A major advantage of concentrating solar power (CSP) plants is their ability to store thermal energy at a cost far lower than that of current battery technologies. A recent techno-economic study found that packed rock bed thermal storage systems can be constructed with capital costs of less than 10 United States dollar (USD)/kWht, significantly cheaper than the two-tank molten salt thermal storage currently used in CSP plants (about 22–30 USD/kWht). However, little work has been published on determining optimum rock bed design parameters in the context of a CSP plant. The parametric study in this paper is intended to provide an overview of the bed flow lengths, particle sizes, mass fluxes, and Biot numbers which are expected to minimize the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) for a central receiver CSP plant with a nominal storage capacity of 12 h. The findings show that rock diameters of 20–25 mm will usually give LCOE values at or very close to the minimum LCOE for the combined rock bed and CSP plant. Biot numbers between 0.1 and 0.2 are shown to have little influence on the position of the optimum (with respect to particle diameter) for all practical purposes. Optimum bed lengths are dependent on the Biot number and range between 3 and 10 m for a particle diameter of 20 mm.
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December 2016
Research-Article
Cost Optimum Parameters for Rock Bed Thermal Storage at 550–600 °C: A Parametric Study
Kenneth Allen
,
Kenneth Allen
Solar Thermal Energy Research Group,
Department of Mechanical and
Mechatronic Engineering,
University of Stellenbosch,
Private Bag XI,
Matieland 7602, South Africa
e-mail: kenallsp@yahoo.com
Department of Mechanical and
Mechatronic Engineering,
University of Stellenbosch,
Private Bag XI,
Matieland 7602, South Africa
e-mail: kenallsp@yahoo.com
Search for other works by this author on:
Lukas Heller
,
Lukas Heller
Solar Thermal Energy Research Group,
Department of Mechanical and
Mechatronic Engineering,
University of Stellenbosch,
Private Bag XI,
Matieland 7602, South Africa
e-mail: Lukas_Heller@gmx.de
Department of Mechanical and
Mechatronic Engineering,
University of Stellenbosch,
Private Bag XI,
Matieland 7602, South Africa
e-mail: Lukas_Heller@gmx.de
Search for other works by this author on:
Theodor von Backström
Theodor von Backström
Mem. ASME
Emeritus Professor
Department of Mechanical and
Mechatronic Engineering,
University of Stellenbosch,
Emeritus Professor
Department of Mechanical and
Mechatronic Engineering,
University of Stellenbosch,
Search for other works by this author on:
Kenneth Allen
Solar Thermal Energy Research Group,
Department of Mechanical and
Mechatronic Engineering,
University of Stellenbosch,
Private Bag XI,
Matieland 7602, South Africa
e-mail: kenallsp@yahoo.com
Department of Mechanical and
Mechatronic Engineering,
University of Stellenbosch,
Private Bag XI,
Matieland 7602, South Africa
e-mail: kenallsp@yahoo.com
Lukas Heller
Solar Thermal Energy Research Group,
Department of Mechanical and
Mechatronic Engineering,
University of Stellenbosch,
Private Bag XI,
Matieland 7602, South Africa
e-mail: Lukas_Heller@gmx.de
Department of Mechanical and
Mechatronic Engineering,
University of Stellenbosch,
Private Bag XI,
Matieland 7602, South Africa
e-mail: Lukas_Heller@gmx.de
Theodor von Backström
Mem. ASME
Emeritus Professor
Department of Mechanical and
Mechatronic Engineering,
University of Stellenbosch,
Emeritus Professor
Department of Mechanical and
Mechatronic Engineering,
University of Stellenbosch,
1Corresponding author.
Contributed by the Solar Energy Division of ASME for publication in the JOURNAL OF SOLAR ENERGY ENGINEERING: INCLUDING WIND ENERGY AND BUILDING ENERGY CONSERVATION. Manuscript received February 2, 2016; final manuscript received July 14, 2016; published online September 2, 2016. Assoc. Editor: Prof. Nathan Siegel.
J. Sol. Energy Eng. Dec 2016, 138(6): 061004 (8 pages)
Published Online: September 2, 2016
Article history
Received:
February 2, 2016
Revised:
July 14, 2016
Citation
Allen, K., Heller, L., and von Backström, T. (September 2, 2016). "Cost Optimum Parameters for Rock Bed Thermal Storage at 550–600 °C: A Parametric Study." ASME. J. Sol. Energy Eng. December 2016; 138(6): 061004. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4034334
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