Investigation of two concrete thermal energy storage system configurations for continuous power production

Abstract

Two Modelica concrete thermal energy storage (CTES) models are built to analyze potential CTES system designs. The first design is the single-pipe network design wherein a heat transfer fluid (HTF) flows in one direction during heat deposition and the opposite direction during heat removal. All pipes in the network are used for either deposition (charging) or removal (discharging). The second design is a dual-pipe network design in which a network of HTF pipes carries charging fluid and a separate piping network carries discharging HTF. This paper evaluates the operation of these two configurations to produce constant steam. Results indicate that the designs are likely appropriate for different applications: the single-pipe network appears appropriate for batch energy applications, and the dual-pipe network is appropriate for continuous energy applications.