Patent Grant
8474255
In various embodiments, the present invention relates to pneumatics, power generation, and energy storage, and more particularly, to compressed-gas energy-storage systems and methods using pneumatic or pneumatic/hydraulic cylinders.
Storing energy in the form of compressed gas has a long history and components tend to be well tested and reliable, and have long lifetimes. The general principle of compressed-gas or compressed-air energy storage (CAES) is that generated energy (e.g., electric energy) is used to compress gas (e.g., air), thus converting the original energy to pressure potential energy; this potential energy is later recovered in a useful form (e.g., converted back to electricity) via gas expansion coupled to an appropriate mechanism. Advantages of compressed-gas energy storage include low specific-energy costs, long lifetime, low maintenance, reasonable energy density, and good reliability.
If a body of gas is at the same temperature as its environment, and expands slowly relative to the rate of heat exchange between the gas and its environment, then the gas will remain at approximately constant temperature as it expands. This process is termed “isothermal” expansion. Isothermal expansion of a quantity of high-pressure gas stored at a given temperature recovers approximately three times more work than would “adiabatic” expansion, that is, expansion where no heat is exchanged between the gas and its environment—e.g., because the expansion happens rapidly or in an insulated chamber. Gas may also be compressed isothermally or adiabatically.
An ideally isothermal energy-storage cycle of compression, storage, and expansion would have 100% thermodynamic efficiency. An ideally adiabatic energy-storage cycle would also have 100% thermodynamic efficiency, but there are many practical disadvantages to the adiabatic approach. These include the production of more extreme temperatures and pressures within the system, heat loss during the storage period, and inability to exploit environmental (e.g., cogenerative) heat sources and sinks during expansion and compression, respectively. In an isothermal system, the cost of adding a heat-exchange system is traded against resolving the difficulties of the adiabatic approach. In either case, mechanical energy from expanding gas must usually be converted to electrical energy before use.
An efficient and novel design for storing energy in the form of compressed gas utilizing near isothermal gas compression and expansion has been shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,832,207 (the '207 patent) and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/639,703 (the '703 application), the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. The '207 patent and the '703 application disclose systems and methods for expanding gas isothermally in staged cylinders and intensifiers over a large pressure range in order to generate electrical energy when required. Mechanical energy from the expanding gas may be used to drive a hydraulic pump/motor subsystem that produces electricity. Systems and methods for hydraulic-pneumatic pressure intensification that may be employed in systems and methods such as those disclosed in the '207 patent and the '703 application are shown and described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/879,595 (the '595 application), the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
In the systems disclosed in the '207 patent and the '703 application, reciprocal mechanical motion is produced during recovery of energy from storage by expansion of gas in the cylinders. This reciprocal motion may be converted to electricity by a variety of means, for example as disclosed in the '595 application as well as in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/938,853 (the '853 application), the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. The ability of such systems to either store energy (i.e., use energy to compress gas into a storage reservoir) or produce energy (i.e., expand gas from a storage reservoir to release energy) will be apparent to any person reasonably familiar with the principles of electrical and pneumatic machines.
Gas undergoing expansion tends to cool, while gas undergoing compression tends to heat. To maximize efficiency (i.e., the fraction of elastic potential energy in the compressed gas that is converted to work, or vice versa), gas expansion and compression should be as near isothermal (i.e., constant-temperature) as possible. Various techniques of approximating isothermal expansion and compression may be employed.
For example, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,802,426 (the '426 patent), the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety, gas undergoing either compression or expansion may be directed, continuously or in installments, through a heat-exchange subsystem external to the cylinder. The heat-exchange subsystem either rejects heat to the environment (to cool gas undergoing compression) or absorbs heat from the environment (to warm gas undergoing expansion). An isothermal process may be approximated via judicious selection of this heat-exchange rate.
However, compressed-gas-based systems may be simplified via thermal conditioning of the gas within the cylinder during compression and expansion, rather than via the above-described conditioning external to the cylinder. There is a need for such internal-conditioning systems that enable heat exchange with the gas in an efficient manner.
