Development of a Vacuum Insulated Thermal Energy Storage for Industrial Applications

Abstract

In this article the development of a high performance, double-wall vacuum insulated hot water thermal energy storage for high temperature applications is presented. In this concept, the main heat losses of the tank are limited to radiation and to the thermal bridges present in the wall of the tank and fittings. This concept is well suited for high temperature applications such as those found in the industrial sector where storage energy losses are an important issue. Few studies on double wall evacuated tanks were found in the open literature and none fully employed a completely evacuated gap as proposed in this study. A structural analysis was performed to validate the proposed design and ensure conformity to high temperature applications. Heat transfer calculations assessed the impact of low emissivity coatings on the radiative heat transport in the evacuated gap. An evaluation of the investment cost of the novel concept was also performed and comparisons made with conventional insulated TES on the market. A numerical model of the tank was developed and the thermal behaviour investigated under different configurations. An economic analysis presented the investment attractiveness with respect to the common TES alternatives on the market. Overall, the presented concept is clearly viable not only in terms of technical feasibility but also in terms of economic practicality.

Seasonal Thermal Energy Storage in Buried Water Tanks for Single Detached Houses

“…A talk given by Reuß and Melzer (2013) details some preliminary outcomes of the collaboration, though little information seems to have been published since. A few theoretical studies have examined the thermal performance of VSI tanks -for example, Kalder et al (2018) and Eicher et al (2019) examine VSI tanks for space heating and industrial applications, respectively.…”