Scott M. Flueckiger

Review of Molten-Salt Thermocline Tank Modeling for Solar Thermal Energy Storage

Molten-salt thermocline tanks are a low-cost option for thermal energy storage in concentrating solar power systems. A review of previous experimental and numerical thermocline tank studies is performed to identify key issues associated with tank design and performance. Published models have shown that tank discharge performance improves with both larger tank height and smaller internal filler diameter due to increased thermal stratification and sustained outflow of molten salt with high thermal quality. For well-insulated (adiabatic) tanks, low molten-salt flow rates reduce the axial extent of the heat-exchange region and increase discharge efficiency. Under nonadiabatic conditions, low flow rates become detrimental to stratification due to the development of fluid recirculation zones inside the tank. For such tanks, higher flow rates reduce molten-salt residence time inside the tank and improve discharge efficiency. Despite the economic advantages of a thermocline tank, thermal ratcheting of the tank wall remains a significant design concern. The potential for thermal ratcheting is reduced through the inclusion of an internal thermal insulation layer between the molten salt and tank wall to diminish temperature oscillations along the tank wall. Future research directions are also pointed out, including combined analyses that consider the solar receiver and power generation blocks as well as optimization between performance and economic considerations.

Thermomechanical Simulation of the Solar One Thermocline Storage Tank

The growing interest in large-scale solar power production has led to a renewed exploration of thermal storage technologies. In a thermocline storage system, heat transfer fluid (HTF) from the collection field is simultaneously stored at both excited and dead thermal states inside a single tank by exploiting buoyancy forces. A granulated porous medium included in the tank provides additional thermal mass for storage and reduces the volume of HTF required. While the thermocline tank offers a low-cost storage option, thermal ratcheting of the tank wall (generated by reorientation of the granular material from continuous thermal cycling) poses a significant design concern. A comprehensive simulation of the 170 MWht thermocline tank used in conjunction with the Solar One pilot plant is performed with a multidimensional two-temperature computational fluid dynamics model to investigate ratcheting potential. In operation from 1982 to 1986, this tank was subject to extensive instrumentation, including multiple strain gages along the tank wall to monitor hoop stress. Temperature profiles along the wall material are extracted from the simulation results to compute hoop stress via finite element models and compared with the original gage data. While the strain gages experienced large uncertainty, the maximum predicted hoop stress agrees to within 6.8% of the maximum stress recorded by the most reliable strain gages.

Economic Optimization of a Concentrating Solar Power Plant With Molten-Salt Thermocline Storage

System-level simulation of a molten-salt thermocline tank is undertaken in response to year-long historical weather data and corresponding plant control. Such a simulation is enabled by combining a finite-volume model of the tank that includes a sufficiently faithful representation at low computation cost with a system-level power tower plant model. Annual plant performance of a 100 MWe molten-salt power tower plant is optimized as a function of the thermocline tank size and the plant solar multiple (SM). The effectiveness of the thermocline tank in storing and supplying hot molten salt to the power plant is found to exceed 99% over a year of operation, independent of tank size. The electrical output of the plant is characterized by its capacity factor (CF) over the year, which increases with solar multiple and thermocline tank size albeit with diminishing returns. The economic performance of the plant is characterized with a levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) metric. A previous study conducted by the authors applied a simplified cost metric for plant performance. The current study applies a more comprehensive financial approach and observes a minimum cost of 12.2 ¢/kWhe with a solar multiple of 3 and a thermocline tank storage capacity of 16 h. While the thermocline tank concept is viable and economically feasible, additional plant improvements beyond those pertaining to storage are necessary to achieve grid parity with fossil fuels. [DOI: 10.1115/1.4025516]

Thermocline Energy Storage in the Solar One Power Plant: An Experimentally Validated Thermomechanical Investigation

The growing interest in large-scale solar power production has led to a renewed exploration of thermal storage technologies. In a thermocline storage system, heat transfer fluid (HTF) from the collection field is simultaneously stored at both excited and dead thermal states inside a single tank. A granulated porous medium included in the tank provides thermal mass for storage and reduces the amount of HTF volume required. While the thermocline offers a low-cost storage option, thermal ratcheting of the tank wall (generated by filler material reorientation from continuous thermal cycling) poses a significant design concern. A comprehensive simulation of the 170 MWht thermocline tank used in conjunction with the Solar One pilot plant is performed with a multi-dimensional two-temperature computational fluid dynamics model. In operation from 1982 to 1986, this tank was subject to extensive instrumentation, including multiple strain gages along the tank wall to monitor hoop stress. Temperature profiles along the wall material are extracted from the simulation results to compute hoop stress via finite element models and compared with the original gage data. While the strain gages experienced large uncertainty, the stresses computed from the simulation agree reasonably well with the experimental measurements. The maximum predicted hoop stress agrees to within 6.8% of the maximum stress recorded by the most reliable strain gages.Copyright

Comparative Analysis of Single- and Dual-media Thermocline Tanks for Thermal Energy Storage in Concentrating Solar Power Plants

