TU-Wien, Institute for Energy Systems and Thermodynamics, Vienna, Austria
Source: This paper was published in Energy.
Abstract: Due to the increasing amount of volatile energy in Europe’s electricity system, the existing storage technologies and capacities are pushed to their limits. Therefore, new concepts like the sensible Fluidization Based Particle Thermal Energy Storage (FP-TES) can be a viable option. The FP-TES is working with bulk material as storage medium, which provides proven benefits like cost efficiency and low thermal losses. Moreover, the greatest advantage of the FP-TES compared to other particle based storage systems is the substitution of mechanical transport devices by an advanced fluidization technology. To prove and further develop this concept of particle transport, numerical simulations are performed. Consequently, an optimized geometry for a cold test rig, working with 800 kg quartz sand, is developed and its behaviour as well as particle mass flow and pressure drops are predicted. Furthermore, the results of experimental investigations performed with the test rig are compared to the numerical simulations. Both the simulation and the experiment show that controlled stable particle mass flow can be achieved by the developed advanced fluidization technology. Finally, a basic layout of an exemplary application is designed and the energetic efficiency is estimated.