In accordance with various embodiments of the present invention, droplets of a liquid (e.g., water) are sprayed into a chamber of the cylinder in which gas is presently undergoing compression (or expansion) in order to transfer heat to or from the gas. As the liquid droplets exchange heat with the gas around them, the temperature of the gas is raised or lowered; the temperature of the droplets is also raised or lowered. The liquid is evacuated from the cylinder through a suitable mechanism. The heat-exchange spray droplets may be introduced through a spray head (in, e.g., a vertical cylinder), through a spray rod arranged coaxially with the cylinder piston (in, e.g., a horizontal cylinder), or by any other mechanism that permits formation of a liquid spay within the cylinder, as further detailed below. Droplets may be used to either warm gas undergoing expansion or to cool gas undergoing compression. An isothermal process may be approximated via judicious selection of this heat-exchange rate.
Specifically, embodiments of the invention relate to devices that form liquid sprays in a chamber containing either (i) low- to mid-pressure (e.g., up to 300 pounds per square inch gauge [psig]) gas, (ii) high-pressure (e.g., between 300 and 3,000 psig) gas, or (iii) both, to achieve significant heat transfer between the liquid and the gas. The heat transfer between the liquid and the air preferably enables substantially isothermal compression or expansion of the gas within the chamber. An exemplary device may include a plate or surface perforated at a number of points with orifices or nozzles to allow the passage of liquid from one side of the plate (herein termed the first side) to the other (herein termed the second side). A volume of liquid impinges on the first side of the plate: this liquid passes through the orifices or nozzles in the plate into a volume of gas that impinges on the second side of the plate and is at lower pressure than the liquid on the first side. The liquid exiting each nozzle into the gas may break up into droplets as determined by various factors, including but not limited to liquid viscosity, surface tension, pressure, density, and exit velocity; pressure and density of the gas; and nozzle geometry (e.g., nozzle shape and/or size). Herein, the term “nozzle” denotes any channel, orifice, or other device through which a liquid may be made to flow so as to produce a jet or spray at its output by encouraging the breakup of liquid flow into a spray of droplets.
Spray formation may occur via several mechanisms. Liquid (e.g., water) injected into gas at sufficient velocities will typically break up due to the density of the gas into which it is injected. However, it is generally desirable to minimize the injection velocity to minimize the energy needed to create the spray. Therefore, this type of breakup is especially pertinent at mid- to high-pressures where gas density is high, allowing for spray creation even with relatively low water-injection velocities. Thus even simple nozzles (e.g., channels with substantially parallel sides) which form a water jet at the nozzle exit will generally form a spray as gas density causes the water jet to break up into fine droplets.
In the low- to mid-pressure range, however, the air density is typically not great enough to cause the viscous drag needed to break a water jet up into a spray of small droplets. In this regime, water that exits a nozzle as a jet may remain in a solid jet and not form droplets. Thus, nozzles in accordance with embodiments of the invention may be more complex and incorporate mechanisms to break up water exiting the nozzle into droplets. For example, internal vanes may impart a rotational velocity component to the water as it exits the nozzle. This angular velocity causes the exiting water to diverge from the axis of the water spray, creating a cone of water droplets. Other nozzles may incorporate mechanisms such as corkscrews (i.e., spiral-shaped profiled surfaces) attached to and/or incorporated within the nozzles to break up the exiting water jet and form a cone of water droplets. These mechanisms enable atomized-spray formation for water injected even into low- to mid-pressure gas.
The spray device may include other features that enable it to function within a larger system. For example, a device may be installed within a vertically oriented pneumatic cylinder containing a mobile piston that divides the interior of the cylinder into two discrete chambers, this piston being connected to one or more shafts that transmit force between the piston and mechanical loads outside the cylinder. An above-described spray device, with all the features and components that it may include, is herein termed the “spray head.”
A spray head may be affixed to the upper interior surface of a pneumatic cylinder or within a pneumatic chamber of another type of cylinder, e.g., a pneumatic/hydraulic cylinder. The spray head is generally perforated by one or more orifices having identical or various sizes, spacings, internal geometries, and cross-sectional forms, which produce droplet sprays within the gas-filled volume below the spray head. At the point of spray formation, droplets appear with velocity vectors scattered randomly over a certain solid angle (≦2π steradians) centered on the vertical and pointing generally downward, forming a spray cone. At any pressure greater than zero and given a sufficiently large gas volume, the horizontal component of any particular droplet's momentum will eventually be dissipated by frictional interaction with the gas, after which the droplet will, in the ideal case, begin to fall vertically at a fixed terminal velocity. (The droplet may be perturbed from vertical fall by motions of the gas, such as those produced by convection or other turbulence.) For each droplet, both the limit of horizontal travel and the terminal velocity during vertical fall are determined largely by gas density and droplet size.