A molten-salt thermocline tank is a low-cost option for thermal energy storage (TES) in concentrating solar power (CSP) plants. Typical dual-media thermocline (DMT) tanks contain molten salt and a filler material that provides sensible heat capacity at reduced cost. However, conventional quartzite rock filler introduces the potential for thermomechanical failure by successive thermal ratcheting of the tank wall under cyclical operation. To avoid this potential mode of failure, the tank may be operated as a singlemedium thermocline (SMT) tank containing solely molten salt. However, in the absence of filler material to dampen tank-scale convection eddies, internal mixing can reduce the quality of the stored thermal energy. To assess the relative merits of these two approaches, the operation of DMT and SMT tanks is simulated under different periodic charge/discharge cycles and tank wall boundary conditions to compare the performance with and without a filler material. For all conditions assessed, both thermocline tank designs have excellent thermal storage performance, although marginally higher firstand second-law efficiencies are predicted for the SMT tank. While heat loss through the tank wall to the ambient induces internal flow nonuniformities in the SMT design over the scale of the entire tank, strong stratification maintains separation of the hot and cold regions by a narrow thermocline; thermocline growth is limited by the low thermal diffusivity of the molten salt. Heat transport and flow phenomena inside the DMT tank, on the other hand, are governed to a great extent by thermal diffusion, which causes elongation of the thermocline. Both tanks are highly resistant to performance loss over periods of static operation, and the deleterious effects of dwell time are limited in both tank designs. [DOI: 10.1115/1.4029453]

Thermocline Bed Properties for Deformation Analysis

Thermocline tanks have been considered as an alternative to traditional two-tank molten salt thermal storage in concentrating solar power systems due to their potential for cost reduction. One concern for thermocline usage is thermal ratcheting caused by the internal rock bed deformation during cyclic operation and significant temperature fluctuations. Thermal ratcheting studies have been performed in the literature to identify the possibility of tank rupture. However, these studies numerically modeled the ratcheting behavior utilizing bed properties that have never been measured for the materials used in thermocline storage systems. This work presents triaxial test data quartzite and silica thermocline filler materials to better inform future investigations of thermal ratcheting. Molten salt is replaced with water as the interstitial fluid due to similarity in dimensionless numbers and to accommodate room temperature measurement. Material property data for cohesion, dilatancy angle, internal angle of friction, Youngs modulus, Poissons ratio, and bulk modulus are presented for 0.138–0.414 MPa confining pressure. The material properties are then compared to those assumed in the literature to comment on the potential impact of this property data relative to thermal ratcheting.

Simulation of a Concentrating Solar Power Plant With Molten-Salt Thermocline Storage for Optimized Annual Performance

A finite-volume-based model of a molten-salt thermocline tank is developed to achieve simulation at a sufficient level of detail but at low computational cost. Combination of this storage model with a system-level power tower plant model enables yearlong thermocline tank simulation in response to historical weather data and corresponding plant control. The current study simulates a 100 MWe molten-salt power tower plant to optimize annual plant performance as a function of the thermocline tank size and the plant solar multiple.Thermocline storage performance is characterized by the effectiveness of the tank in storing and delivering utilizable heat for steam generation and power production. Additional system-level metrics include thermal energy discard due to saturation of storage capacity and annual plant capacity factor. Economic assessment of the power output is characterized with a simple levelized cost of electricity. Minimum cost is observed with a solar multiple of 3 and a thermocline tank storage capacity of 16 hours.Copyright

Transient Plane Source Method for Thermal Property Measurements of Metal Hydrides

Metal hydrides are promising hydrogen storage materials with potential for practical use in a passenger car. To be a viable hydrogen storage option, metal hydride heat transfer behavior must be well understood and accounted for. As such, the thermal properties of the metal hydride are measured and compiled to assess this behavior. These properties include thermal conductivity, specific heat, and thermal diffusivity. The transient plane source (TPS) method was selected primarily due to a high level of versatility, including customization for high pressure hydrogen environments. To perform this measurement, a TPS 2500 S thermal property analyzer by the Hot Disk Company was employed. To understand the measurement and analysis process of the TPS method, two different sample materials were evaluated at ambient conditions. These samples included a stainless steel pellet and an inactivated (non-pyrophoric) metal hydride pellet. Thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity of these samples were measured using the TPS method. The thermal property measurements are compared to the data available in the literature (stainless steel) and the data obtained using laser flash method (metal hydride). The improvements needed to successfully implement the TPS method are discussed in detail.Copyright

Advanced Transient Plane Source Method for the Measurement of Thermal Properties of High Pressure Metal Hydrides

Metal hydrides are a promising material type for hydrogen storage in automotive applications, but thermal property data is needed to optimize the necessary heat exchangers. In the present work, the transient plane source method is integrated with a pressure vessel to measure these properties for metal hydride powder as a function of pressure during the hydrogenation process. The properties under investigation include effective thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity, specific heat, and thermal contact resistance. The results of this work with oxidized Ti1.1 CrMn powder provide effective thermal conductivity values similar to data reported in literature for other metal hydride materials. The experimental measurements are also well modeled by the Zehner-Bauer-Schlunder interpretive model for packed beds as a function of gas pressure. Extending the test method and ZBS model to estimate the contact resistance provides values that were two orders of magnitude less than measurements previously reported for other hydride materials.Copyright

Numerical Study of Supercritical CO2 Convective Heat Transfer for Advanced Brayton Cycles for Concentrated Solar Power

Advancement of supercritical carbon dioxide Brayton cycle technology in concentrated solar power plants requires an improved understanding of duct-flow convection in the supercritical region. Numerical simulation, based on a modified carbon dioxide hot gas bypass load stand with an external heat source, is conducted to determine carbon dioxide convective heat transfer coefficients at supercritical pressures and temperatures beyond the range for which results are available in the literature.The simulation geometry is derived from the heated test section included in the physical load stand. Inlet pressure, temperature, and mass flux are varied to assess the influence on Nusselt number. Cases that achieve fully developed flow and temperature conditions inside the tube geometry agree with predictions from a Nusselt number correlation in the literature with a mean absolute error of 6.4 percent, less than the 6.8% average error reported for the correlation. This agreement includes pressure and temperature conditions outside the defined range of the correlation. Future experiments will provide additional validation of the model and correlation, enabling analysis farther into the supercritical region necessary for Brayton cycle operation.Copyright