Comparison of energy and exergy efficiencies of an underground solar thermal storage system

In this experimental study, solar energy was stored daily using the volcanic material with the sensible heat technique. The external heat collection unit consisted of 27 m² of south‐facing solar air collectors mounted at a 55° tilt angle. The dimensions of the packed‐bed heat storage unit were 6 × 2 × 0.6 m deep. The packed‐bed heat storage unit was built under the soil. The heat storage unit was filled with 6480 kg of volcanic material. Energy and exergy analyses were applied in order to evaluate the system efficiency. During the charging periods, the average daily rates of thermal energy and exergy stored in the heat storage unit were 1242 and 36.33 W, respectively. Since the rate of exergy depends on the temperature of the heat transfer fluid and surrounding, the rate of exergy increased as the difference between the inlet and outlet temperatures of the heat transfer fluid increased during the charging periods. It was found that the average daily net energy and exergy efficiencies in the charging periods were 39.7 and 2.03%, respectively. The average daily net energy efficiency of the heat storage system remained nearly constant during the charging periods. The maximum energy and exergy efficiencies of the heat storage system were 52.9 and 4.9%, respectively. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

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.     

Alternative storage options for solar thermal systems

The efficient implementation of solar systems in buildings depends on the storage of energy yielded, as it can both increase the solar system's autonomy and make it a feasible solution for zero energy buildings, and make storage vessels more compact, reducing precious space requirements. This is of particular important in places with reduced time of sunshine, where solar systems are less effective, because of the deviation between solar radiation and the demand. The traditional storage options use water, which is practical, safe and low‐cost, especially when the storage requirements are small. However, when larger storage is needed, limits concerning the use of water exist, mainly due to the need for larger installation space and the increased thermal losses. The use of phase change materials (PCM) for thermal energy storage seems an upcoming technology. The main idea is the substitution of water with PCM, which feature larger specific energy storage capacity compared to other conventional materials. In the context of the specific paper, a combined solar thermal system used for the preparation of domestic hot water (DHW) and space heating (Solar Combi System) with two different types of storage is studied, for two Greek cities. The aim is to find out which is the most efficient way of storing energy with respect to the autonomy of the system, for a solar combi system. This is being achieved by determining the comparative autonomy of PCM and water storage system for various climates. It was proven that using PCM is advantageous, as it can extend the autonomy duration of the solar system for 2 to 8 hours, depending on the season and the climatic conditions. However, it was also seen that in solar combi systems used throughout the whole year, PCM are inefficient during summer period.     

Review of latent thermal energy storage systems for solar air-conditioning systems

Solar air conditioning is an important approach to satisfy the high demand for cooling given the global energy situation. The application of phase-change materials (PCMs) in a thermal storage system is a way to address temporary power problems of solar air-conditioning systems. This paper reviews the selection, strengthening, and application of PCMs and containers in latent thermal storage system for solar air-conditioning systems. The optimization of PCM container geometry is summarized and analyzed. The hybrid enhancement methods for PCMs and containers and the cost assessment of latent thermal storage system are discussed. The more effective heat transfer enhancement using PCMs was found to mainly involve micro-nano additives. Combinations of fins and nanoadditives, nanoparticles, and metal foam are the main hybrid strengthening method. However, the thermal storage effect of hybrid strengthening is not necessarily better than single strengthening. At the same time, the latent thermal storage unit has less application in the field of solar air-conditioning systems, especially regarding heat recovery, because of its cost and thermal storage time. The integration of latent thermal storage units and solar air-conditioning components, economic analysis of improvement technology, and quantitative studies on hybrid improvement are potential research directions in the future.     