As a consequence of limited horizontal travel and vertical terminal velocity, the spray cone produced by each spray-producing nozzle will typically, at some distance beneath the nozzle, become a column of droplets falling at constant speed. Because the density of a gas at high pressure gas is higher than that of the same gas at low pressure (at a given temperature), the horizontal distance traveled by a droplet of a given size and initial velocity is smaller in high-pressure gas than in low-pressure gas. Likewise, the droplet's terminal velocity is lower in high-pressure gas. Therefore, in high-pressure gas, a column of droplets forming beneath a spray orifice tends to be narrower and slower-falling than a column that forms under the same orifice in low-pressure gas.
In order to maximize heat transfer between the droplets and the gas, embodiments of the invention preferably bring as much gas as possible into contact with as much droplet surface area as possible as the droplets fall through the gas. That is, the gas volume is generally filled or nearly filled with falling droplets. The spray cone or column of droplets produced by a single nozzle will not, in general, be wide enough to fill the gas volume. For mid- or high-pressure gas, the droplet column will generally be narrower, tending to require a larger number of orifices: in particular, the number of orifices required to fill or cover with spray a given volume of gas will be approximately proportional to the inverse of the square of the radius of the column. Thus, for example, halving spray-column radius while keeping the spray-head area constant will typically increase the number of orifices required by a factor of about four.
Alternatively, the initial velocity of spray droplets at each spray-head orifice, and consequently the width of the resulting spray column, may be increased by injecting liquid through the spray head at higher velocity. Injection of liquid at increased velocity requires increased difference between the pressure of the liquid on first side of the spray head and the pressure on the second side (this difference being termed ΔP). Raising the liquid by larger ΔP would consume more energy. Higher-pressure injection will typically increase the distance at which a spray cone transitions into a column of falling droplets, therefore widening the column of spray droplets produced by each nozzle, but will typically also consume more energy and therefore will tend not to increase the energy efficiency of spray generation.
Moreover, if the gas volume has the form of a straight-sided torus due to the presence of a piston shaft within the cylinder, a single nozzle cannot in principle cover the whole interior volume with falling droplets due to the obstructive effect of the shaft.
Maximization of heat transfer with simultaneous minimization of energy consumed in generating the heat-transfer spray, therefore, generally requires multiple spray nozzles. Consequently, embodiments of the invention contain multiple spray nozzles and substantially cover the upper surface of the gas-filled chamber into which it injects spray. The spray-head surface may have an annular shape in embodiments where it surrounds a piston shaft, may be disc-shaped in embodiments where it is mounted on the end of a mobile piston, and may be otherwise shaped depending on a particular application.
Embodiments of the invention feature multiple simple or complex nozzles on the upper surface of a pneumatic chamber such that the spray cones or columns produced by these nozzles overlap and/or interact with each other, and thus leave minimal gas volume, if any, unfilled by spray. All or almost all of the gas volume is thus exposed to liquid spray as gravity pulls the columns of droplets downward from the spray head. In high-gas-pressure embodiments, where horizontal travel of spray droplets is small (e.g., due to high gas density), many close-spaced orifices may be utilized to fill all or nearly all of the gas volume with falling spray.
Generally, embodiments of the invention generate a considerably uniform spray within a pneumatic chamber and/or cylinder via at least one spray head with multiple nozzles, where the pressure drop across the spray-head orifices does not exceed 50 psi and the spray volumetric flow is sufficient to achieve heat exchange necessary to achieve substantially isothermal expansion or compression. In one embodiment, the heat exchange power per unit flow in kW per GPM (gallons per minute) per degree C. exceeds 0.10. The geometry of each nozzle may be selected to produce droplets having a diameter of about 0.2 mm to about 1.0 mm. Additionally, the plurality of orifices may be configured to maintain a pressure drop of the heat-transfer fluid at less than approximately 50 psi during introduction thereof and/or at least a portion of the plurality of orifices may have divergent cross-sectional profiles. In high-pressure-gas embodiments, the orifices may be configured and arranged in a manner to maintain a Weber value of the high-pressure gas sufficient to maintain the spray in a form comprising or consisting essentially of substantially individual droplets. In one embodiment, the orifices are configured to maintain the Weber value of the high-pressure gas at a value of at least 40.
