Solid packed bed thermal energy storage for ORC electric generation in Fresnel type CSP plants

In this work, packed bed thermal energy storage coupled to a linear Fresnel type solar field and an ORC turbine has been modeled. This particular application implies several restrictions and boundaries such as the temperature range, fluid nature or fluid flow rate. Based on a preliminary system design, a complete parametric and optimization analysis has been performed by means of a thermo-fluidic physical model. Its application has led to a comprehensive understanding of the proposed storage system when coupled to a real deployment scenario. The obtained results demonstrate the feasibility of attaining a reproducible and performant thermal behavior of the TES unit. Finally, it should be remarked that this work is the basis for the real design and construction of the addressed packed bed TES system in the H2020 European ORC-plus project piloting activities.