Aquifer thermal storage (ATES) for air-conditioning of a supermarket in Turkey

A heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) system with integrated aquifer thermal energy storage (ATES) was designed for a supermarket building in Mersin, a city near the Mediterranean coast in Turkey (36° 49′ N and 34° 36′ E). This is the first ATES application carried out in Turkey. The peak cooling and heating loads of the building are 195 and 74 kW, respectively. The general objective of the system is to use the groundwater from the aquifer to cool down the condenser of the HVAC system and at the same time storing this waste heat in the aquifer. Cooling with groundwater at around 18 °C instead of utilizing outside summer air at 30–35 °C decreases consumption of electrical energy significantly. In addition, stored heat can be recovered when it is needed in winter. The HVAC system with ATES started operation in August 2001 in cooling mode with an average coefficient of performance (COP) of 4.18, which is almost 60% higher than a conventional system.     

Review of seasonal heat storage in large basins: Water tanks and gravel–water pits

In order to respond to climatic change, many efforts have been made to reduce harmful gas emissions. According to energy policies, an important goal is the implementation of renewable energy sources, as well as electrical and oil combustion savings through energy conservation. This paper focuses on an extensive review of the technologies developed, so far, for central solar heating systems employing seasonal sensible water storage in artificial large scale basins. Among technologies developed since the late 1970s, the use of underground spaces as an energy storage medium – Underground Thermal Energy Storage (UTES) – has been investigated and closely observed in experimental plants in many countries, most of them, as part of government programmes. These projects attempt to optimise technical and economic aspects within an international knowledge exchange; as a result, UTES is becoming a reliable option to save energy through energy conservation. Other alternatives to UTES include large water tanks and gravel–water pits, also called man-made or artificial aquifers. This implies developing this technology by construction and leaving natural aquifers untouched. The present article reviews most studies and results obtained in this particular area to show the technical and economical feasibility for each system and specifics problems occurred during construction and operation. Advantages and disadvantages are pointed out to compare both alternatives. The projects discussed have been carried out mainly in European states with some references to other countries.     

Guidelines for Sizing Shading Devices for Typical Residential Houses in Muscat,Oman

Energy consumption of Oman＇s building sector is around 55% of the country＇s total energy demand and it has increased by 59% from 2005 to 2010. This paper investigates the potential of energy conservation in residential buildings in the city of Muscat by providing guidelines to reduce solar gain in overheated season. It aims to identify the problem of high energy consumption in modem houses and study the relationship between energy consumption and thermal performance of the building. Based on the authors＇ analysis of Oman＇s solar data, recommendations for shading devices were developed and evaluated using e-QUEST. An energy reduction of around 10% was achieved without drastically increasing the cost of construction while also taking into consideration of society＇s requirement for privacy and its concern to visually maintain cultural identity.     

Using Parallel Packed Bed within a High Temperature Thermal Energy Storage System for CSP-Plants

In order to optimize the electricity yield of CSP （concentrated solar power） plants, TES （thermal energy storage） systems are regarded as an essential component. Furthermore, for many electricity grid operators, it is important to have spinning reserves in the grid and dispatchable power available, both offered by CSP-plants with integrated thermal energy storage. Enolcon is developing a new TES-system since several years. The system itself was designed to offer a principle simple and robust setup （with regard to execution and operation） and which is reducing the electricity costs of CSP-power plants by the consequent use of state of the art technology. Furthermore, such system shall be open to future developments of CSP-systems with regard to increasing steam temperatures and steam pressure. Such TES-system shall be commercially available for large scale application already in year 2014/2015. The key elements of the enolcon-TES are the open cycle using always ambient air with an air-air-heat exchanger and the arrangement of the storage material in such way to minimize the pressure losses and the own electricity consumption. The development is progressing in a structured way by studies, engineering works, TES-pilot plants, isothermal air flow test plant for the verification of the CFD-calculations, and since end of 2012 by the operation of a high temperature TES-module with all features of the large scale modules.     

