• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.243-256
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• 2012

Developing efficient and reliable energy storage system is as important as exploring new energy resources. Energy storage system can balance the periodic and quantitative mismatch between energy supply and energy demand and increase the energy efficiency. Industrial waster heat and renewable energy such as solar energy can be stored by the thermal energy storage (TES) system at high and low temperatures. TES system using underground rock carven is considered as an attractive alternative for large-scale storage, because of low thermal conductivity and chemical safety of surrounding rock mass. In this report, the development of available thermal energy storage methods and the characteristics of storage media were introduced. Based on some successful applications of cavern storage and high-temperature storage reported in the literature, the applicabilities and practicabilities of storage media and technologies for large-scale cavern thermal energy storage (CTES) were reviewed.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.442-453
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• 2013

A large-scale high-temperature thermal energy storage(TES) was numerically modeled and the heat loss through storage tank walls was analyzed using a commercial code, FLAC3D. The operations of rock cavern type and above-ground type thermal energy storages with identical operating condition were simulated for a period of five consecutive years, in which it was assumed that the dominant heat transfer mechanism would be conduction in massive rock for the former and convection in the atmosphere for the latter. The variation of storage temperature resulting from periodic charging and discharging of thermal energy was considered in each simulation, and the effect of insulation thickness on the characteristics of heat loss was also examined. A comparison of the simulation results of different storage models presented that the heat loss rate of above-ground type TES was maintained constant over the operation period, while that of rock cavern type TES decreased rapidly in the early operation stage and tended to converge towards a certain value. The decrease in heat loss rate of rock cavern type TES can be attributed to the reduction in heat flux through storage tank walls followed by increase in surrounding rock mass temperature. The amount of cumulative heat loss from rock cavern type TES over a period of five-year operation was 72.7% of that from above-ground type TES. The heat loss rate of rock cavern type obtained in long-period operation showed less sensitive variations to insulation thickness than that of above-ground type TES.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.188-195
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• 2012

Using a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code, FLUENT, the present study investigated the thermal stratification behavior of Lyckebo storage in Sweden, which is the very first large-scale rock cavern for underground thermal energy storage. Heat transfer analysis was carried out for numerical cases with different temperatures of the surrounding rock mass in order to examine the effect of rock mass heating due to periodic storage and production of thermal energy on thermal stratification and heat loss. The change of thermal stratification with respect to time was quantitatively examined based on an index of the degree of stratification. The results of numerical simulation showed that in the early operational stage where the surrounding rock mass was less heated, the stratification of stored thermal energy was rapidly degraded over time, but the degradation and heat loss tended to reduce as the surrounding rock mass was heated during a long period of operation.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.297-307
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• 2014

Cavern Thermal Energy Storage system stores thermal energy in caverns to recover industrial waste heat or avoid the sporadic characteristics of renewable-energy resources, and its advantages include high injection-and-extraction powers and the flexibility in selecting a storage medium. In the present study, the structural stability of rock mass pillar between these silo-type storage caverns was assessed using a coupled thermal-mechanical model in $FLAC^{3D}$. The results of numerical simulations showed that thermal stresses due to long-term storage depended on pillar width and had significant effect on the pillar stability. A sensitivity analysis of main factors indicated that the influence on the pillar stability increased in the order cavern depth < pillar width < in situ condition. It was suggested that two identical caverns should be separated by at least one diameter of the cavern and small-diameter shaft neighboring the cavern should be separated by more than half of the cavern diameter. Meanwhile, when the line of centers of two caverns was parallel to the direction of maximum horizontal principal stress, the shielding effect of the caverns could minimize an adverse effect caused by a large horizontal stress.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.168-185
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• 2015

The thermal-hydrological-mechanical (T-H-M) behavior of rock mass surrounding a large-scale high-temperature cavern thermal energy storage (CTES) at a shallow depth has been investigated, and the effects of hydrological conditions such as water table and rock permeability on the behavior have been examined. The liquid saturation of ground water around a storage cavern may have a small impact on the overall heat transfer and mechanical behavior of surrounding rock mass for a relatively low rock permeability of $10^{-17}m^2$. In terms of the distributions of temperature, stress and displacement of the surrounding rock mass, the results expected from the simulation with the cavern below the water table were almost identical to that obtained from the simulation with the cavern in the unsaturated zone. The heat transfer in the rock mass with reasonable permeability ${\leq}10^{-15}m^2$ was dominated by the conduction. In the simulation with rock permeability of $10^{-12}m^2$, however, the convective heat transfer by ground-water was dominant, accompanying the upward heat flow to near-ground surface. The temperature and pressure around a storage cavern showed different distributions according to the rock permeability, as a result of the complex coupled processes such as the heat transfer by multi-phase flow and the evaporation of ground-water.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.155-167
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• 2015

