne S. Lavine

This paper examines the economic benefits of various operation strategies for a thermal energy storage (TES) system in a solar thermal power plant. A thermodynamic model developed to evaluate different design options has been utilized to calculate system performance and assess the impact of operation strategies, storage capacity, and market prices on the value of TES. The overall performance is also investigated through several parametric studies, such as solar multiple, geographic location, and choice of HTF. The influence of these parameters has been evaluated in consideration of exergy destruction due to heat transfer and pressure drop. By incorporating exergy-based optimization alongside traditional energy analyses, the results of this study evaluate the optimal values for key parameters in the design and operation of TES systems, as well as highlight opportunities to minimize thermodynamic losses. Annual performance for each case is characterized both by nominal and part-load efficiency. Levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) is calculated for all cases, illustrating a set of optimal parameters that yield a minimum LCOE value.


2012 ◽  
Vol 100 (2) ◽  
pp. 516-524 ◽  
Author(s):  
Doerte Laing ◽  
Carsten Bahl ◽  
Thomas Bauer ◽  
Michael Fiss ◽  
Nils Breidenbach ◽  
...  

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