Research and application of molten salts for sensible heat storage

熔融盐具有液体温度范围宽,黏度低,流动性能好,蒸汽压小,对管路承压能力要求低,相对密度大,比热容高,蓄热能力强,成本较低等诸多优点,已成为一种公认的良好的中高温传热蓄热介质.本文对熔融盐显热蓄热技术原理和发展现状进行了简要概述,包括熔融盐的种类,熔融盐显热蓄热技术的原理,关键技术,研发现状及其在太阳能热发电和间歇性余热利用中的应用.认为开展高温熔融盐传热蓄热介质制备,热性能表征和熔融盐流动与传热性能研究,进而完善整个熔融盐蓄热系统,提高蓄热效率,降低管路腐蚀性,提高系统可靠性仍将是未来熔融盐蓄热技术的研究重点.     

显热储热材料的制备及性能研究

采用水泥作为材料的胶凝剂,添加热容、热导率大的物质作为骨料来制备混凝土储热材料。研究表明:当铝酸盐水泥含量为10%时,材料的抗压、抗折强度能满足工业需求;材料的比热容随温度的升高先增大,在500℃时达到最大,后随着温度的升高反而降低;材料的热导率随着石墨粉含量的增加几乎成直线上升,当石墨含量为5%时材料的热导率大于1.7W/(m·K)。     

Exergy analysis of latent heat storage systems with sensible heating and subcooling of PCM

The effect of sensible heating of the phase-change material (PCM) before melting and subcooling after solidification, on the performance of the latent heat storage system (LHSS), is studied in terms of first- and second-law efficiencies for the overall charge–discharge cycle. The external heat transfer irreversibilities on account of the interaction between the heat transfer fluid and the storage element are characterized and the optimum phase-change temperature for maximum second-law efficiency is studied. The performance of the LHSS operation is assessed with and without sensible heating before melting and subcooling after solidification. It is observed that the optimum phase-change temperature is higher, and, the overall second-law efficiency is greater for LHSS with sensible heating and subcooling beyond a certain phase-change temperature compared to latent heat storage alone. In addition, the first-law overall efficiency is found to exhibit a minimum and a pre-heated discharge stream is shown to result in a substantial improvement of the second-law efficiency. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Study on key parameters design and economic evaluation of the electric heating and solid sensible heat thermal storage device

电制热固体储热系统对可再生能源消纳、能源清洁化利用具有重要意义。电制热固体储热装置的关键参数设计以及经济性分析是提高经济效益的重要手段。因此,本文提出了电制热固体储热装置投资运行费用计算方法。通过对比不同供暖方式所需费用分析了电制热固体储热装置的经济性。同时研究了谷电利用系数对电制热固体储热装置经济性的影响。最后,采用案例分析验证本文所提经济性评估方法的合理性与正确性。本文的研究内容为用户对电制热固体储热装置的选择提供参考。     

Performance analyses of sensible heat storage systems for thermal applications

In this paper, sensible heat storage (SHS) systems and performance evaluation techniques are studied. A detailed investigation is presented of the availability of SHS techniques for solar thermal applications, selection criteria for SHS systems, the economics of SHS systems, the main issues in evaluating SHS systems, the viability of SHS systems, the environmental impacts of SHS systems and criteria for SHS feasibility studies, as well as energy saving options. In addition to energy and exergy analyses, several definitions of energy and exergy efficiency for the performance of SHS systems are provided with an illustrative example. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Experimental investigation on a combined sensible and latent heat storage system integrated with constant/varying (solar) heat sources

