CA1117039A - Container for a heat storage medium - Google Patents

Container for a heat storage medium

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Publication number
CA1117039A
CA1117039A CA000331544A CA331544A CA1117039A CA 1117039 A CA1117039 A CA 1117039A CA 000331544 A CA000331544 A CA 000331544A CA 331544 A CA331544 A CA 331544A CA 1117039 A CA1117039 A CA 1117039A
Authority
CA
Canada
Prior art keywords
container
volume
walls
medium
heat
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired
Application number
CA000331544A
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Friedrich Lindner
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Deutsches Zentrum fuer Luft und Raumfahrt eV
Original Assignee
Deutsche Forschungs und Versuchsanstalt fuer Luft und Raumfahrt eV DFVLR
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Deutsche Forschungs und Versuchsanstalt fuer Luft und Raumfahrt eV DFVLR filed Critical Deutsche Forschungs und Versuchsanstalt fuer Luft und Raumfahrt eV DFVLR
Priority to CA000331544A priority Critical patent/CA1117039A/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of CA1117039A publication Critical patent/CA1117039A/en
Expired legal-status Critical Current

Links

Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
A container is disclosed for storing a heat storage medium which changes between solid and fluid states to store and release heat, characterized in that the container includes flexible walls which are displaced to vary the volume of the heat container in accordance with changes of the volume of the heat storage medium when in the solid state. The container includes at least one biasing device which normally biases the resilient walls toward an inwardly contracted condition for storing a first volume of the heat storage medium in the fluid state.
During initial removal of heat from the medium, the medium changes from its fluid to its solid state, and upon further removal of heat from the solid medium, the density of the solid medium increases, thereby resulting in a decrease in the volume of the solid medium with the container remaining in its initial contracted condition. Upon addition of heat to the solid medium, the density of the solid medium decreases thereby resulting in an increase in volume of the solid medium and an attendant increase in volume of the container to its expanded condition.

Description

111'~1)39 Deut~che ~orschungo- und Vercuchsansealt fUr Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V.
5300 Bonn, Federal Republlc of Germany CONTAINER FOR A HEAT STORAGE MEDIUM

The invention relates to a container for a heat storage medium having in the solid state a density which varies in accordance with the heat content and being convertible from the-sol~d to the fluid state and from the fluid to the solid state in order to store and release heat.

Heat storage means of thls kind, whereln the physical condltlon of the heat storage medlum changes between the fluid and solid state are also referred to as latent heat storage means. They have the advantage that the change in the he~t content takes place at a substantially constant temperature, namely at the temperature at whlch the physlcal condltion changes.

../.2 3$~.3 I.atent heat storage means of this kind are used, or example, in heating systems where they assist the heating system during peak requirements and are recharged by the heating system in the event of low heat requirements.

Latent heat storage means containing Glauber's salt as the heat storage medium have been suggested. Glauber's salt changes from the solid to the fluid state at a temperature of 32.4 C and thereby releases heat in the amount of 357.3 Btu per liter.

When heat is removed from the heat storage medium, the~latter cools down to its melting point and finally changes into the solid state.
Upon further cooling down the volume of the solid medium can be decreased by, for example, compresslon or recrystallization.
Conversely, heating of the solid medium results in a thermal expansion thereof until it changes to the fluid ~t~te upon arrival at the meltlng temperature.

The problem consists in the fact that a corresponding increase in the volume of the storage medium resulting from heating the latter has to be accommodated by the heat storage medium container.
An increase in the volume cannot be equally distributed inslde the container owing to the solld state of the medlum, whlch destroys rigid container walls.

../.3 q~3~

For this reason, heat storage containers of this klnd have been made of plastic materials which are expandible and can therefore accommodate the increases in volume which occur. Plastic receptacles of this kind do, however, have the disadvantage that the expansions are not completely reversible and so residual expansion remains after each expansion. The numerous increases and decreases in volume which occur periodically inevitably result in a lasting enlargement of the container, which 1~ not tolerable.

