IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/appene/v88y2011i6p2098-2105.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

An integrated thermal and mechanical investigation of molten-salt thermocline energy storage

Author

Listed:
  • Flueckiger, Scott
  • Yang, Zhen
  • Garimella, Suresh V.

Abstract

Thermal ratcheting is a critical phenomenon associated with the cyclic operation of dual-medium thermocline tanks in solar energy applications. Although thermal ratcheting poses a serious impediment to thermocline operation, this failure mode in dual-medium thermocline tanks is not yet well understood. To study the potential for the occurrence of ratcheting, a comprehensive model of a thermocline tank that includes both the heterogeneous filler region as well as the composite tank wall is formulated. The filler region consists of a rock bed with interstitial molten salt, while the tank wall is composed of a steel shell with two layers of insulation (firebrick and ceramic). The model accounts separately for the rock and molten-salt regions in view of their different thermal properties. Various heat loss conditions are applied at the external tank surface to evaluate the effect of energy losses to the surroundings. Hoop stresses, which are governed by the magnitude of temperature fluctuations, are determined through both a detailed finite-element analysis and simple strain relations. The two methods are found to yield almost identical results. Temperature fluctuations are damped by heat losses to the surroundings, leading to a reduction in hoop stresses with increased heat losses. Failure is prevented when the peak hoop stress is less than the material yield strength of the steel shell. To avoid ratcheting without incurring excessive energy loss, insulation between the steel shell and the filler region should be maximized.