The objective of the present work is to investigate experimentally the thermal behavior of a packed bed of combined sensible and latent heat thermal energy storage (TES) unit. A TES unit is designed, constructed and integrated with constant temperature bath/solar collector to study the performance of the storage unit. The TES unit contains paraffin as phase change material (PCM) filled in spherical capsules, which are packed in an insulated cylindrical storage tank. The water used as heat transfer fluid (HTF) to transfer heat from the constant temperature bath/solar collector to the TES tank also acts as sensible heat storage (SHS) material. Charging experiments are carried out at constant and varying (solar energy) inlet fluid temperatures to examine the effects of inlet fluid temperature and flow rate of HTF on the performance of the storage unit. Discharging experiments are carried out by both continuous and batchwise processes to recover the stored heat. The significance of time wise variation of HTF and PCM temperatures during charging and discharging processes is discussed in detail and the performance parameters such as instantaneous heat stored and cumulative heat stored are also studied. The performance of the present system is compared with that of the conventional SHS system. It is found from the discharging experiments that the combined storage system employing batchwise discharging of hot water from the TES tank is best suited for applications where the requirement is intermittent.     

Investigation of a combined solar–heat pump system for residential heating. Part 1: experimental results

In order to investigate the performance of the combined solar–heat pump system with energy storage in encapsulated phase change material (PCM) packings for residential heating in Trabzon, Turkey, an experimental set‐up was constructed. The experimental results were obtained from November to May during the heating season for two heating systems. These systems are a series of heat pump system, and a parallel heat pump system. The experimentally obtained results are used to calculate the heat pump coefficient of performance (COP), seasonal heating performance, the fraction of annual load meet by free energy, storage and collector efficiencies and total energy consumption of the systems during the heating season. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Application characteristics of heat storage material system

电储热技术是当前适应煤改电环保需求和清洁供暖发展趋势的一项新技术,各种温度级别的储热材料均存在,根据需求选择并制备材料,进而设计电热储能的系统结构成为储热研究关键内容。本文针对蓄热材料的热性能进行了应用特性研究,分析并提出一种蓄热材料温度体系,并对高温蓄热材料应用特点进行了系统设计分析与比较,提出一种基于特制氧化镁的电阻式蓄热系统设计方法,并分析其特点。     

Experimental investigation of thermal performance of a solar assisted heat pump system with an energy storage

An experimental solar assisted heat pump space heating system with a daily energy storage tank is designed and constructed, and its thermal performance is investigated. The heating system basically consists of flat plate solar collectors, a heat pump, a cylindrical storage tank, measuring units, and a heating room located in Gaziantep, Turkey (37.1°N). All measurements are automatically collected as a function of time by means of a measurement chain feeding to a data logger in combination with a PC. Hourly and daily variations of solar radiation, collector performance, coefficient of performance of the heat pump (COP_HP), and that of the overall system (COP_S) are calculated to evaluate the system performance. The effects of climatic conditions and certain operating parameters on the system performance parameters are investigated. COP_HP is about 2.5 for a lower storage temperature at the end of a cloudy day and it is about 3.5 for a higher storage temperature at the end of a sunny day, and it fluctuates between these values in other times. Also, COP_S turns out to be about 15–20% lower than COP_HP. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

太阳能蓄热技术在供热工程中的应用

介绍几种太阳能蓄热技术,重点详述水作为蓄热介质的水箱蓄热技术及其在供暖工程中的应用,列举北京地区太阳能蓄热技术在供热工程中应用的典型实例。     

An estimate for thermal osmotic heat storage using precipitation of common salts

In this brief note, a first assessment on the possibilities for thermal osmotic storage by harnessing the thermal dependence of the solubility of common salts as an alternative method to sensible heat storage is discussed. In a recent study it was found that such a dependence could be used to run a heat powered cycle (osmotic heat engine). The question raised then is whether that approach could be suitable for thermal energy storage as well. The attractiveness of such a possibility lies in the capability to store energy for an indefinite period of time without using expensive isolation systems if one considers that osmotic energy only is released when both streams with different salinities are brought together. Utilizing a simplified model, a comparative study with sensible heat storage was performed. It is shown that thermal osmotic storage via thermal precipitation of common salts could be an attractive option when long thermal storage (days) and compactness is desired.     