The object of the invention is to provide a container for a heat storage medium which can accommodate the periodic increases and decreases in the volume of the heat storage medium ln the solid state without any lasting change.

According to the invention this object is achieved in ~ container of the kind first described above by the walls of the container being subjected to an inwardly directed resillent bia~.

More partlcularly, provisions are made to ensure that the container can be of differlng volumes, and the bias is selected such that the container assumes a small volume when filled with fluid medium.

..~ ' ~.

7~

Ct is advantageous for the container to have lnwardly curved walls which are adapted to curve outwardly. Resilient spring means curving the walls of the container lnwardly can then engage sald walls.

The container can also be surrounded by a second rigld closed contalner with a pressure medium in the space between both containers. This pressure medium can be a gas or a liquid.
In the latter case the static pressure of the liquid acts on the walls of the inside container.

The inside contalner itself can have flexible walls which in a special embodiment can be resiliently expandible.

Tt i8 also possible to provide the container with at least one expansion fold. This expansion fold can have a restoring force which attempts to reduce the volume of the container. Spring means can also be provided for this purpose.

Eurther advantageous embodiments of the invention are the subject of the subclaims and are set forth therein.

In conjunction with the drawings the following description of preferred embodiments serves as a detailed explanation of the invention.
../.5 03~

Figure 1 is a schematlc plan view of an inventlve container which has been cut open.

F1gure 2 i5 a view similar to Eigure 1 of another embodiment of an inventlve container.

Figure 3 is a schematic plan view of an ~nventive container with leaf spr~ngs mounted on the outside.

Figure 4 is a schematic plan view of an inventive container with compression springs acting on the outer walls of the container.

Pigure 5 is a schematic plan view of an inventive container with a resillent tension band.

Eigure 6 is a schematic plan view of a container disposed in an outer container in accordance with the invention.

Figure 7 is a view similar to Figure 6 of another embodiment of an inventive container.

Figure 8 is a schematic view of a further preferred embodiment of an inventive container.

1.

../.6 35~ 1 The container 1 shown in Figure 1 for a heat storage medium, whlch for reasons of clarity is not illustrated in this and the following drawings, is of substantlal brick-shaped or cube-shaped configuratlon. All or some of the walls 2 are lnwardly curved, i.e., are concave as seen from the outside.
Due to the effect of a pressure inside the container 1 these walls 2 can curve outwardly and then assume the position indicated by the dashed lines in Eigure 1. The container then has a substantially larger volume than in the original state.

Tension springs 3 mounted between opposite walls 2 inside the container 1 attempt to draw opposite walls 2 into the inwardly curved position. The tension springs 3 preferably engage the center of the walls.

The spring force of the tension springs 3 is selected such that the walls 2 are in the inwardly curved position when the container is filled with a fluid storage medium. Thus, in this state the container ha~ a small volume. When the storage medium changes into the solid state upon removal of heat a solid body is formed whose outer shape is determined by the inwardly curved walls of the container.

If in the solid phase the heating process results in a decrease in density and thus an increase in volume of the solid storage medium, movement of the walls readily enables expansion of the solid storage medium counteracting the force of the tension springs 3. This expansion can take place to the extent that the container walls are outwardly curved in the manner shown by the dashed lines in Eigure 1. Thls deformation of the container is completely reversible due to the effect of the tension springs 3, so that upon supplying heat and consequent melting of the storage medium, the container assumes its original shape with inwardly curved walls.

It is therefore essential that the container should due to the effect of tension springs 3 provide the solidifying medium with only a small volume so that an increase in the volume of the container is still possible upon an increase in the volume of the solid medium. Conversely, the solidifying , medium in hitherto known containers assumes the entire volume provided by the container at the solidifying stage so that an increase in volume of the solid storage medium unavoidably results ~n overexpanslon or breakage of the container.