Thermal analysis of solar thermal energy storage in a molten-salt thermocline

A comprehensive, two-temperature model is developed to investigate energy storage in a molten-salt thermocline. The commercially available molten salt HITEC is considered for illustration with quartzite rocks as the filler. Heat transfer between the molten salt and quartzite rock is represented by an interstitial heat transfer coefficient. Volume-averaged mass and momentum equations are employed, with the Brinkman-Forchheimer extension to the Darcy law used to model the porous-medium resistance. The governing equations are solved using a finite-volume approach. The model is first validated against experiments from the literature and then used to systematically study the discharge behavior of thermocline thermal storage system. Thermal characteristics including temperature profiles and discharge efficiency are explored. Guidelines are developed for designing solar thermocline systems. The discharge efficiency is found to be improved at small Reynolds numbers and larger tank heights. The filler particle size strongly influences the interstitial heat transfer rate, and thus the discharge efficiency.     

Design, development and testing of a double reflector hot box solar cooker with a transparent insulation material

A double reflector hot box solar cooker with a Transparent Insulation Material (TIM) has been designed, fabricated, tested and the performance compared with a single reflector hot box solar cooker without TIM. A 40 mm thick honeycomb made of polycarbonate capillaries was encapsulated between two glazing sheets of the cooker to minimise convective losses from the window so that even during an extremely cold but sunny day two meals can be prepared, which is not possible in a hot box solar cooker without TIM. The use of one more reflectors resulted in an avoidance of tracking towards sun for 3 h so that cooking operations could be performed unattended, as compared to a hot box solar cooker where tracking ahead of the sun is required every hour. The efficiencies were 30.5% and 24.5% for cookers with and without a TIM respectively, during the winter season at Jodhpur. The energy saving by use of a solar cooker with TIM has been estimated to be 1485.0 MJ of fuel equivalent per year. The payback period varies between 1.66 and 4.23 y depending upon the fuel it replaces, and is in increasing order with respect to the following fuels: electricity, firewood, coal, LPG and kerosene. The estimated life is about 15 y. Therefore, the use of a solar cooker is economical. The double reflector hot box solar cooker with TIM will be a boon in popularising solar cookers in developing countries.     

Experimental investigation on a MnCl2–CaCl2–NH3 thermal energy storage system

Thermal energy storage (TES) is regarded as one promising technology for renewable energy and waste heat recovery. Among TES technologies, sorption thermal energy storage (STES) has drawn burgeoning attention due to high energy storage density, long-term heat storage capability and flexible working modes. Originating from STES system, resorption thermal energy storage (RTES) system is established and investigated for recovering the heat in this paper. The system is mainly composed of three high temperature salt (HTS) unit beds; three low temperature salt (LTS) unit beds, valves and heat exchange pipes. Working pair of MnCl₂–CaCl₂–NH₃ is selected for the RTES system. 4.8 kg and 3.9 kg MnCl₂ and CaCl₂ composite adsorbents are filled in the adsorption bed. Results indicate that the highest thermal storage density is about 1836 kJ/kg when the heat charging and discharging temperature is 155 °C and 55 °C, respectively. Volume density of heat storage ranges from 144 to 304 kWh/m³. The highest ratio of latent heat to sensible heat is about 1.145 when the discharging temperature is 55 °C. The energy efficiency decreases from 97% to 73% when the discharging temperature increases from 55 to 75 °C.     

低温相变储能材料及其应用研究

利用相变储能材料（PCMs）潜热的热能存储（TES）是一种有效的热量利用方式。目前研究较多的储能材料包括无机体系（盐和水合盐）及有机化合物（石蜡、脂肪酸等）。本文对PCMs进行了归类并介绍了各类PCMs的基本特征;针对单纯的PCMs易泄漏的特点,介绍了多孔材料吸附PCMs形成复合PCMs及微胶囊封装技术;概括了PCMs在温度调控、热量储存等方面的应用;对目前PCMs的发展情况进行了总结,并对其未来的发展趋势进行了展望。     

Latent heat storage

The investigations of materials presumably suitable as storage media for latent heat indicate that water, some salt hydrates and eutectic mixtures of water and salt hydrates possess extreme heats of fusion. Their melting points, ranging from about -50° to + 130°C, fit well for storing low grade heat in residential energy systems. Detailed experimental investigations on a large number of these media show, however, that only a few of them satisfy the quality requirments for practical application in storage units. Flexible flat-plate storage containers especially developed for selected salt hydrates which expand on melting also show satisfactory performance over long periods of operation. In the case of water and selected water-salt hydrate eutectics the volume increases on solidification, and the expansion of solid storage material, being very inhomgeneous, breaks even flexible containers after only a few storage cycles. This ruinous local expansion can be avoided, however, by adding a small amount of special, lower melting salt hydrate eutectics which homogenize the crystallization and solidification of the storage medium.     