Solar multi-mode heating system based on latent heat thermal energy storage and its application

为克服太阳能间断性和不稳定性的缺点进而实现太阳能集热与采暖的能量供需调节和全天候连续供热,提出了基于相变储热的太阳能多模式采暖方法（太阳能集热直接采暖、太阳能集热采暖+相变储热、太阳能相变储热采暖）,并在西藏林芝市某建筑搭建了太阳能与相变储热相结合的采暖系统,该系统可根据太阳能集热温度和外界供热需求实现太阳能多模式采暖的自动控制和自动运行。实验研究表明：在西藏地区采用真空管太阳能集热器可以和中低温相变储热器很好地结合,白天储热器在储热过程中平均储热功率为10.63 kW,储热量达到92.67 kW·h,相变平台明显;晚上储热器在放热过程中供热量达85.23 kW·h,放热功率和放热温度平稳,储放热效率达92%,其储热密度是传统水箱的3.6倍,可连续供热时间长达10 h,从而实现了基于相变储热的太阳能全天候连续供热,相关研究结果对我国西藏地区实施太阳能采暖具有一定的指导作用。     

Second law analysis of a diesel engine waste heat recovery with a combined sensible and latent heat storage system

The exhaust gas from an internal combustion engine carries away about 30% of the heat of combustion. The energy available in the exit stream of many energy conversion devices goes as waste. The major technical constraint that prevents successful implementation of waste heat recovery is due to intermittent and time mismatched demand for and availability of energy. The present work deals with the use of exergy as an efficient tool to measure the quantity and quality of energy extracted from a diesel engine and stored in a combined sensible and latent heat storage system. This analysis is utilized to identify the sources of losses in useful energy within the components of the system considered, and provides a more realistic and meaningful assessment than the conventional energy analysis. The energy and exergy balance for the overall system is quantified and illustrated using energy and exergy flow diagrams. In order to study the discharge process in a thermal storage system, an illustrative example with two different cases is considered and analyzed, to quantify the destruction of exergy associated with the discharging process. The need for promoting exergy analysis through policy decision in the context of energy and environment crisis is also emphasized.     

Comparison of heat storage systems employing sensible and latent heat

This study makes an evaluation of the performances of heat storage systems destined for power plants with a discontinuous power source such as nuclear fusion. Two classes of heat storage systems are investigated: heat storage systems based on first sensible heat storage and second latent heat storage. Both classes of heat storage systems are evaluated both from a thermodynamic point of view, inquiring whether the irreversibility of the system stays limited or not, and from an economic point of view, examining whether the system makes proper use of the heat storage capacity present. It is shown that an unambiguous conclusion that one is superior to the other is not possible and that the operating conditions and the configuration of the phase‐changing materials play an important role. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Experimental analysis of evacuated tube solar air heater (ETSAH) with inbuilt sensible thermal energy storage

In the present work, an evacuated tube solar air heater (ETSAH) with inbuilt sensible heat storage material (SHSM) is experimentally evaluated. The system comprises two sets each having 50 evacuated tubes with an H-type arrangement and a total collector area of 16.92 m². For the purpose of hot air generation, ETSAH is simultaneously connected in series and in parallel with and without the use of reflectors. Three different mass flow rates of 122.90, 164.87, and 212.83 kg/h were fixed to get 12 diverse cases of ETSAH operation. The highest hot air temperature reported by the system is 121.7°C when it was connected in series with conventional reflectors at 212.83 kg/h of flow rate and 469 W/m² average solar intensity. The system reported an overall average energy efficiency of 49.76% and an exergy efficiency of 17.97% with the highest average hot air temperature difference of 56.12°C from 09:00 to 20:00 h. Without the incorporation of any additional SHSM, the average hot air temperature delivered by ETSAH (when under the neighbor building shadow) is 49.73°C logged from 17:00 to 20:00 h. The economic analysis is also carried out to ensure its practical application and feasibility. For the best system performance, the annual cost of hot air generation is 0.0194 Rs./kg (0.0002433 $/kg).     