Suggested Citation

  • Flueckiger, Scott & Yang, Zhen & Garimella, Suresh V., 2011. "An integrated thermal and mechanical investigation of molten-salt thermocline energy storage," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 88(6), pages 2098-2105, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:88:y:2011:i:6:p:2098-2105
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306-2619(10)00551-9
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Wu, Shuang-Ying & Xiao, Lan & Cao, Yiding & Li, You-Rong, 2010. "A parabolic dish/AMTEC solar thermal power system and its performance evaluation," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 87(2), pages 452-462, February.
    2. Yang, Minlin & Yang, Xiaoxi & Yang, Xiaoping & Ding, Jing, 2010. "Heat transfer enhancement and performance of the molten salt receiver of a solar power tower," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 87(9), pages 2808-2811, September.
    3. Yang, Zhen & Garimella, Suresh V., 2010. "Molten-salt thermal energy storage in thermoclines under different environmental boundary conditions," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 87(11), pages 3322-3329, November.
    4. Ravi Kumar, K. & Reddy, K.S., 2009. "Thermal analysis of solar parabolic trough with porous disc receiver," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 86(9), pages 1804-1812, September.
    5. Klaiß, Helmut & Köhne, Rainer & Nitsch, Joachim & Sprengel, Uwe, 1995. "Solar thermal power plants for solar countries -- Technology, economics and market potential," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 52(2-3), pages 165-183.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Xiao, Gang & Guo, Kaikai & Luo, Zhongyang & Ni, Mingjiang & Zhang, Yanmei & Wang, Cheng, 2014. "Simulation and experimental study on a spiral solid particle solar receiver," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 178-188.
    2. Le Brun, N. & Hewitt, G.F. & Markides, C.N., 2017. "Transient freezing of molten salts in pipe-flow systems: Application to the direct reactor auxiliary cooling system (DRACS)," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 186(P1), pages 56-67.
    3. Zheng, Zhang-Jing & Li, Ming-Jia & He, Ya-Ling, 2017. "Thermal analysis of solar central receiver tube with porous inserts and non-uniform heat flux," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 185(P2), pages 1152-1161.
    4. Xu, Chao & Wang, Zhifeng & He, Yaling & Li, Xin & Bai, Fengwu, 2012. "Sensitivity analysis of the numerical study on the thermal performance of a packed-bed molten salt thermocline thermal storage system," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 65-75.
    5. Manikandan, G.K. & Iniyan, S. & Goic, Ranko, 2019. "Enhancing the optical and thermal efficiency of a parabolic trough collector – A review," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 235(C), pages 1524-1540.
    6. Siva Reddy, V. & Kaushik, S.C. & Ranjan, K.R. & Tyagi, S.K., 2013. "State-of-the-art of solar thermal power plants—A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 258-273.
    7. Gupta, M.K. & Kaushik, S.C. & Ranjan, K.R. & Panwar, N.L. & Reddy, V. Siva & Tyagi, S.K., 2015. "Thermodynamic performance evaluation of solar and other thermal power generation systems: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 567-582.
    8. Cui, Fuqing & He, Yaling & Cheng, Zedong & Li, Yinshi, 2013. "Study on combined heat loss of a dish receiver with quartz glass cover," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 690-696.
    9. Wu, Shuang-Ying & Xiao, Lan & Cao, Yiding & Li, You-Rong, 2010. "A parabolic dish/AMTEC solar thermal power system and its performance evaluation," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 87(2), pages 452-462, February.
    10. Liao, Zhirong & Li, Xin & Xu, Chao & Chang, Chun & Wang, Zhifeng, 2014. "Allowable flux density on a solar central receiver," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 747-753.
    11. Miguel J. Prieto & Juan Á. Martínez & Rogelio Peón & Lourdes Á. Barcia & Fernando Nuño, 2017. "On the Convenience of Using Simulation Models to Optimize the Control Strategy of Molten-Salt Heat Storage Systems in Solar Thermal Power Plants," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-17, July.
    12. Rodríguez, I. & Pérez-Segarra, C.D. & Lehmkuhl, O. & Oliva, A., 2013. "Modular object-oriented methodology for the resolution of molten salt storage tanks for CSP plants," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 402-414.
    13. Al-Nimr, Moh’d A. & Al-Ammari, Wahib A., 2020. "A novel hybrid and interactive solar system consists of Stirling engine ̸vacuum evaporator ̸thermoelectric cooler for electricity generation and water distillation," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 153(C), pages 1053-1066.
    14. Luo, Xianglong & Yi, Zhitong & Zhang, Bingjian & Mo, Songping & Wang, Chao & Song, Mengjie & Chen, Ying, 2017. "Mathematical modelling and optimization of the liquid separation condenser used in organic Rankine cycle," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 185(P2), pages 1309-1323.
    15. Bitam, El Wardi & Demagh, Yassine & Hachicha, Ahmed A. & Benmoussa, Hocine & Kabar, Yassine, 2018. "Numerical investigation of a novel sinusoidal tube receiver for parabolic trough technology," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 218(C), pages 494-510.
    16. Mostafavi Tehrani, S. Saeed & Taylor, Robert A., 2016. "Off-design simulation and performance of molten salt cavity receivers in solar tower plants under realistic operational modes and control strategies," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 698-715.
    17. Zhou, Liqun & Wang, Yiping & Huang, Qunwu, 2019. "Parametric analysis on the performance of flat plate collector with transparent insulation material," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 174(C), pages 534-542.
    18. Su, Bosheng & Han, Wei & Zhang, Xiaosong & Chen, Yi & Wang, Zefeng & Jin, Hongguang, 2018. "Assessment of a combined cooling, heating and power system by synthetic use of biogas and solar energy," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 229(C), pages 922-935.
    19. Evangelos Bellos & Christos Tzivanidis, 2018. "Enhancing the Performance of Evacuated and Non-Evacuated Parabolic Trough Collectors Using Twisted Tape Inserts, Perforated Plate Inserts and Internally Finned Absorber," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(5), pages 1-28, May.
    20. Cheng, Ze-Dong & He, Ya-Ling & Qiu, Yu, 2015. "A detailed nonuniform thermal model of a parabolic trough solar receiver with two halves and two inactive ends," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 139-147.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:88:y:2011:i:6:p:2098-2105. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/405891/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.