Review of thermal energy storage for air conditioning systems

Thermal energy storage is very important to eradicate the discrepancy between energy supply and energy demand and to improve the energy efficiency of solar energy systems. Latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES) is more useful than sensible energy storage due to the high storage capacity per unit volume/mass at nearly constant temperatures. This review presents the previous works on thermal energy storage used for air conditioning systems and the application of phase change materials (PCMs) in different parts of the air conditioning networks, air distribution network, chilled water network, microencapsulated slurries, thermal power and heat rejection of the absorption cooling. Recently, researchers studied the heat transfer enhancement of the thermal energy storage with PCMs because most phase change materials have low thermal conductivity, which causes a long time for charging and discharging process. It is expected that the design of latent heat thermal energy storage will reduce the cost and the volume of air conditioning systems and networks.     

Flywheel energy and power storage systems

For ages flywheels have been used to achieve smooth operation of machines. The early models where purely mechanical consisting of only a stone wheel attached to an axle. Nowadays flywheels are complex constructions where energy is stored mechanically and transferred to and from the flywheel by an integrated motor/generator. The stone wheel has been replaced by a steel or composite rotor and magnetic bearings have been introduced. Today flywheels are used as supplementary UPS storage at several industries world over. Future applications span a wide range including electric vehicles, intermediate storage for renewable energy generation and direct grid applications from power quality issues to offering an alternative to strengthening transmission.One of the key issues for viable flywheel construction is a high overall efficiency, hence a reduction of the total losses. By increasing the voltage, current losses are decreased and otherwise necessary transformer steps become redundant. So far flywheels over 10 kV have not been constructed, mainly due to isolation problems associated with high voltage, but also because of limitations in the power electronics. Recent progress in semi-conductor technology enables faster switching and lower costs. The predominant part of prior studies have been directed towards optimising mechanical issues whereas the electro technical part now seem to show great potential for improvement. An overview of flywheel technology and previous projects are presented and moreover a 200 kW flywheel using high voltage technology is simulated.     

Review of flywheel energy storage systems for wind power applications

风力发电可以解决能源短缺和环境污染等问题,但由于风速随机性和间歇性的特点导致风电输出电压、功率和频率存在较大波动,因此风电的大规模并网会对现有电网的稳定运行造成不利影响。飞轮储能是一种高效无污染的储能技术,而且通过合理的控制策略和控制设备可实现电网调频及短时间调峰以解决大规模风电并网带来的问题。本文主要介绍了飞轮储能在风力发电领域的应用背景、飞轮储能的结构原理和目前国内外在飞轮储能控制策略方向的研究进展。     

Pebble bed-oil thermal energy storage for solar thermo-electric power systems

Results of a study to examine the operating characteristics of a 100 kWh thermal energy storage (TES) system suitable for solar thermo electric applications is described. The system chosen consisted of a pebble bed as the primary storage medium and oil as the heat transfer cum storage medium. The operating temperatures considered were between 230 and 250°C with a 20 deg C swing. A full-size unit consisting of a steel tank of volume 10 m³ with 50 mm pebbles, suitable instrumentation and facility for heating the oil was built. The important operating variables and characteristics of the system studied included the transient behaviour of the bed, namely the thermal wave front characteristics. Results of the theoretical analysis of the transient bed behaviour were compared with the experimental data on the wave front propogation characteristics and the comparisons are discussed. The uniformity of flow distribution is also examined.     

Dynamic modeling and sizing optimization of stand-alone photovoltaic power systems using hybrid energy storage technology

Economic and environmental concerns over fossil fuels encourage the development of photovoltaic (PV) energy systems. Due to the intermittent nature of solar energy, energy storage is needed in a stand-alone PV system for the purpose of ensuring continuous power flow. Three stand-alone photovoltaic power systems using different energy storage technologies are studied in this paper. Key components including PV modules, fuel cells, electrolyzers, compressors, hydrogen tanks and batteries are modeled in a clear way so as to facilitate the evaluation of the power systems. Based on energy storage technology, a method of ascertaining minimal system configuration is designed to perform the sizing optimization and reveal the correlations between the system cost and the system efficiency. The three hybrid power systems, i.e., photovoltaic/battery (PV/Battery) system, photovoltaic/fuel cell (PV/FC) system, and photovoltaic/fuel cell/battery (PV/FC/Battery) system, are optimized, analyzed and compared. The obtained results indicate that maximizing the system efficiency while minimizing system cost is a multi-objective optimization problem. As a trade-off solution to the problem, the proposed PV/FC/Battery hybrid system is found to be the configuration with lower cost, higher efficiency and less PV modules as compared with either single storage system.     

