Optimization of Thermal Energy Storage System for a 1.3 MWe Particle-Based Concentrated Solar Power Facility

In this research, the main objective was to develop, design, and construct an economical Thermal Energy Storage (TES) system for storing heated solid particles used as a heat transfer medium in Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) with a total cost not exceeding ${\$}$5/kWh and 1% maximum heat loss of the overall system energy per day as per sunshot initiative of US department of energy. The TES is to be used for storing heated solid particles in a 1.3MWe CSP system designed for construction at Waad Al-Shamal, Saudi Arabia. Initially, the TES was made by high-density fire brick (HFB), insulation fire brick (IFB), perlite concrete (PC), expansion joint (EJ), and reinforced concrete (RC). It was discovered that (PC) has to be mixed with refractory cement. This mixture increased the PC’s layer cost, so the design changed by eliminating the (PC) layer and only using IFB in terms of insulation. The theoretical results of the new case showed that the optimum thickness of IFB should be 0.414m}, and the cost of the system’s materials was ${\$}$2.352/kWh. The system was further modified to reduce the cost. This modification was done by replacing IFB with Calcium Silicate (Ca
2
SiO
4
). These modifications showed that the new optimum insulation thickness is 0.325m and the total cost of the system was ${\$}$2.304/kWh which is lower than the previous case.