A Comparison Study of Sensible and Latent Thermal Energy Storage Systems for Concentrating Solar Power Applications

Abstract

Thermal energy storage (TES) provides a key opportunity to reduce the cost of concentrating solar power generation. In this article transient heat transfer performance and operational characteristics of sensible TES systems (made of liquid solar salt) and latent TES systems (made of sodium nitrate undergoing liquid-solid phase change), all enclosed in vertical annuli, are numerically simulated. The results show that the latent TES systems can operate with a much higher energy density than the sensible TES systems, and that compact latent TES systems are capable of offering both high energy density and a satisfactory charging/discharging rate.

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by a grant from the U. S. Department of Energy (DE-FG36-08GO18146).