Embodiments of the invention include features that enable efficient installation within a pneumatic chamber and/or cylinder, and may also include features that enable efficient provision of liquid from an exterior source to the interior of the device for transmission through the orifices in the plate.
Embodiments of the invention also increase the efficiency with which varying amounts of a heat-exchange liquid are sprayed into a pneumatic compressor-expander cylinder, thus minimizing the energy required to maintain substantially isothermal compression or expansion of a gas within the cylinder. Various embodiments of the invention enable the injection of heat-exchange liquid at two or more distinct rates of flow into one or both chambers of a pneumatic compressor-expander cylinder by equipping the spray mechanism within each chamber with two or more groups of spray-generating nozzles, where the flow of heat-exchange liquid through each nozzle group may be actuated independently. Recruitment of additional nozzle groups allows total flow rate to be increased by a given amount without increasing the power used to pump the liquid as much as would be required if the number of nozzles were fixed.
During expansion of gas from storage in certain systems such as those disclosed in the '207 patent and the '703 application, the pressure of a quantity of gas within one chamber of a pneumatic or pneumatic-hydraulic cylinder exerts a force upon a piston and attached rod slidably disposed within the cylinder. The force exerted by the gas upon the piston and rod causes the piston and rod to move. As described by the Ideal Gas Law, the temperature of the gas undergoing expansion tends to decrease. To control the temperature of the quantity of gas being expanded within the cylinder (e.g., to hold it constant, that is, to produce isothermal expansion), a heat-exchange liquid may be sprayed into the chamber containing the expanding gas. The spray may be generated by pumping the heat-exchange liquid through one or more nozzles, as detailed above. If the liquid is at a higher temperature than that of the gas in the chamber, then heat will flow from the droplets the gas in the chamber, warming the gas.
Similarly, when gas is compressed in the cylinder, as described by the Ideal Gas Law, the temperature of the gas undergoing compression tends to increase. Heat-exchange liquid may be sprayed into the chamber containing the gas undergoing compression. If the liquid is at a lower temperature than that of the gas in the chamber, then heat will flow from the gas in the chamber to the droplets, cooling the gas.
The maximum amount of heat Q to be added to or removed from the gas in a chamber of the cylinder by a given mass m of heat-exchange liquid spray is Q=mcΔT, where c is the specific heat of the liquid and ΔT is the difference between the initial temperature of the liquid and the final temperature of the liquid (i.e., temperature of the liquid when it has reached thermal equilibrium with the gas). Assuming that c and ΔT are fixed, the only way to alter Q is to alter m. In particular, to exchange more heat between the heat-exchange liquid and the gas in the cylinder chamber, m is increased.
The mass m of heat-exchange liquid entering the cylinder chamber in a given time interval is given by flow rate q and fluid density p. Here, m has units of kg, q has units of m3/s, and p has units of kg/m3. Thus, to add or remove more heat from the gas in the cylinder chamber for a heat-exchange liquid with near-constant density p, the flow rate q of the heat-exchange liquid is increased.
When liquid flows through a nozzle or orifice, it encounters resistance. This resistance is associated with a pressure drop Δp from the input side of the nozzle to the output side. The pressure drop across (i.e., through) the nozzle depends on the characteristics of a particular nozzle, including its shape, and on the flow rate q. In particular, to increase flow rate q, the pressure drop Δp is increased. The relationship between flow rate q and pressure drop Δp has the general form q∝pn; n is typically less than 0.50. (This may also be expressed as p∝q1/n) Moreover, the spraying power P consumed by forcing liquid at rate q through a nozzle with a constant pressure drop Δp is P=Δp q. Substituting Δp∝q1/n for Δp in P=Δp q gives P∝q q1/n=q1/n+1. If, for example, n=0.5, then P∝q1/n+1=q1/0.5+1=q3. Thus, the power required to achieve a given amount of flow through a single nozzle—and therefore through any fixed number of nozzles—increases geometrically with flow rate. As a consequence, doubling the flow rate more than doubles the required spraying power.