Advances in thermal energy storage development at the German Aerospace Center(DLR)

Thermal energy storage(TES)is a key technology for renewable energy utilization and the improvement of the energy efficiency of heat processes.Sectors include industrial process heat and conventional and renewable power generation.TES systems correct the mismatch between supply and demand of thermal energy.In the medium to high temperature range(100~1000℃),only limited storage technology is commercially available and a strong effort is needed to develop a range of storage technologies which are efficient and economical for the very specific requirements of the different application sectors.At the DLR's Institute of Technical Thermodynamics,the complete spectrum of high temperature storage technologies,from various types of sensible over latent heat to thermochemical heat storages are being developed.Different concepts are proposed depending on the heat transfer fluid(synthetic oil,water/steam,molten salt,air)and the required temperature range.The aim is the development of cost effective,efficient and reliable thermal storage systems.Research focuses on characterization of storage materials,enhancement of internal heat transfer,design of innovative storage concepts and modelling of storage components and systems.Demonstration of the storage technology takes place from laboratory scale to field testing(5 kW^1 MW).The paper gives an overview on DLR's current developments.     

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.     

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.     

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).     

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.     

Inverse design methodology to optimize sensible thermal energy storage systems working as rectifiers

The main goal of this paper is to present a methodology to achieve the optimal design of a sensible thermal energy storage system (T3S) working as a thermal rectifier. The system was composed by the heat storage material (HSM), distributed in a set of flat parallel plates, and the working fluid, both modeled by a simplified lumped element model (LEM). The ratio of operational outlet temperature range to source temperature oscillation is defined as the designed rectifying duty. Optimization procedure combines a one‐factor‐at‐a‐time (OFAT) and line search strategies in order to find optimal T3S design that satisfies the designed rectifying duty with the minimum HSM mass. The inverse design philosophy is applied to the optimal results to generalize the T3S dynamic behavior as functions fitting curves of the number of transfer unit (NTU) and the time constant τ . These fitting curves can be used to identify T3S geometric parameters, HSM thermal properties, fluid inlet conditions, among others, which guarantee the outlet fluid temperature to be found within the operational range with the minimum HSM mass. A three step‐by‐step sequence design methodology is presented and detailed, based on design charts from the NTU and τ correlations. The proposed design methodology is able to find the optimal plate length L, plate thickness e_s , and plate distance e_f that satisfies the designed rectifying duty for three test cases. These optimal T3S designs are simulated in a computer fluid dynamics (CFD) code, with deviations below 1.5% between the designed rectifying duty and the one simulated. With the proposed approach, several design solutions or configurations can be found for T3S operating as a thermal rectifier based on NTU and τ fitting curves submitted to a sinusoidal cyclic temperature input and with constant and uniform HSM and fluid properties.     

Research progress of solar thermochemical energy storage

Solar thermal power generation technology has great significance to alleviate global energy shortage and improve the environment. Solar energy must be stored to provide a continuous supply because of the intermittent and instability nature of solar energy. Thermochemical storage (TCS) is very attractive for high‐temperature heat storage in the solar power generation because of its high energy density and negligible heat loss. To further understand and develop TCS systems, comprehensive analyses and studies are very necessary. The basic principle and main components of a solar TCS system are described in this paper. Besides, recent progress and existing problems of several promising reaction systems are introduced. Further research directions are pointed out considering the technical, economic, and environmental issues that existed in the wide application of TCS. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

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.     

节能建筑用蓄热材料的释热性能实验研究

相变材料在发生相变的过程中吸收或者释放热量，在太阳能利用、建筑节能和空调采暖方面有着广阔的应用前景。通过实验研究了可用于节能建筑的相变材料——硫酸钠水合盐体系相变材料的释热性能，研究了不同增稠剂和成核剂对其放热性能的影响，对节能建筑用相变建材的研究有参考价值。     

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.     