Dynamic characteristics and operation strategy of the discharge process in compressed air energy storage systems for applications in power systems

In the context of the rapid development of large-scale renewable energy, large-scale energy storage technology is widely considered as the most effective means of improving the quality and security of electricity. In the existing energy storage technology, advanced adiabatic compressed air energy storage (AA-CAES) technology has broad application prospects because of its advantages of low pollution, low investment, flexible site selection, and large capacity. However, the lack of an in-depth understanding of the dynamic characteristics of CAES systems has severely limited the development of system design and control strategy, resulting in a lack of commercial operation of large-scale CAES systems. This paper describes the design and implementation of a CAES plant and its controller for applications in the distribution network level. The dynamic mathematical models of AA-CAES were established and a feasible control strategy for the grid-connected process was developed to analyze the dynamic characteristics of the system in the discharge stage. The work done in this study provided a data reference for the deep understanding of the dynamic characteristics of AA-CAES, system design, and control strategy in the industry.     

Thermal energy storage technologies and systems for concentrating solar power plants

This paper presents a review of thermal energy storage system design methodologies and the factors to be considered at different hierarchical levels for concentrating solar power (CSP) plants. Thermal energy storage forms a key component of a power plant for improvement of its dispatchability. Though there have been many reviews of storage media, there are not many that focus on storage system design along with its integration into the power plant. This paper discusses the thermal energy storage system designs presented in the literature along with thermal and exergy efficiency analyses of various thermal energy storage systems integrated into the power plant. Economic aspects of these systems and the relevant publications in literature are also summarized in this effort.     

Dynamic performance of wind-diesel power system with capacitive energy storage

This paper presents an analysis of the dynamic performance of a wind-Diesel power system which operates in isolation from the grid. The simulation studies of the dynamic response are conducted in two different configurations of the power system, firstly, without storage and, secondly, with capacitive energy storage. The frequency and power deviations resulting from a step load disturbance of 1% are presented. It is shown that improvement in the transient responses of the stand alone wind and the hybrid wind-Diesel power system is achieved when capacitive energy storage is included in the systems.     

Conceptual design of compressed air energy storage electric power systems

Conceptual design studies have been conducted to identify Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES) systems which are technically feasible and potentially attractive for future electric utility load-levelling applications. The CAES concept consists of compressing air during off-peak periods and storing it in underground facilities for later use. During peak-load periods the air would be withdrawn, heated by recuperation and combustion and expanded through turbines to generate power. By using off-peak electricity for compression and stored air for peak-load generation, the resulting oil consumption would be about 40 per cent of that consumed by conventional gas-turbine peaking plants. The turbomachinery requirements for this type of system could be met using existing equipment with relatively modest modifications. Although the study discussed herein focused on the storage of air in hydraulically compensated, mined, hard-rock caverns, the compressed air could also be stored in underground aquifers or leached-out salt cavities. Conventional underground excavation technology could be used to construct these storage caverns. A geological survey of the north-central and north-east regions of the United States indicated that sufficient siting opportunities exist such that a prudently designed CAES plant should have little long-term adverse impact on the environment. The competitive position of CAES relative to conventional generation alternatives is highly dependent on utility-specific factors. The cost of electric energy from CAES is generally competitive with costs from conventional peak-shaving systems such as gas turbines and will improve as low-cost off-peak energy from nuclear plants becomes available.     

规模化电池储能系统的无功功率控制策略研究

无功功率补偿是电池储能系统并网运行时的重要应用。电池储能系统主要包括电池组、变流器以及设备监控系统等。电池储能用变流器可向电网提供无功功率。文章提出了规模化电池储能电站中各储能机组间的无功功率分配方法。采用仿真软件对电池储能系统的无功功率分配策略进行仿真分析,并基于张北储能试验基地的电池储能机组实例验证了控制策略的有效性。     

Review on combined wind power generation and energy storage systems

储能系统由于能够实现电能的时空平移,具有响应速度快,规模化等优点,是改善风电波动性,提高其并网能力的有效手段,构建风储联合发电系统成为目前研究重点.简单介绍了风电并网对电力系统的影响及不同类型电池储能技术的发展现状,给出了部分国内外风储联合发电系统的示范工程,并分析了平滑风电功率波动,跟踪计划出力曲线和削峰填谷3种主要运行方式,重点阐述了目前风储联合发电系统控制策略和储能容量配置研究现状,对进一步开展风储联合发电系统的研究进行了展望,指出经济性仍然是制约储能技术应用的关键问题之一,提高包含储能单元的风储联合发电系统的经济性是今后的研究重点.     

Large energy storage systems for utilities

In addition to the capacity on line, electric networks usually need 8–10 per cent of their installed capacity readily available to handle load variations. Thermal storage of energy as pressurised saturated hot water has done this job for years, but only on a small scale because of cost limitation of the steel pressure vessel. This paper shows that steel lined cavities deep underground, using the rock to provide containment, are economical and practical in large capacities for this energy storage. By reducing the cavity pressure, steam is flashed from the hot water and used to drive peaking turbines when needed; at low load periods surplus steam is condensed in the water to recharge the vault. The saturation pressure of the hot water is borne by the overburden pressure of the rock formation in which the storage vault is prepared. At usual steam plant saturation temperatures the effective storage density is in the range of 18–21 electric kWh/m³ of storage volume, which is 20–50 times the capacity of the usual pumped hydro systems. Recovery of stored energy ranges from 75–90 per cent. The cost of a facility to deliver 1000 MW of peaking power for 10 h would fall in the range of $250–350 million, including indirect costs, interest, etc. The underground facilities represent about 40 per cent of the cost: the balance is for conventional generating and steam plant equipment.     

