Experimental study on storage performance of packed bed solar thermal energy storage system using sintered ore particles

Abstract

To cope with the mismatch between solar energy generation and demand, developing thermal energy storage systems is necessary. Due to its low construction and operating costs and wide operating temperature range, the packed bed sensible heat storage system using air as the heat transfer fluid is becoming more and more popular. This paper proposes to use sintered ore particles as a sensible heat storage material. An experimental study is conducted to investigate the air resistance characteristics and thermal behavior of the sinter bed. Moreover, the effects of particle size, charging temperature, air flow and cycle times on storage performance of the bed are studied. The results show that the sinter bed has good thermal performance. The specific heat of the sinter is 0.86–0.98 J/g/°C in the range of 200–380 °C, which increases as the temperature rises. When the thermal storage system enters a stable operation state, the cycle efficiency of the sinter bed can reach 66.78%. In addition, due to the unique production process, sinter has the potential to improve its thermal properties by optimizing the ratio of raw materials and/or adding other auxiliary materials.