In Figures 2 to 5 further preferred embodiments of containers are illustrated having in the original state walls which are curved inwardly due to the effect of springs. The walls 12 of the container 11 in Eigure 2 are likewise drawn into the inwardly curved position by tension springs 13, however, in contrast to the tension springs 3 in the embodiment shown in Eigure 1, the tension springs 13 are mounted between ../.8 - ~ -neighboring walls 2.

The container 21 of Eigure 3 is surrounded by four supports 25, between which leaf springs 23 are inserted. These lèaf springs exert pressure from the outside on the walls 22 and curve them inwardly. In the event of great inside pressure the walls 22 can be curved outwardly counteracting the spring force of the leaf springs 23.

The container 31 shown in ~igure 4 is surrounded by a tension band 34 on which compression springs 33 abutting the opposite side at the walls 32 of the contalner 31 and curving them inwardly are supported. Instead of the tension band 34 a frame ~not illustrated in the drawing) surrounding the container 31 can be used.

The embodiment shown in Eigure 5 differs from that shown in Eigure 4 in that tension springs 43 are inserted ln the tension band 44 so that the tension band surrounds the container 41 in a resilient manner. Spacer units 45 are mounted between the tension band and the walls 42. ~hus, the tension band 44 curves the walls 42 inwardly in a resillent manner due to the effect of the tension springs 43 via the spacer units 45.

In the embodiment shown in Eigure 6 an inside container 51 accommodating the heat storage medium and comprising inwardly _ 9 _ curved walls 52 which are adapted to curve outwardly under the influence of lnside pressure, is disposea wlthin a closed outside container 54 having rigld walls. A gas which acts on the walls 52 of the inside container 51 and curves them inwardly in a resilient manner ~s introduced under pressure into the space 55 between the inside container 51 and the outside container 54~ Instead of the gas a liquid can be introduced into the space 55. The ~tatic pressure of this liquid acts on the walls 52 of the inside container 51 and attempts to curve them inwardly. Upon an increase in inside pressure as a result of an increase in the volume of the solid storage medium the walls 52 are curved outwardly. Since the liquid is incompressible it must be possible to make way for it. This can be enabled by incomplete filllng of the space with a liquid(having a higher specific weight than the fluid storage medium) or by connecting the space to a pressure equalizing vessel. Thus, both the liquid and the gas act on the walls 52 with a resilient i~wardly directed force.

The containers described hitherto having inwardly curved walls wh$ch are adapted to curve outwardly must have a certain inherent stability. Such containers are preferably made of polyethylene or polypropylene.

It is also possible to design the container such that it $s not inherently stable and has flexible walls. Such an embodiment is illustrated in Eigure 7. An inside contalner 61 . .~.10 t~

for the heat storage medium having flexible walls 62 is held by a supporting frame 64 which is preferably constituted by the pipes supplying the heat exchange medium. Similar to the embodiment shown in Eigure 6, this inside container 61 is disposed in an outside container 65 having rigid walls. As a compressible pressure medium a gas is located in the space 66. This gas acts from all sides on the container 61 and forces it to assume a small volume. When the inside pressure increases as a result of the thermal expansion of the solid storage medium the walls 62 are curved outwardly counteracting the pressure of the gas in the space 66, so that bhe increase in volume can readily be accommodated.

The container 71 shown in Eigure 8 comprises substantially rigid walls 72, in certain areas of which one or several expansion folds 74 are formed. These expansion folds can have a restoring force of their own, i.e., upon expansion they counteract the expansion in a resilient manner, as is, for example, the case in bellows. It is also possible to tighten the rigid walls together by means of springs so that an expansion of the expansion folds 74 counteracting the effect of these springs takes place. Einally, such a container can also be embedded ~n the manner shown in ~igures 6 and 7 ln an outside container which has rigid walls and is filled with a pressure medium.

In all of the above-described embodiments of the invention, ../.11 the volume of the container is kept small when the storage medi~n ls fluid due to the effect of a resilient force acting :Erom the outside on the container accommodating the storage medium. The storage medium thereby solidifies into a small volume and in the event of an increase in volume can reversibly enlarge ~he volume of the container counteracting the resilient force acting from the outside. The container is thereby subjected to practically no mechanical stress, so that an almost unlimited number of periodic consecutive changes in the volume of the container is possible.