Novel method for setting up the relay protection of power systems containing renewable energy sources and hydrogen energy storage systems

Integration of renewable energy sources (RES) together with energy storage systems (ESS) changes processes in electric power systems (EPS) significantly. Specifically, rate of change and the lowest values of operating conditions during the emergencies are got influenced. Such changes can cause incorrect actions of relay protection (RP) as it was designed and adjusted with no regard for influence of RES and ESS. Detailed research on processes during the different normal and abnormal modes in both EPS and primary transducers and also in RP devices should be done to take preventive actions. To do this research mathematical modeling based on detailed and authentic models of all elements including RP should be used. HRTSim (which was developed by authors) software for simulating EPS provides the opportunity to create such models of EPS of any size without simplifications and limits. Using of this instrument together with detailed mathematical models of RP which were developed before provided the opportunity to investigate them rigorously in RES-integrated EPS. Settings providing adequate action of RP in certain conditions were performed as a result of this investigation. Fragments of these investigations are performed in this paper. Results of these investigations would be useful for designing new methods and tools of RP adjustment.     

Simultaneous frequency and voltage control of wind-diesel power systems using energy storage

This paper presents a new scheme for smoothing out the voltage and frequency fluctuations simultaneously in a hybrid wind-diesel system using a super conducting magnetic energy storage (SMES) unit. The SMES unit located at induction generators' terminal bus, uses local measurements for exchanging real and reactive powers simultaneously in four quadrants. Complete model of the hybrid wind-diesel-SMES system is developed and is used for eigenvalue analysis and design of controllers. Computer simulation results illustrate the positive impact of the SMES unit on the quality of the supply and furthermore some modifications of the controller design are proposed. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Flywheel energy storage systems: Review and simulation for an isolated wind power system

In flywheel based energy storage systems (FESSs), a flywheel stores mechanical energy that interchanges in form of electrical energy by means of an electrical machine with a bidirectional power converter. FESSs are suitable whenever numerous charge and discharge cycles (hundred of thousands) are needed with medium to high power (kW to MW) during short-time periods (seconds–minutes). Monitoring of the FESS state of charge is simple and reliable as only the spinning speed is needed. The materials for the flywheel, the type of electrical machine, the type of bearings and the confinement atmosphere which all together determine the FESSs energy efficiency (>85%) are reviewed. Main FESS applications: power quality, traction and aerospace are presented. Additionally in this paper it is presented the simulation of an isolated wind power system (IWPS) consisting of a wind turbine generator (WTG), a consumer load, a synchronous machine (SM) and a FESS. A low-speed iron flywheel driven by an asynchronous machine (ASM) is sized for the presented IWPS. The simulation results with graphs for system frequency, system voltage, active powers of the different elements, and FESS-ASM speed, direct and quadrature currents are presented showing that the FESS effectively smoothes the wind power and consumer load variations.     

Application of superconducting magnetic energy storage in electrical power and energy systems: a review

Superconducting magnetic energy storage (SMES) is known to be an excellent high‐efficient energy storage device. This article is focussed on various potential applications of the SMES technology in electrical power and energy systems. SMES device founds various applications, such as in microgrids, plug‐in hybrid electrical vehicles, renewable energy sources that include wind energy and photovoltaic systems, low‐voltage direct current power system, medium‐voltage direct current and alternating current power systems, fuel cell technologies and battery energy storage systems. An extensive bibliography is presented on these applications of SMES. Also, some conclusive remarks in terms of future perspective are presented. Also, the present ongoing developments and constructions are also discussed. This study provides a basic guideline to investigate further technological development and new applications of SMES, and thus benefits the readers, researchers, engineers and academicians who deal with the research works in the area of SMES. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Application of superconductive magnetic energy storage in anasynchronous link between power systems

The concept that superconductive magnetic energy storage (SMES) can be incorporated into a back-to-back DC link is introduced. With an SMES-DC link, an SMES system can be shared between several neighboring power systems. This results in better economics for SMES usage for each participating power system. In addition to SMES operation, an SMES-DC link also allows asynchronous connection and interchange of power between the interconnected systems. It is demonstrated that an SMES-DC link can achieve significant economic benefits over pure power interchange or SMES operation alone. The basic principle of an SMES-DC link, which is able to interconnect any number of neighboring power systems with a single SMES unit, and various interconnected system operation modes are presented. A battery-DC link is discussed and compared with the SMES-DC link     

微型燃气轮发电系统中的电池能量存储

分析了微型燃气轮发电系统中能量贮存需求，提出了确定蓄电池容量的计算方法。