Project Details
[Return to Previous Page]Active Thermocline Management in Packed-Bed Thermal Energy Storage Systems
Company: Echogen Power Systems (DE), Inc.
Major(s):
Primary: ME
Optional: EGEE
Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO
Intellectual Property: YES
Overview: Thermal energy storage systems utilizing packed beds are increasingly being considered for utility-scale energy storage applications due to their low cost, scalability, and use of readily available materials. A key challenge in packed-bed thermal storage systems is the formation and degradation of the thermocline region that separates hot and cold sections of the storage media. As the thermocline widens due to flow maldistribution, mixing, thermal diffusion, and cyclic operation, the amount of usable stored energy decreases and overall system performance is reduced. The objective of this project is to design, model, build, and test a laboratory-scale packed-bed thermal storage system using gravel or glass spheres as the storage medium and water as the heat transfer fluid. The team will characterize thermocline formation during charging and discharging operations, develop numerical and CFD models to predict system performance, and investigate passive and active control strategies to minimize thermocline growth and maximize usable thermal storage capacity. The project will provide insight into the relationship between flow distribution, operating conditions, control strategies, and thermal stratification in packed-bed storage systems. The resulting models, test data, and design recommendations will support the development of future large-scale thermal energy storage technologies. Project deliverables: - Lab-scale system and instrumentation design package - Test procedure and documentation - Lab-scale test system - Baseline experimental results - CFD and/or reduced-order model development and validation against baseline results - Thermocline mitigation study (literature review and recommendations for test) - Thermocline mitigation test results and comparison to baseline - Final report and documentation
