Finite Element Method Modeling of Sensible Heat Thermal Energy Storage with Innovative Concretes and Comparative Analysis with Literature Benchmarks

Claudio Ferone,Raffaele Cioffi,Francesco Colangelo,Giuseppina Roviello,Rosa Maggio,Domenico Frattini

doi:10.3390/en7085291

Abstract

Efficient systems for high performance buildings are required to improve the integration of renewable energy sources and to reduce primary energy consumption from fossil fuels. This paper is focused on sensible heat thermal energy storage (SHTES) systems using solid media and numerical simulation of their transient behavior using the finite element method (FEM). Unlike other papers in the literature, the numerical model and simulation approach has simultaneously taken into consideration various aspects: thermal properties at high temperature, the actual geometry of the repeated storage element and the actual storage cycle adopted. High-performance thermal storage materials from the literatures have been tested and used here as reference benchmarks. Other materials tested are lightweight concretes with recycled aggregates and a geopolymer concrete. Their thermal properties have been measured and used as inputs in the numerical model to preliminarily evaluate their application in thermal storage. The analysis carried out can also be used to optimize the storage system, in terms of thermal properties required to the storage material. The results showed a significant influence of the thermal properties on the performances of the storage elements. Simulation results have provided information for further scale-up from a single differential storage element to the entire module as a function of material thermal properties.

Highlights

Design of Sensible Heat Thermal Energy Storage Systems and High Performance MaterialsIncreasing interest has been directed towards concentrated solar power (CSP) plants, integrated with thermal energy storage (TES) systems, by means of very different solar plant layouts, storage principles, materials used and operating strategies, as reported by Gil et al [1] and Medrano et al [2].Solar collectors can be used for high performance buildings to provide utilities and services in a more efficient way in terms of primary energy used and costs [3,4,5]
The profile shows, for each material, the maximum average temperature reached after 3600 s, the break phase without heat losses, and the minimum average temperature reached during the discharging phase
Thermal property data from the literature and experimentally measured, have been used in finite element method (FEM)-based simulations to evaluate the suitability of different concretes for TES applications

Summary

Introduction

Design of Sensible Heat Thermal Energy Storage Systems and High Performance Materials. Solar collectors can be used for high performance buildings to provide utilities and services in a more efficient way in terms of primary energy used and costs [3,4,5]. Among TES options, one of the most suitable and economically feasible is represented by sensible heat TES (SHTES) in solid media [6,7,8], using traditional and innovative materials, such as high temperature concretes [9], fly ash/silica fume based concretes [10,11] and graphite concretes (A4) [12,13]

Methods

Results

Conclusion