The rate of heat transfer between the gas in the pneumatic cylinder chamber and the heat-exchange liquid spray is proportional to the flow rate and bears a similar relation to spraying power as does the flow rate. Specifically, from Q=m c ΔT we have dQ/dt=p q c ΔT, where t is time, p is liquid density, q is liquid flow rate, ΔT is the difference between the initial temperature of the liquid and the final temperature of the liquid, and dQ/dt is rate of heat transfer. If p, c and ΔT are constant, dQ/dt∝q. In the example where n=0.5, one has P∝q3, which combined with dQ/dt∝q gives P∝(dQ/dt)3. The spraying power P is thus, for an exemplary n of 0.5, proportional to the third power of the required rate of heat transfer. This result holds for any fixed number of nozzles.
For a required rate of spray heat transfer in a pneumatic cylinder, it is desirable to minimize the spraying power. Preferably, the spray power is minimized to just above the operating point (spray pressure) where a spray of sufficient quality continues to be generated at the output of each nozzle, since, as described above, the rate of heat transfer between the gas in the chamber and the heat-exchange liquid is greatly increased by mixing the heat-exchange liquid with the gas in the form of a spray, which maximizes the area of liquid-gas contact.
The flow rate (and thus rate of heat transfer if spray quality is maintained) may be increased with a less-than-geometric accompanying increase in spraying power by raising the number of active nozzles (i.e., nozzles through which heat-exchange liquid is made to flow) as the flow rate is increased. For example, the flow rate may be doubled by doubling the number of active identical nozzles without changing the flow rate through any individual nozzle. In this case, the spraying power P per nozzle remains unchanged while the number of nozzles doubles, so total spraying power doubles. In contrast, for a fixed number of identical nozzles, if an exemplary n of 0.5 is assumed, doubling the rate of heat transfer requires an eightfold increase in the spraying power P.
Thus, embodiments of the invention decrease the spraying power required while maintaining sufficient pressure drop in each nozzle (i.e., sufficient to create a spray at the output) by making the number of active nozzles proportional to the rate of flow. This proportionality may be exact or approximate.
Embodiments of the invention allow an increased flow rate of heat-exchange liquid through an arrangement of nozzles into a chamber of a pneumatic cylinder without geometric increase in spraying power. Various embodiments of the invention include methods for the introduction of heat-exchange liquid into a chamber of a pneumatic cylinder through a number of nozzles. One or more spray heads, rods, or other contrivances for situating nozzles within the chamber are equipped with two or more sets of nozzles. Each set of nozzles contains one or more nozzles. The sets of nozzles may be interspersed across the surface of the spray head, spray rod, or other contrivance, or they may be segregated from each other. The nozzles within the various sets may be of uniform type, or of various types. When a relatively low flow rate of heat-exchange liquid is desired, e.g. when the pressure of the gas within the chamber is relatively low, one or more nozzle sets may be employed to spray heat-exchange liquid into the chamber. At higher flow rates, e.g., when the pressure of the gas within the chamber is relatively high, two or more nozzle sets may be employed to spray heat-exchange liquid into the chamber. The identity and number of the nozzle sets employed to spray heat-exchange liquid at any given time may be determined by a control system, an operator, and/or an automatic arrangement of valves. When increased flow rate of heat-exchange liquid is desired in order to increase the rate of heat transfer, additional nozzle sets are activated.
In various embodiments of the invention, the heat-transfer fluid utilized to thermally condition gas within one or more cylinders incorporates one or more additives and/or solutes, as described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/082,808, filed Apr. 8, 2011 (the '808 application), the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. As described in the '808 application, the additives and/or solutes may reduce the surface tension of the heat-transfer fluid, reduce the solubility of gas into the heat-transfer fluid, and/or slow dissolution of gas into the heat-transfer fluid. They may also (i) retard or prevent corrosion, (ii) enhance lubricity, (iii) prevent formation of or kill microorganisms (such as bacteria), and/or (iv) include a defoaming agent, as desired for a particular system design or application.
