Experimental testing of various heat transfer structures in a flat plate thermal energy storage unit

For solar process heat applications with steam as the working fluid and varying application parameters, a novel latent heat storage concept has been developed using an adaptation of a flat plate heat exchanger as the storage concept. Since the pressure level in these applications usually does not exceed 30 bar, an adaptation with storage material chambers arranged between heat transfer medium chambers is possible. Phase change materials are used as the storage medium, so that the isothermal evaporation of steam during discharging of the storage is paired with the isothermal solidification of the storage material. Heat transfer structures can be inserted into the chambers to adjust the power level for a given application. By combining the required number of flat plate heat exchanger compartments and inserting the appropriate heat transfer structure, the design can easily be adjusted for the required power level and capacity for a specific application. Within this work, the technical feasibility of this concept is proven. The dependence of the operating characteristics on the geometry of the heat exchanger is identified. A focus is on varying the power density by integrating conductive heat structures in the PCM