Structure of steam energy storage tank

What is a steam accumulator storage tank?

The storage tank of a steam accumulator must be able to withstand the pressure of the water, including hydrostatic pressure. The storage tank accounts for the larg-est portion of the capital cost of a steam storage tank. One focus of the design is to minimize the mass of the storage tank for safe operation.

What is a dry steam storage tank?

According to [Goldstern1963], dry steam storage tanks with volumes up to 3000 m 3 have been built for maximum steam pressures of 1.2 bar. To avoid the pressure drop during discharge, the bell accumulator with variable storage volume was developed. Similar to a gasometer used to store low-pressure natural gas, the bell floats on a water reservoir.

How much steam can be stored in a dry storage tank?

For low steam pressures, there is the possibility of direct storage of superheated steam, but the low storage density of steam requires large volumes. According to [Goldstern1963], dry steam storage tanks with volumes up to 3000 m 3 have been built for maximum steam pressures of 1.2 bar.

What is a single steam source heating storage approach?

In the single steam source heating storage approach, the sensible heat of high-temperature steam is utilized, while low-temperature steam is discharged into the condenser without further use after heat exchange, leading to increased cold-source losses and a decrease in thermal efficiency.

How do solar power plants store heat?

Most solar power plants are coupled with thermal energy storage (TES) systems that store excess heat during daytime and discharge during night . In DSG plants, the typical TES options include: (i) direct steam accumulation, (ii) indirect sensible heat storage, and (iii) indirect latent heat storage .

What is the storage capacity of dry steam at low pressure?

Since the volume-specific storage capacity of dry steam at low pressure is in the range of 0.3 kW/m 3, direct steam storage has only been used for short-term buffering in the seconds range in steam networks.