Thermal Energy Storage (TES) Prototype Based on Geopolymer Concrete for High-Temperature Applications

Thermal energy storage (TES) systems are dependent on materials capable of operating at elevated temperatures for their performance and for prevailing as an integral part of industries. High-temperature TES assists in increasing the dispatchability of present power plants as well as increasing the e...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Mohammad Rahjoo, Guido Goracci, Juan J. Gaitero, Pavel Martauz, Esther Rojas, Jorge S. Dolado
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2022-10-01
Series:Materials
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/15/20/7086
Description
Summary:Thermal energy storage (TES) systems are dependent on materials capable of operating at elevated temperatures for their performance and for prevailing as an integral part of industries. High-temperature TES assists in increasing the dispatchability of present power plants as well as increasing the efficiency in heat industry applications. Ordinary Portland cement (OPC)-based concretes are widely used as a sensible TES material in different applications. However, their performance is limited to operation temperatures below 400 °C due to the thermal degradation processes in its structure. In the present work, the performance and heat storage capacity of geopolymer-based concrete (GEO) have been studied experimentally and a comparison was carried out with OPC-based materials. Two thermal scenarios were examined, and results indicate that GEO withstand high running temperatures, higher than 500 °C, revealing higher thermal storage capacity than OPC-based materials. The high thermal energy storage, along with the high thermal diffusion coefficient at high temperatures, makes GEO a potential material that has good competitive properties compared with OPC-based TES. Experiments show the ability of geopolymer-based concrete for thermal energy storage applications, especially in industries that require feasible material for operation at high temperatures.
ISSN:1996-1944