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Title: Thermocline degradation in a packed bed thermal storage tank

Abstract

A method under consideration for storage and retrieval of heat energy in central solar receiver power plants involves the use of packed beds through which a fluid can be made to flow. Heat energy is stored in the solid portions of the bed and then reclaimed at a later time by a heat transfer mechanism when colder fluid is passed through the tank. Of crucial importance to this process is the ability to maintain a sharp temperature difference (thermocline) between the hot and cold ends of the bed during long storage periods when no new fluid enters the tank. The degradation of this thermocline over a period of time is described here by a coupled pair of parabolic partial differential equations for the fluid and solid temperatures of the bed. The time-dependent, quasi-one-dimensional model is solved analytically and includes the effects of finite tank length, thermal conduction in the direction parallel to the tank walls, and heat transfer between the fluid and solid components of the bed. Two types of problems are considered. The case of a perfectly insulated tank is solved by a Fourier method of lines (separation of variables) approach, while the solution for the imperfectly insulated casemore » is obtained by a more general transform technique. The analysis, which gives the time evolution of the fluid and solid temperature profiles, is illustrated by specific examples and important conclusions are drawn from the results.« less

Authors:
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (USA)
OSTI Identifier:
5695070
Report Number(s):
SAND-77-8032; CONF-771106-1
DOE Contract Number:  
AC04-76DP00789
Resource Type:
Conference
Resource Relation:
Conference: 30. annual meeting of the division of fluid dynamics of the American Physical Society, Bethlehem, PA, USA, 21 Nov 1977
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
14 SOLAR ENERGY; THERMAL ENERGY STORAGE EQUIPMENT; MATHEMATICAL MODELS; TEMPERATURE DISTRIBUTION; DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS; FLUID FLOW; HEAT TRANSFER FLUIDS; PACKED BED; THERMAL INSULATION; TOWER FOCUS POWER PLANTS; EQUATIONS; EQUIPMENT; FLUIDS; POWER PLANTS; SOLAR POWER PLANTS; SOLAR THERMAL POWER PLANTS; THERMAL POWER PLANTS; 142000* - Solar Energy- Heat Storage- (1980-)

Citation Formats

Margolis, S B. Thermocline degradation in a packed bed thermal storage tank. United States: N. p., 1977. Web.
Margolis, S B. Thermocline degradation in a packed bed thermal storage tank. United States.
Margolis, S B. 1977. "Thermocline degradation in a packed bed thermal storage tank". United States.
@article{osti_5695070,
title = {Thermocline degradation in a packed bed thermal storage tank},
author = {Margolis, S B},
abstractNote = {A method under consideration for storage and retrieval of heat energy in central solar receiver power plants involves the use of packed beds through which a fluid can be made to flow. Heat energy is stored in the solid portions of the bed and then reclaimed at a later time by a heat transfer mechanism when colder fluid is passed through the tank. Of crucial importance to this process is the ability to maintain a sharp temperature difference (thermocline) between the hot and cold ends of the bed during long storage periods when no new fluid enters the tank. The degradation of this thermocline over a period of time is described here by a coupled pair of parabolic partial differential equations for the fluid and solid temperatures of the bed. The time-dependent, quasi-one-dimensional model is solved analytically and includes the effects of finite tank length, thermal conduction in the direction parallel to the tank walls, and heat transfer between the fluid and solid components of the bed. Two types of problems are considered. The case of a perfectly insulated tank is solved by a Fourier method of lines (separation of variables) approach, while the solution for the imperfectly insulated case is obtained by a more general transform technique. The analysis, which gives the time evolution of the fluid and solid temperature profiles, is illustrated by specific examples and important conclusions are drawn from the results.},
doi = {},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/5695070}, journal = {},
number = ,
volume = ,
place = {United States},
year = {Mon Aug 01 00:00:00 EDT 1977},
month = {Mon Aug 01 00:00:00 EDT 1977}
}

Conference:
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