Solar Thermal Technology In Storage System: Benefits, Concentration Of Solar Radiation, And Thermal Energy Storage

Objective

Discuss About The Solar Thermal Technology In Storage System.

Solar Energy has been the most prominent source of power in the earth. It is one of the most reliable renewable energy and can produce huge amount of energy at a time (Tian and Zhao 2013). Therefore, Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) plants have been installed in various places of Australia for transferring solar energy into various other sources of energy including thermal energy. As commented by Kuravi et al. (2013), the transformation of the solar energy into thermal storage plant has been discussed in the chapter. The benefits of the process has been explained briefly in this chapter. The use of the various algorithms related to the process has been discussed in this chapter. As mentioned by Liu, Saman and Bruno (2012), concentrating solar thermal (CST) technologies have been applied for deployment of solar energy into thermal power plant with a dispatch able source of energy. The use of the Thermal Energy Storage (TES) has been designed in the CSP plant for storing the thermal energy in the thermal storage plant.

The main objective of the project management is to investigate the performance of the solar thermal technologies in a thermal storage system. To check the performance of the concentrating solar thermal technology, CFD analysis software (ANSYS) will be used.

Concentrated Solar Power (CSP), Concentrating Solar Thermal (CST) and Thermal Energy Storage (TES)

Solar energy have been a regular source of renewable energy in the environment. The power of the energy can be diversified into various energy outputs. Therefore, the use of CST technologies have helped in transforming the solar energy into thermal energy. As suggested by Bayon et al. (2018), CSP plants are form of renewable energy generation that helps in converting solar energy into various forms. It includes falling of various sunrays falling on a large surface area of thousands of squares meters. As stated by Cocco and Serra (2015), the use of the CST technologies have been beneficial in providing a proper edge of the conversion of energy in the thermal storage plant. The thermal storage plant has helped in string the solar energy in the thermal power plant for the generation of huge amount of energy and power. This has helped in minimizing the scarcity of power and electricity in various cities of the country. The power generation systems of the country has been advanced and productive.

Keywords

Solar energy has been most abundant energy resource on the earth that provides a huge amount of energy to environment. Solar energy helps in reaching to a high temperature that helps in maintaining different works in the industry. The use of solar energy in the thermal power plant have been helping in maintaining the sunlight concentration in the system.  As mentioned by Nithyanandam and Pitchumani  (2014), the use of solar energy in the thermal power plant have been maintaining the generation of the thermal energy for the generation of power and electricity in the city. The incoming solar radiation has been concentrated in the solar collectors whose concentration ratio can be evaluated by:

C = A_a / A_r

where Aa (m2 ) is the aperture area of the concentrator and Ar (m2 ) is the receiver area. When the second law of thermodynamics is applied to radiative heat exchange between the sun and the receiver, it is obtained the maximum concentration ratio. Considering a circular concentrator with area Aa, a receiver area Ar and viewing the sun of radius r at distance R, the half-angle subtended by the sun is θs. For a perfect concentrator, the radiation from the sun on the concentrator is the fraction of the solar radiation which is intercepted by its aperture. Assuming that the sun is a blackbody at Ts, the heat transferred to the receiver is expressed by the following equation

Qr-s = A_a . (r²/ R²). σ .  T⁴_s

where σ is Stephan-Boltzmann’s constant

Similarly, the heat transferred from a perfect receiver at Tr to the sun is given by

Qr-s = A_{r .} σ . T⁴_r .E_r-s

where E_r−s is the fraction of radiated energy which reaches the sun. Thus, when Ts = Tr, the second law of thermodynamics implies Qs!r ¼ Qr!s and the concentration ratio can be evaluated by

A_a / A_{r =} r²/ R². E_r-s

Since the maximum value of Ers is unity, the maximum concentration ratio for circular concentrator is

(A_a / A_r) _{circular, max} = R²/r² = 1 / sin² θ_s

The same procedure for linear concentrators leads to

(A_a / A_r) _{linear, max} = 1 / sin² θ_s

As a result, with θs = 0.27º, the maximum possible concentration ratio for circular concentrators is 45,000, and the maximum for linear one is 212. Therefore, higher temperature is delivered with higher concentration ratio. .

Thermal Energy Storage (TES) is an electrical load administration procedure for structures, which can essentially lessen crest power request and vitality utilization where time of utilization (TOU) and on-top request charge framework levy is accessible. As mentioned by Liu, Saman and Bruno (2012), in this duty framework, utility expenses for non-private structures can be diminished by TES innovation. TES frameworks have been used as a request side administration (DSM) technique by a few utilities to move power utilize related with cooling from on-crest periods to off-crest periods, in this way assuming an indispensable part in vitality preservation.