../ 12

Claims (10)

1. A container for a heat storage medium which changes between solid and fluid states to store and release heat, comprising (a) a plurality of flexible walls displaceable between an inwardly contracted condition defining a first volume and an outwardly expanded condition d fining a second volume, respectively; and (b) means normally biasing said container walls toward their inwardly contracted condition, thereby to store a first volume of the heat storage in the fluid state, whereby upon initial removal of heat from the medium, the medium changes from its fluid to its solid state, and upon further removal of heat from the solid medium, the density of the solid medium increases, thereby resulting in a decrease in the volume of the solid medium with the container remaining in its initial contracted condition, and further whereby upon addition of heat to the solid medium, the density of the solid medium de-creases thereby resulting in an increase in volume of the solid medium and an attendant expansion of said container walls to their outwardly expanded condition.
2. A container as defined in claim 1, wherein said biasing means comprises (a) a rigid outer closure member completely enclosing said container; and (b) means for introducing pressure fluid in the space between the container and the inner surface of said closure member.
3. A container as defined in claim 2, wherein said pressure fluid introducing means comprises a source of gas under pressure.
4. A container as defined in claim 2, wherein said pressure fluid introducing means comprises a source of liquid under pressure.
5. A container as defined in claim 1, wherein said flexible container walls are resilient and bias the container walls to-ward said inwardly compressed condition.
6. A container for a heat storage medium which changes between solid and fluid states to store and release heat com-prising (a) a plurality of flexible walls displaceable between an inwardly contracted condition defining a first volume and an outwardly expanded condition defining a second volume, respectively; and (b) spring means normally biasing said container walls toward their inwardly contracted condition, thereby to store a first volume of the heat storage medium in the fluid state, whereby upon initial removal of heat from the medium, the medium changes from its fluid to its solid state, and upon further removal of heat from the solid medium, the den-sity of the solid medium increases, thereby resulting in a decrease in the volume of the solid medium with the container remaining in its initial contracted condition, and further whereby upon addition of heat to the solid medium, the den-sity of the solid medium decreases, thereby resulting in an increase in volume of the solid medium and an attendant expansion of said container walls to their outwardly expanded condition.
7. A container as defined in claim 6 , wherein said spring means comprises a plurality of tension springs connected with the inner surfaces of said walls, respectively.
8. A container as defined in claim 6 , wherein said spring means comprises a plurality of leaf springs arranged generally concentrically about the container and in contiguous relation with the outer surfaces of said walls, respectively.
9. A container as defined in claim 6 , wherein said spring means comprises (a) tension band means extending around the outer peripheral surface of the container;
and (b) a plurality of tension springs arranged between and connected with said tension band and the outer surfaces of said walls, respectively.
10. A container as defined in claim 6 , wherein said spring means comprises (a) tension band means including a plurality of tension springs extending around the outer peripheral surface of the container;
and (b) a plurality of spacer members arranged between the inner surface of said tension band means and the outer surfaces of said walls, respectively.
CA000331544A 1979-07-10 1979-07-10 Container for a heat storage medium Expired CA1117039A (en)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
CA000331544A CA1117039A (en) 1979-07-10 1979-07-10 Container for a heat storage medium

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
CA000331544A CA1117039A (en) 1979-07-10 1979-07-10 Container for a heat storage medium

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
CA1117039A true CA1117039A (en) 1982-01-26

Family

ID=4114656

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
CA000331544A Expired CA1117039A (en) 1979-07-10 1979-07-10 Container for a heat storage medium

Country Status (1)

Country Link
CA (1) CA1117039A (en)

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5042459A (en) * 1987-08-25 1991-08-27 Zenshin Electric Power Engineering Inc. Heat accumulator element

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5042459A (en) * 1987-08-25 1991-08-27 Zenshin Electric Power Engineering Inc. Heat accumulator element

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