Sensible heat storage in a single tank using molten salt and associated natural convection heat transfer

熔融盐双罐显热储热技术已较为成熟,但储热成本较高。为了降低储热成本,本文提出在储热罐内布置浸没式换热器实现熔盐单罐储热和释热新方法,分析了熔融盐单罐储热基本原理,在此基础上模拟分析了垂直布置交错排列两根水平圆柱表面熔融盐自然对流传热的规律。研究发现,为了增强管排表面自然对流传热,两根圆柱的垂直间距不宜过小,而水平间距不宜过大,这些研究结果为熔融盐单罐储热设计提供理论基础。     

Experimental evaluation of commercial heat exchangers for use as PCM thermal storage systems

Phase change materials (PCM) possess a great capacity of accumulation of energy in their temperature of fusion thanks to the latent heat. These materials are used in applications where it is necessary to store energy due to the temporary phase shift between the offer and demand of thermal energy. Thus, possible applications are the solar systems as well as the recovery of residual heat for its posterior use in other processes. In spite of this great potential, the practical feasibility of latent heat storage with PCM is still limited, mainly due to a rather low thermal conductivity. This low conductivity implies small heat transfer coefficients and, consequently, thermal cycles are slow and not suitable for most of the potential applications.     

Experimental investigation and performance analysis on a solar adsorption cooling system with/without heat storage

A solar adsorption cooling system which can be switched between a system with heat storage and a system without heat storage was designed. In the system with heat storage, a heat storage water tank was employed as the link between the solar collector circulation and the hot water circulation for the adsorption chillers. However, the heat storage water tank was isolated in the system without heat storage, and the hot water was directly circulated between the solar collector arrays and the adsorption chillers. It was found that the inlet and outlet temperatures for the solar collector arrays and the adsorption chillers in the system without heat storage were more fluctuant than those of the system with heat storage. Also found was that the system with heat storage operated stably because of the regulating effect by the heat storage water tank. However, under otherwise similar conditions, the cooling effect of the system without heat storage was similar to that of the system with heat storage. Compared with the system with heat storage, the system without heat storage has the advantages of higher solar collecting efficiency as well as higher electrical COP.     

跨季蓄热多方式可调节供暖系统的模拟分析及可行性研究

针对太阳能跨季蓄热量利用不充分的问题,提出了一种多方式可调节供暖系统模型,利用温差控制原理实现系统供暖方式的自动转换.以乌鲁木齐地区某公共建筑为例,采用TRNSYS动态模拟软件对多方式可调节供暖系统进行了全年运行分析.结果表明:15 100 m3的蓄热基坑体积与6 040 m2的集热器面积恰好匹配;在非供暖期蓄热基坑内...     

Experimental research on thermal characteristics of a hybrid thermocline heat storage system

Considering the high-temperature thermal utilization of solar energy as the research background in this paper and focussing on the heat storage process, a kind of hybrid thermocline heat storage method in multi-scale structure and relevant experimental systems are designed by using the mixed molten nitrate salt as the heat storage medium and two representative porous materials, i.e. zirconium ball and silicon carbide (SiC) foam, as the heat storage fillers. The fluid flow and heat storage performance of molten salt in multi-scale structure are experimentally investigated. The results show that the theoretical heat storage efficiencies amongst the three experimental heat storage manners are less than 80% because of the existence of thermocline layers. Comparing to the single-phase molten salt heat storage, the two hybrid thermocline heat storage manners with porous fillers lead to a certain decrease in the effective heat storage capacity. The presence of porous fillers can also help to maintain the molten salt fluid as ideal gravity flow or piston flow and partially replace expensive molten salt. Therefore, it requires a combination of heat storage capacity and economical consideration for optimization design when similar spherical particles or foam ceramics are employed as the porous fillers.