2021
Benato, Alberto; Vanna, Francesco De; Gallo, Ennio; Stoppato, Anna; Cavazzini, Giovanna
TES-PD: A Fast and Reliable Numerical Model to Predict the Performance of Thermal Reservoir for Electricity Energy Storage Units Journal Article
In: Fluids, vol. 6, iss. 7, pp. 256, 2021, ISSN: 2311-5521.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Gas turbine thermal storage, Integrated Energy Storage, Numerical modelling, Packed bed
@article{Benato2021,
title = {TES-PD: A Fast and Reliable Numerical Model to Predict the Performance of Thermal Reservoir for Electricity Energy Storage Units},
author = {Alberto Benato and Francesco De Vanna and Ennio Gallo and Anna Stoppato and Giovanna Cavazzini},
url = {https://www.mdpi.com/2311-5521/6/7/256},
doi = {10.3390/fluids6070256},
issn = {2311-5521},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-01-01},
journal = {Fluids},
volume = {6},
issue = {7},
pages = {256},
abstract = {The spread of renewable resources, such as wind and solar, is one of the main drivers to move from a fossil-based to a renewable-based power generation system. However, wind and solar production are difficult to predict; hence, to avoid a mismatch between electricity supply and demand, there is a need for energy storage units. To this end, new storage concepts have been proposed, and one of the most promising is to store electricity in the form of heat in a Thermal Energy Storage reservoir. However, in Thermal Energy Storage based systems, the critical component is the storage tank and, in particular, its mathematical model as this plays a crucial role in the storage unit performance estimation. Although the literature presents three modelling approaches, each of them differs in the considered parameters and in the method of modelling the fluid and the solid properties. Therefore, there is a need to clarify the model differences and the parameter influences on plant performance as well as to develop a more complete model. For this purpose, the present work first aim is to compare the models available in the literature to identify their strengths and weaknesses. Then, considering that the models’ comparison showed the importance of adopting temperature-dependent fluid and storage material properties to better predict the system performance, the authors developed a new and more detailed model, named TES-PD, which works with time and space variable fluid and solid properties. In addition, the authors included the tank heat losses and the solid effective thermal conductivity to improve the model accuracy. Based on the comparisons between the TES-PD model and the ones available in the literature, the proposal can better predict the first cycle charging time, as it avoids a 4% underestimation. This model also avoids overestimation of the delivery time, delivered energy, mean generated power and plant round-trip efficiency. Therefore, the results underline that a differential and time-accurate model, like the TES-PD, even if one-dimensional, allows a fast and effective prediction of the performance of both the tank and the storage plant. This is essential information for the preliminary design of innovative large-scale storage units operating with thermal storage.},
keywords = {Gas turbine thermal storage, Integrated Energy Storage, Numerical modelling, Packed bed},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
The spread of renewable resources, such as wind and solar, is one of the main drivers to move from a fossil-based to a renewable-based power generation system. However, wind and solar production are difficult to predict; hence, to avoid a mismatch between electricity supply and demand, there is a need for energy storage units. To this end, new storage concepts have been proposed, and one of the most promising is to store electricity in the form of heat in a Thermal Energy Storage reservoir. However, in Thermal Energy Storage based systems, the critical component is the storage tank and, in particular, its mathematical model as this plays a crucial role in the storage unit performance estimation. Although the literature presents three modelling approaches, each of them differs in the considered parameters and in the method of modelling the fluid and the solid properties. Therefore, there is a need to clarify the model differences and the parameter influences on plant performance as well as to develop a more complete model. For this purpose, the present work first aim is to compare the models available in the literature to identify their strengths and weaknesses. Then, considering that the models’ comparison showed the importance of adopting temperature-dependent fluid and storage material properties to better predict the system performance, the authors developed a new and more detailed model, named TES-PD, which works with time and space variable fluid and solid properties. In addition, the authors included the tank heat losses and the solid effective thermal conductivity to improve the model accuracy. Based on the comparisons between the TES-PD model and the ones available in the literature, the proposal can better predict the first cycle charging time, as it avoids a 4% underestimation. This model also avoids overestimation of the delivery time, delivered energy, mean generated power and plant round-trip efficiency. Therefore, the results underline that a differential and time-accurate model, like the TES-PD, even if one-dimensional, allows a fast and effective prediction of the performance of both the tank and the storage plant. This is essential information for the preliminary design of innovative large-scale storage units operating with thermal storage.
2019
Benato, Alberto; Stoppato, Anna
Integrated Thermal Electricity Storage System: Energetic and cost performance Journal Article
In: Energy Conversion and Management, vol. 197, iss. July 2019, pp. 111833, 2019, ISSN: 01968904.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Air cycle, Economic analysis, Energy analysis, Energy storage, Numerical modelling, Thermal electricity storage
@article{Benato2019,
title = {Integrated Thermal Electricity Storage System: Energetic and cost performance},
author = {Alberto Benato and Anna Stoppato},
url = {https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0196890419308155},
doi = {10.1016/j.enconman.2019.111833},
issn = {01968904},
year = {2019},
date = {2019-01-01},
journal = {Energy Conversion and Management},
volume = {197},
issue = {July 2019},
pages = {111833},
publisher = {Elsevier},
abstract = {The spread of wind turbines and photovoltaic modules for green electricity generation is stressing the need of installing large-scale electricity energy storage. Among the in-developing storage technologies, those which store electricity in the form of thermal energy are considered the most promising due to the absence of geological restrictions and long cycle life. In this context, the Authors of the present work, developed a large-scale electricity energy storage unit which uses air as working fluid and stores electrical energy as sensible heat in a man-made tank. As other thermal storage technologies, the proposed one does not suffer of geographical limitations, is characterized by long cycle life and can be assembled with decommissioned devices originally designed for gas turbine plants. In this work, the Authors analyse the plant energetic performance and the construction cost for different storage materials and plant management strategies. Results show that the thermo-physical properties of the storage medium and the charging tolerance affect the plant performance and costs. For these reasons, it is essential selecting the material based on the plant purpose: if the plant works with daily charge/discharge cycle, packed bed made up by limestone or masonry material is suggested while, for weekly charge/discharge cycles, aluminium oxide can be a better storage option.},
keywords = {Air cycle, Economic analysis, Energy analysis, Energy storage, Numerical modelling, Thermal electricity storage},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
The spread of wind turbines and photovoltaic modules for green electricity generation is stressing the need of installing large-scale electricity energy storage. Among the in-developing storage technologies, those which store electricity in the form of thermal energy are considered the most promising due to the absence of geological restrictions and long cycle life. In this context, the Authors of the present work, developed a large-scale electricity energy storage unit which uses air as working fluid and stores electrical energy as sensible heat in a man-made tank. As other thermal storage technologies, the proposed one does not suffer of geographical limitations, is characterized by long cycle life and can be assembled with decommissioned devices originally designed for gas turbine plants. In this work, the Authors analyse the plant energetic performance and the construction cost for different storage materials and plant management strategies. Results show that the thermo-physical properties of the storage medium and the charging tolerance affect the plant performance and costs. For these reasons, it is essential selecting the material based on the plant purpose: if the plant works with daily charge/discharge cycle, packed bed made up by limestone or masonry material is suggested while, for weekly charge/discharge cycles, aluminium oxide can be a better storage option.
