Thermal properties, permeability and compressive strength of highly porous accumulated ceramsites in the foundation of salt tank for concentrate solar power plants

Abstract

Concentrated solar power (CSP) plants have a great potential for development, the key component of which is thermal energy storage (TES). In this article, thermostability, porous structure, heat conductivity, permeability and pressure resistance of accumulated ceramsites were researched. The effective thermal conductivity decreases from 0.129 to 0.098 W/mK with porosity of 71.6–78.9% while the average simulated values of absolute permeability for four cases have a wide range from 0.754 × 10−8 to 5.350 × 10−8 m2. The uniaxial compression experiment of accumulated ceramsites was carried out for the stress-strain property, whose curve decreases with the increase of porosity of accumulated ceramsites. The ceramsites is a feasible material for the foundation of the molten salt tank in CSP plants with its good thermal properties, low permeability and sufficient compressive strength, which are all related to porosity and particle size distribution.