Review on heat transfer analysis in thermal energy storage using latent heat storage systems and phase change materials

Thermal energy storage (TES) is a technology that stocks thermal energy by heating or cooling a storage medium so that the stored energy can be used later for heating and cooling applications and for power generation. TES has recently attracted increasing interest to thermal applications such as space and water heating, waste heat utilisation, cooling, and air conditioning. Phase change materials (PCMs) used for the storage of thermal energy as latent heat are special types of advanced materials that substantially contribute to the efficient use and conservation of waste heat and solar energy. This paper provides a comprehensive review on the development of latent heat storage (LHS) systems focused on heat transfer and enhancement techniques employed in PCMs to effectively charge and discharge latent heat energy, and the formulation of the phase change problem. The main categories of PCMs are classified and briefly described, and heat transfer enhancement technologies, namely dispersion of low‐density materials, use of porous materials, metal matrices and encapsulation, incorporation of extended surfaces and fins, utilisation of heat pipes, cascaded storage, and direct heat transfer techniques, are also discussed in detail. Additionally, a two‐dimensional heat transfer simulation model of an LHS system is developed using the control volume technique to solve the phase change problem. Furthermore, a three‐dimensional numerical simulation model of an LHS is built to investigate the quasi‐steady state and transient heat transfer in PCMs. Finally, several future research directions are provided.     

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。     

A new type of phase change heat storage tank in solar energy combination system

介绍了一种新型笼屉式相变蓄热水箱,通过实验测试对比分析相变蓄热水箱与普通蓄热水箱对太阳能组合系统的太阳能保证率及系统能效比的影响。实验表明：同等水箱容积,使用相变蓄热水箱时太阳能集热系统的小时集热量为普通蓄热水箱的3.7倍,相变蓄热水箱有利于提高太阳能保证率及系统能效比。在太阳能辐照强度相似的情况下,相变蓄热水箱会使太阳能保证率平均提高72%,使系统能效比平均提高26%。同时相变蓄热水箱可减少夜间水箱上部的热损失,使水箱上部水温降减少50%。     

Review on solar thermal energy storage technologies and their geometrical configurations

Because of the unstable and intermittent nature of solar energy availability, a thermal energy storage system is required to integrate with the collectors to store thermal energy and retrieve it whenever it is required. Thermal energy storage not only eliminates the discrepancy between energy supply and demand but also increases the performance and reliability of energy systems and plays a crucial role in energy conservation. Under this paper, different thermal energy storage methods, heat transfer enhancement techniques, storage materials, heat transfer fluids, and geometrical configurations are discussed. A comparative assessment of various thermal energy storage methods is also presented. Sensible heat storage involves storing thermal energy within the storage medium by increasing temperature without undergoing any phase transformation, whereas latent heat storage involves storing thermal energy within the material during the transition phase. Combined thermal energy storage is the novel approach to store thermal energy by combining both sensible and latent storage. Based on the literature review, it was found that most of the researchers carried out their work on sensible and latent storage systems with the different storage media and heat transfer fluids. Limited work on a combined sensible-latent heat thermal energy storage system with different storage materials and heat transfer fluids was carried out so far. Further, combined sensible and latent heat storage systems are reported to have a promising approach, as it reduces the cost and increases the energy storage with a stabilized outflow of temperature from the system. The studies discussed and presented in this paper may be helpful to carry out further research in this area.     

Heating and cooling of a hospital using solar energy coupled with seasonal thermal energy storage in an aquifer

A system is being designed, using solar energy in combination with Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage (ATES), that will conserve a major part of the oil and electricity used for heating or cooling the Cukurova University, Balcali Hospital in Adana, Turkey. The general objective of the system is to provide heating and cooling to the hospital by storing solar heat underground in summer and cold in winter. As the main source of cold energy, ventilation air at the hospital and surface water from the nearby Seyhan Lake will be used.     

一种可蓄热太阳能睡床结构及性能分析

介绍了一种兼具蓄热与散热两种状态的太阳能供暖用睡床。该睡床的下部为蓄热水箱，可从太阳能集热板获取热量供给睡床。研究了基于该睡床的供暖系统在北京地区的应用情况，并分析了不同状态下床板上表面的散热量与被褥内的温度。结果表明：在全天散热状态下，典型年供暖季集热器效率为37.7 %，复合型睡床的有效供热量为4 390.2 MJ，太阳能保证率为80.7 %；在白天保温−夜间散热下，集热器效率为33.1 %，复合型睡床的有效供热量为4 441.1 MJ，太阳能保证率为81.8 %。