Numerical Simulation of CAES Champagne Effect. 1st Report. Development of Computer Program.

Abstract

Fluctuations of electric power demands in Japan are so heavy that development of electric sources for peak load generation is an important problem. Compressed air energy storage (CAES) system is one of the most promising candidates of energy storage system, and considered to follow pumping-up electric power plants. The CAES system stores compressed air in an underground reservoir using low-cost power from base load plants during off-peak periods. The stored air is used for gas-turbine power generation during peak periods. For successful design of the CAES system, accurate prediction of CAES champagne effect is required to avoid a loss of the stored air caused by blowout. In the present study, a computer program based on a one-dimensional two-fluid model including a simple gas release model was developed for prediction of the CAES champagne effect. This program was applied to simulation of experimental results of a high-solubility carbon dioxide/water laboratory model of the CAES system. The computer program developed was found to show good agreement with the experimental results if the mass transfer coefficient, that determines the gas release rate, was set to 0.4 mm/s.