Thermal Performance Evaluation of Two Thermal Energy Storage Tank Design Concepts for Use with a Solid Particle Receiver-Based Solar Power Tower

Abdelrahman El-Leathy, Sheldon Jeter, Hany Al-Ansary, Said Abdel-Khalik, Jonathan Roop, Matthew Golob, Syed Danish, Abdulaziz Alrished, Eldwin Djajadiwinata and Zeyad Al-Suhaibani
Additional contact information
Abdelrahman El-Leathy: Mechanical Engineering Department, King Saud University, P.O. Box 800, Riyadh 11421, Saudi Arabia
Sheldon Jeter: George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
Hany Al-Ansary: Mechanical Engineering Department, King Saud University, P.O. Box 800, Riyadh 11421, Saudi Arabia
Said Abdel-Khalik: George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
Jonathan Roop: George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
Matthew Golob: George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
Syed Danish: Sustainable Energy Technologies Center, King Saud University, P.O. Box 800, Riyadh 11421, Saudi Arabia
Abdulaziz Alrished: Mechanical Engineering Department, King Saud University, P.O. Box 800, Riyadh 11421, Saudi Arabia
Eldwin Djajadiwinata: Mechanical Engineering Department, King Saud University, P.O. Box 800, Riyadh 11421, Saudi Arabia
Zeyad Al-Suhaibani: Mechanical Engineering Department, King Saud University, P.O. Box 800, Riyadh 11421, Saudi Arabia

Energies, 2014, vol. 7, issue 12, 1-16

Abstract: This paper presents the results of an extensive study of two thermal energy storage (TES) systems. The goal of the research is to make solar energy cost-competitive with other forms of electricity. A small-scale TES system was first built. The inner to outer layers were made of firebrick (FB), autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC) and reinforced concrete brick (CB). The experiments were conducted at temperatures of up to 1000 °C for sustained periods of time. AAC was found to be prone to cracking at temperatures exceeding 900 °C; as a result, AAC was eliminated from the second TES system. The second, larger-scale TES system was subsequently built of multiple layers of readily available materials, namely, insulating firebrick (IFB), perlite concrete (PC), expansion joint (EJ), and CB. All of the surfaces were instrumented with thermocouples to estimate the heat loss from the system. The temperature was maintained at approximately 800 °C to approximate steady state conditions closely. The steady state heat loss was determined to be approximately 4.4% for a day. The results indicate that high-temperature TES systems can be constructed of readily available materials while meeting the heat loss requirements for a falling particle receiver system, thereby contributing to reducing the overall cost of concentrating solar power systems.

Keywords: central receiver; high temperature insulation; thermal energy storage; sand (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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