Benefits

There are various thermal energy storage system used in the market including Chilled Water Storage system, Ice Thermal Storage Systems, Ice harvesters, Ice slurry, encapsulated ice and External melt-ice-on-coil storage system.

As mentioned by Nithyanandam and Pitchumani (2014), an ice harvester system includes an open insulated storage tank. Ice is formed on the vertical plate surfaces of the evaporator during the charging time. economics, the ice is harvested by breaking up the supply of liquid refrigerant by providing hot gas into evaporator. Therefore, this helps in raising the temperature up to 5 degree Celsius, resulting in the melting of ice in contact of the plates. As mentioned by Nithyanandam and Pitchumani (2014), TES frameworks have been elevated as a way to decrease introduced chiller limit. Normal uses of TES frameworks incorporate medium-size to huge office structures, institutional structures, inns, and retail locations. Therefore, water falls in the container and is stopped by the photo-electric switch when the storage s fully charged. However, during the discharging time, chilled water is circulated in the ice storage tank. The water solution has been cooled by the evaporating the refrigerant tank in the system. The production of the cool ice particle on the surface if the tank creates direct impact on the suspension of ice articles.

 Additionally, it helps in providing flow modelling that provides design proposals and minimize additional costs for over-sizing the thermal plant energy and heat production.  The initial cost for analysis the performance of the transfer of solar energy into thermal energy have been minimized by the use of ice harvester system. As mentioned by Liu, Saman and Bruno (2012), the ice harvesting system can be used in typical volume for the encapsulated ice in the concrete tank. Therefore, for charging the storage tank, low temperature of glycol solution have been circulated at high speed.  This helps in increasing the temperature of the tank and ice melts down. The external ice melt on the coil system where the ice is formed in the system. Therefore, the storage charging of the liquid refrigerant circulates with the heat system and creating charging particles in the ice system.  However, due to the change in the load shifting of the operation strategy system helps in maintaining the thermal energy of the system. As mentioned by Liu, Saman and Bruno (2012), the chiller system can be controlled in the levelling partial storage of the ice in the system. The use of various system in the market have helped in maintaining the thermal energy storage for the production of electricity in the system.

Conclusion

It can be concluded that the use of the CFD modelling have helped in minimizing the cost of the production and performance of the thermal power plant. The conversion of the solar energy into thermal energy has been providing a major benefit to the environment. This have helped in maintaining the cost of the transformation of energy. The benefits of the process has been explained briefly in this chapter. The use of the various algorithms related to the process has been discussed in this chapter. The use of the CST technologies in the solar energy transformation have been helping in maintaining the production of the energy and electricity in the thermal power plant. The use of solar energy as a renewable resources of heat and electricity has been properly justified. The concentration of the CST has been formulated properly in the study.

References

Bayon, A., Bader, R., Jafarian, M., Fedunik-Hofman, L., Sun, Y., Hinkley, J., Miller, S. and Lipi?ski, W., 2018. Techno-economic assessment of solid–gas thermochemical energy storage systems for solar thermal power applications. Energy, 149, pp.473-484.

Cocco, D. and Serra, F., 2015. Performance comparison of two-tank direct and thermocline thermal energy storage systems for 1 MWe class concentrating solar power plants. Energy, 81, pp.526-536.

Kuravi, S., Trahan, J., Goswami, D.Y., Rahman, M.M. and Stefanakos, E.K., 2013. Thermal energy storage technologies and systems for concentrating solar power plants. Progress in Energy and Combustion Science, 39(4), pp.285-319.

Liu, M., Saman, W. and Bruno, F., 2012. Review on storage materials and thermal performance enhancement techniques for high temperature phase change thermal storage systems. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 16(4), pp.2118-2132.

Liu, M., Tay, N.S., Bell, S., Belusko, M., Jacob, R., Will, G., Saman, W. and Bruno, F., 2016. Review on concentrating solar power plants and new developments in high temperature thermal energy storage technologies. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 53, pp.1411-1432.

Mao, Q., 2016. Recent developments in geometrical configurations of thermal energy storage for concentrating solar power plant. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 59, civil-engineering.320-327.

Nithyanandam, K. and Pitchumani, R., 2014. Cost and performance analysis of concentrating solar power systems with integrated latent thermal energy storage. Energy, 64, pp.793-810.

Tian, Y. and Zhao, C.Y., 2013. A review of solar collectors and thermal energy storage in solar thermal applications. Applied energy, 104, pp.538-553.