The thermal-hydrological-mechanical (T-H-M) behavior of rock mass surrounding a high-temperature cavern thermal energy storage (CTES) operated for a period of 30 years has been investigated by TOUGH2-FLAC3D simulator. As a fundamental study for the development of prediction and control technologies for the environmental change and rock mass behavior associated with CTES, the key concerns were focused on the hydrological-thermal multiphase flow and the consequential mechanical behavior of the surrounding rock mass, where the insulator performance was not taken into account. In the present study, we considered a large-scale cylindrical cavern at shallow depth storing thermal energy of $350^{\circ}C$. The numerical results showed that the dominant heat transfer mechanism was the conduction in rock mass, and the mechanical behavior of rock mass was influenced by thermal factor (heat) more than hydrological factor (pressure). The effective stress redistribution, displacement and surface uplift caused by heating of rock and boiling of ground-water were discussed, and the potential of shear failure was quantitatively examined. Thermal expansion of rock mass led to the ground-surface uplift on the order of a few centimeters and the development of tensile stress above the storage cavern, increasing the potential of shear failure.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.115-124
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• 2015

Thermal energy storage (TES) is a technology that stores surplus thermal energy at high or low temperatures for later use when the customer needs it, not just when it is available. TES systems can help balance energy demand and supply and thus improve the overall efficiency of energy systems. Furthermore, the conversion and storage of intermittent renewable resources in the form of thermal energy can help increase the share of renewable resources in the energy mix which refers to the distribution of energy consumption from different sources, and to achieve this, it is essential to combine renewable resources with TES systems. Underground TES using rock caverns, known as cavern thermal energy storage (CTES), is a viable option for large-scale, long-term TES utilization although its applications are limited because of the high construction costs. Furthermore, the heat loss in CTES can significantly be reduced due to the heating of the surrounding rock occurred during long-term TES, which is a distinctive advantage over aboveground TES, in which the heat loss to the surroundings is significantly influenced by climate conditions. In this paper, we introduced important factors that should be considered in the shape and multiple layout design of TES caverns, and proposed guidelines for storage space design.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.1-11
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• 2012

Thermal energy storage is defined as the temporary storage of thermal energy at high or low temperatures for later use in need. The energy storage can reduce the time or rate mismatch between energy supply and demand, and thus it plays an important role in conserving energy and improving the efficiency of energy utilization, especially for renewable energy sources which provide energy intermittently. Underground thermal energy storage (UTES) can have additional advantages in energy efficiency thanks to low thermal conductivity and high heat capacity of surrounding rock mass. In this paper, we introduced the technologies of underground thermal energy storage and rock caverns for hot water storage in Sweden.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.241-259
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• 2013

A packed bed thermal energy storage (TES) consisting of solid storage medium of rock or concrete through which the heat transfer fluid is circulated is considered as an attractive alternative for high temperature sensible heat storage, because of the economical viability and chemical stability of storage medium and the simplicity of operation. This study introduces the technologies of packed bed thermal energy storage, and presents a numerical model to analyze the thermal energy balance and the performance efficiency of the storage system. In this model, one dimensional transient heat transfer problem in the storage tank is solved using finite difference method, and temperature distribution in a storage tank and thermal energy loss from the tank wall can be calculated during the repeated thermal charging and discharging modes. In this study, a high temperature thermal energy storage connected with AA-CAES (advanced adiabatic compressed air energy storage) was modeled and analyzed for the temperature and the energy balance in the storage tank. Rock cavern type TES and above-ground type TES were both simulated and their results were compared in terms of the discharging efficiency and heat loss ratio.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.308-318
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• 2013

Thermal stratification in heat stores is essential to improve the efficiency of energy storage systems and deliver more useful energy on demand. It is generally well known that the degree of thermal stratification in heat stores varies depending on the aspect ratio (the height-to-width ratio) and size of the stores. The present study aims to investigate the effect of the aspect ratio and storage volume of rock caverns for storing hot water on thermal stratification in the caverns and heat loss to the surroundings. Heat transfer simulations using a computational fluid dynamics code, FLUENT were performed at different aspect ratios and storage volumes of rock caverns. The variation of thermal stratification with respect to time was examined using an index to quantify the degree of stratification, and the heat loss to the surroundings was evaluated. The results of the numerical simulations demonstrated that the thermal stratification in rock caverns was improved by increasing the aspect ratio, but this effect was not remarkable beyond an aspect ratio of 3-4. When the storage volume of rock caverns was large, a higher thermal stratification was maintained for a relatively longer time compared to caverns with a small storage volume, but the difference in thermal stratification between the two cases tended to decrease as the aspect ratio became larger. In addition, the numerical results showed that the heat loss to the surrounding rock tended to increase with an increase in aspect ratio because the surface area of rock caverns increased as the aspect ratio became larger. The total heat loss from multiple small caverns with a reduced storage volume per cavern was larger compared to a single cavern with the same total storage volume as that of the multiple caverns.