On the coupling of PCM stores to active solar systems

This paper investigates the problems arising in the combination of active solar systems with PCM storage matrices. A new heat exchanger design is used, based on the rolling cylinder principle. The store is managed by a dedicated microcomputer which interacts with the system control computer. The store computer configures the store in real time to operate it in near optimal conditions, according to the current system operating point.     

Latent heat storage for solar energy systems: Transient simulation of refrigerant storage

This paper presents a brief review of the available latent heat storage systems for solar energy utilization. A new concept of latent heat storage of solar energy via the refrigerant-absorbent mass storage in absorption cycle heat pump systems used for solar space heating/cooling has been proposed and assessed thermodynamically. A computer modelling and numerical simulation study shows that the concept of refrigerant storage is fundamentally sound, technically feasible and yields the following advantages over other storage methods: (i) the storage capacity per unit volume is high as the latent heat of vaporization of the refrigerant is high; (ii) the heat loss from the storage to the surroundings is minimum as the storage temperature is near the ambient; (iii) prolonged energy storage is possible with no degradation in system performance and hence suitable for combined solar heating and airconditioning. The effects of operating parameters on the energy storage concentration and storage efficiency have been studied in detail.     

Solar thermal storage systems using phase change materials

Using Fourier series expansion of the involving temperatures and the forcing parameters i.e. the solar radiation and the ambient temperature, an iterative procedure has been developed to solve the heat transfer problem with moving boundaries. Calculations specific to a typical summer and winter day in Delhi have been presented for a numerical appreciation of the developed analysis. Experiments have been performed to validate the developed theoretical analysis. A good agreement is seen between theoretical and experimental results with in the domain of the applicability of theory.     

Performance analysis and parametric study of thermal energy storage in an aquifer coupled with a heat pump and solar collectors,for a residential complex in Tehran,Iran

Aquifers are underground porous formations containing water. Confined aquifers are the formations surrounded by two impermeable layers, called cap rocks and bed rocks. These aquifers are suitable for seasonal thermal energy storage.In the present study, a confined aquifer was considered to meet the cooling and heating energy needs of a residential complex located in Tehran, Iran. Three different alternatives were analyzed in this aquifer thermal energy storage (ATES), including: using ATES for cooling alone, for cooling and heating, as a heat pump, and for heating alone, employing flat plate solar energy collectors. A numerical simulation, based on the finite difference method, was carried out for velocity and temperature distributions as well as the heat transfer in the aquifer. The thermal energy recovery factor and the annual coefficient of performance of the system were determined under various schemes of operation, revealing that the combination of the ATES with the heat pump, to meet both cooling and heating needs of the complex, is the best. The study was repeated for different aquifer properties.     

先进绝热压缩空气储能中蓄热系统的改进

先进绝热压缩空气储能系统（advanced adiabatic compressed air energy storage system,AA-CAES）是一种大规模电能存储与转化技术,对可再生能源并网及电网调峰有重要作用。为了研究蓄热系统结构布置、运行方式对储能系统性能的影响,对蓄热系统热力学模型进行分析并在传统结构的基础上提出带高温蓄热系统的AA-CAES。结果表明：压气机与膨胀机级数相近时,储能效率最高,级数差别越大效率越低;当压气机与膨胀机级数相等时,随着级数的增加,储能密度逐渐降低;当换热器中水的热容率与空气热容率接近相等时,储能效率最高;带高温蓄热系统的AA-CAES能够获得更大的储能密度,系统运行灵活性也增强,但储能效率有所下降。     

Effects of design factors on the temperature profile of a partially charged thermal storage tank

Thermal storage is a key subsystem in any solar thermal application. It stores thermal energy during periods of high solar irradiation so it can be used when solar irradiation is low and during the night. The energy extraction efficiency is influenced by design and by such operational factors as the state of charge of the thermal storage under normal conditions, a solar thermal storage system is in a partially charged state. This study was aimed at developing charged thermal storage with emphasis on the effect of inlet design, storage tank wall material, and the presence of fluid dead zones.