Thermal energy storage in combined cycle power plants: comparing finite volume to finite element methods
The research in thermal energy storage (TES) systems has a long track record. However, there are several technical challenges that need to be overcome, to become omnipresent and reach their full potential. These include performance, physical size, weight and dynamic response. In many cases, it is al...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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EDP Sciences
2019-01-01
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| Series: | E3S Web of Conferences |
| Online Access: | https://www.e3s-conferences.org/articles/e3sconf/pdf/2019/39/e3sconf_supehr18_01001.pdf |
| _version_ | 1818461109348204544 |
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| author | Gkoutzamanis Vasilis G. Chiu Justin N. W. Martin Guillaume Kalfas Anestis I. |
| author_facet | Gkoutzamanis Vasilis G. Chiu Justin N. W. Martin Guillaume Kalfas Anestis I. |
| author_sort | Gkoutzamanis Vasilis G. |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The research in thermal energy storage (TES) systems has a long track record. However, there are several technical challenges that need to be overcome, to become omnipresent and reach their full potential. These include performance, physical size, weight and dynamic response. In many cases, it is also necessary to be able to achieve the foregoing at greater and greater scale, in terms of power and energy. One of the applications in which these challenges prevail is in the integration of a thermal energy storage with the gas turbine (GT) compressor inlet conditioning system in a combined cycle power plant. The system is intended to provide either GT cooling or heating, based on the operational strategy of the plant. As a contribution to tackle the preceding, this article describes a series of 3-dimensional (3D) numerical simulations, employing different Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) methods, to study the transient effects of inlet temperature and flow rate variation on the performance of an encapsulated TES with phase change materials (PCM). A sensitivity analysis is performed where the heat transfer fluid (HTF) temperature varies from -7°C to 20°C depending on the operating mode of the TES (charging or discharging). The flow rate ranges from 50% to 200% of the nominal inflow rate. Results show that all examined cases lead to instant thermal power above 100kWth. Moreover, increasing the flow rate leads to faster solidification and melting. The increment in each process depends on the driving temperature difference between the encapsulated PCM and the HTF inlet temperature. Lastly, the effect of the inlet temperature has a larger effect as compared to the mass flow rate on the efficiency of the heat transfer of the system. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-14T23:40:55Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ce46da3fc3474703956d0594de5af45e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2267-1242 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-14T23:40:55Z |
| publishDate | 2019-01-01 |
| publisher | EDP Sciences |
| record_format | Article |
| series | E3S Web of Conferences |
| spelling | doaj.art-ce46da3fc3474703956d0594de5af45e2022-12-21T22:43:32ZengEDP SciencesE3S Web of Conferences2267-12422019-01-011130100110.1051/e3sconf/201911301001e3sconf_supehr18_01001Thermal energy storage in combined cycle power plants: comparing finite volume to finite element methodsGkoutzamanis Vasilis G.0Chiu Justin N. W.1Martin Guillaume2Kalfas Anestis I.3Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Laboratory of Fluid Mechanics and Turbomachinery, Department of Mechanical EngineeringRoyal Institute of Technology, KTH, Heat and Power Division, Department of Energy TechnologyRoyal Institute of Technology, KTH, Heat and Power Division, Department of Energy TechnologyAristotle University of Thessaloniki, Laboratory of Fluid Mechanics and Turbomachinery, Department of Mechanical EngineeringThe research in thermal energy storage (TES) systems has a long track record. However, there are several technical challenges that need to be overcome, to become omnipresent and reach their full potential. These include performance, physical size, weight and dynamic response. In many cases, it is also necessary to be able to achieve the foregoing at greater and greater scale, in terms of power and energy. One of the applications in which these challenges prevail is in the integration of a thermal energy storage with the gas turbine (GT) compressor inlet conditioning system in a combined cycle power plant. The system is intended to provide either GT cooling or heating, based on the operational strategy of the plant. As a contribution to tackle the preceding, this article describes a series of 3-dimensional (3D) numerical simulations, employing different Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) methods, to study the transient effects of inlet temperature and flow rate variation on the performance of an encapsulated TES with phase change materials (PCM). A sensitivity analysis is performed where the heat transfer fluid (HTF) temperature varies from -7°C to 20°C depending on the operating mode of the TES (charging or discharging). The flow rate ranges from 50% to 200% of the nominal inflow rate. Results show that all examined cases lead to instant thermal power above 100kWth. Moreover, increasing the flow rate leads to faster solidification and melting. The increment in each process depends on the driving temperature difference between the encapsulated PCM and the HTF inlet temperature. Lastly, the effect of the inlet temperature has a larger effect as compared to the mass flow rate on the efficiency of the heat transfer of the system.https://www.e3s-conferences.org/articles/e3sconf/pdf/2019/39/e3sconf_supehr18_01001.pdf |
| spellingShingle | Gkoutzamanis Vasilis G. Chiu Justin N. W. Martin Guillaume Kalfas Anestis I. Thermal energy storage in combined cycle power plants: comparing finite volume to finite element methods E3S Web of Conferences |
| title | Thermal energy storage in combined cycle power plants: comparing finite volume to finite element methods |
| title_full | Thermal energy storage in combined cycle power plants: comparing finite volume to finite element methods |
| title_fullStr | Thermal energy storage in combined cycle power plants: comparing finite volume to finite element methods |
| title_full_unstemmed | Thermal energy storage in combined cycle power plants: comparing finite volume to finite element methods |
| title_short | Thermal energy storage in combined cycle power plants: comparing finite volume to finite element methods |
| title_sort | thermal energy storage in combined cycle power plants comparing finite volume to finite element methods |
| url | https://www.e3s-conferences.org/articles/e3sconf/pdf/2019/39/e3sconf_supehr18_01001.pdf |
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