Abstract
Thermal Energy Storage (TES) bins are considered critical components in particle heating receiver-based concentrated solar thermal power (PHR-CSP) plants. Their reliability and efficiency play an integral part in ensuring the commercialization of particle-based CSP technology. Heat loss/leakage from TES walls, particle erosion, thermal and structural stresses during charging/discharging, and hot/cold startup are some of the roadblocks that need to be addressed adequately before commercializing the PHR-CSP technology. To achieve this target, our teams at King Saud University (KSU) and Georgia Institute of Technology (GIT) have successfully demonstrated the multilayered TES bin in the past to store solid particles at a temperature of 700°C. To achieve a higher thermal efficiency of the plant, the particles are required to be heated at temperatures above 1000°C. This causes high thermal and structural stresses to the TES bin walls or layers. At such high particle temperatures, it is important to understand the material properties and interactions between different layers of the TES bin because each layer has different thermal conductivity and coefficient of linear thermal expansion. In this paper, the results of thermal and structural analysis on the TES bin design will be presented and interpreted as how the TES wall layers (insulating firebrick, insulating perlite concrete, expansion layer, and reinforced concrete) will interact with each other. This analysis is important to understand that how thermal and mechanical stresses affect, not only the materials but their interfaces as well. Moreover, it will provide an initial assessment of the TES bin’s thermal and structural integrity at high temperatures.
