Application of phase change materials for thermal energy storage in concentrated solar thermal power plants: A review to recent developments

Abstract

h i g h l i g h t sThermal storage for solar thermal power using phase change materials is reviewed. Various phase change materials and manufacturing techniques are surveyed. Mathematical modeling and simulations to latent heat energy storage is reviewed. Integration of a PCM-based TES unit into a power generation system is discussed. Cost analysis of thermocline latent heat thermal storage systems is reviewed. Keywords: Concentrated solar power (CSP) Thermal energy storage (TES) Phase change material (PCM) Latent heat a b s t r a c tThe objective of this paper is to review the recent technologies of thermal energy storage (TES) using phase change materials (PCM) for various applications, particularly concentrated solar thermal power (CSP) generation systems. Five issues of the technology will be discussed based on a survey to the state-of-the-art development and understandings. The first part is about various phase change materials (PCM) in thermal storage applications and recent development of PCM encapsulation technologies. The second is the current status of research and application of latent heat storage systems in CSP plants. The third is the mathematical modeling and numerical simulations to the phenomenon of latent heat thermal storage. The fourth is about the issues of integration of a PCM-based TES unit into a power generation system and the operation. The last part is a discussion about the cost issues and comparison between sensible and latent heat TES systems. The surveyed information will be very helpful to researchers and engineers in energy storage industry and particularly solar thermal power industry.

Finite-volume ray tracing using Computational Fluid Dynamics in linear focus CSP applications

“…Allouche et al [3] simulated fluid flow in the steam ejector of a solar refrigeration system while enhanced heat transfer of parabolic trough absorber pipes are considered by Muños et al [4]. The analysis of CSP heat storage systems using CFD has been a recent development, with Fornarelli et al [5], Pointner et al [6] and Xu et al [7] being significant examples. In terms of using this modelling approach for solar power plants, Fasel et al.…”

Numerical investigation of phase change materials thermal capacitor for pipe flow

“…Numerous phase change materials have been investigated as thermal energy storage ranging from organic materials over inorganic materials to eutectic materials [1][2][3][4]. In tandem, a number of PCM thermal energy storage configuration have been proposed, e.g.…”

“…In tandem, a number of PCM thermal energy storage configuration have been proposed, e.g. pipe storage, cylindrical storage, shell and tube storage, rectangular storage and triplex tube storage [2,[5][6][7].…”

Development of an Integrated Thermal Energy Storage and Free-Piston Stirling Generator for a Concentrating Solar Power System

“…Most prominently is the low thermal conductivity of the studied materials, particularly in the solid phase, which has a limiting effect on the heat transfer during the discharging process. Numerous methods of improving the heat transfer rate have been studied, including adding a highly conductive material to the PCM [8][9][10][11][12][13], employing multiple PCMs with varying melting temperature [14][15][16], macro-and micro-encapsulation [5,6,[17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25], and embedding fins into the PCM [26][27][28][29]. Another option is to use heat pipes.…”