Embodiments of the present invention are typically utilized in energy storage and generation systems utilizing compressed gas. In a compressed-gas energy storage system, gas is stored at high pressure (e.g., approximately 3,000 psi). This gas may be expanded into a cylinder having a first compartment (or “chamber”) and a second compartment separated by a piston slidably disposed within the cylinder (or by another boundary mechanism). A shaft may be coupled to the piston and extend through the first compartment and/or the second compartment of the cylinder and beyond an end cap of the cylinder, and a transmission mechanism may be coupled to the shaft for converting a reciprocal motion of the shaft into a rotary motion, as described in the '595 and '853 applications. Moreover, a motor/generator may be coupled to the transmission mechanism. Alternatively or additionally, the shaft of the cylinders may be coupled to one or more linear generators, as described in the '853 application.
As also described in the '853 application, the range of forces produced by expanding a given quantity of gas in a given time may be reduced through the addition of multiple, series-connected cylinder stages. That is, as gas from a high-pressure reservoir is expanded in one chamber of a first, high-pressure cylinder, gas from the other chamber of the first cylinder is directed to the expansion chamber of a second, lower-pressure cylinder. Gas from the lower-pressure chamber of this second cylinder may either be vented to the environment or directed to the expansion chamber of a third cylinder operating at still lower pressure; the third cylinder may be connected to either the environment or to a fourth cylinder; and so on.
The principle may be extended to more than two cylinders to suit particular applications. For example, a narrower output force range for a given range of reservoir pressures is achieved by having a first, high-pressure cylinder operating between, for example, approximately 3,000 psig and approximately 300 psig and a second, larger-volume, lower-pressure cylinder operating between, for example, approximately 300 psig and approximately 30 psig. When two expansion cylinders are used, the range of pressure within either cylinder (and thus the range of force produced by either cylinder) is reduced as the square root relative to the range of pressure (or force) experienced with a single expansion cylinder, e.g., from approximately 100:1 to approximately 10:1 (as set forth in the '853 application). Furthermore, as set forth in the '595 application, N appropriately sized cylinders can reduce an original operating pressure range R to R1/N Any group of N cylinders staged in this manner, where N≧2, is herein termed a cylinder group.
All of the approaches described above for converting potential energy in compressed gas into mechanical and electrical energy may, if appropriately designed, be operated in reverse to store electrical energy as potential energy in a compressed gas. Since the accuracy of this statement will be apparent to any person reasonably familiar with the principles of electrical machines, power electronics, pneumatics, and the principles of thermodynamics, the operation of these mechanisms to both store energy and recover it from storage will not be described for each embodiment. Such operation is, however, contemplated and within the scope of the invention and may be straightforwardly realized without undue experimentation.
Embodiments of the invention may be implemented using any of the integrated heat-transfer systems and methods described in the '703 application and/or with the external heat-transfer systems and methods described in the '426 patent. In addition, the systems described herein, and/or other embodiments employing liquid-spray heat exchange or external gas heat exchange, may draw or deliver thermal energy via their heat-exchange mechanisms to external systems (not shown) for purposes of cogeneration, as described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/690,513, filed Jan. 20, 2010 (the '513 application), the entire disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.
The compressed-air energy storage and recovery systems described herein are preferably “open-air” systems, i.e., systems that take in air from the ambient atmosphere for compression and vent air back to the ambient atmosphere after expansion, rather than systems that compress and expand a captured volume of gas in a sealed container (i.e., “closed-air” systems). Thus, the systems described herein generally feature one or more cylinder assemblies for the storage and recovery of energy via compression and expansion of gas. Selectively fluidly connected to the cylinder assembly are (i) a reservoir for storage of compressed gas after compression and supply of compressed gas for expansion thereof, and (ii) a vent for exhausting expanded gas to atmosphere after expansion and supply of gas for compression. The reservoir for storage of compressed gas may include or consist essentially of, e.g., one or more one or more pressure vessels (i.e., containers for compressed gas that may have rigid exteriors or may be inflatable, and that may be formed of various suitable materials such as metal or plastic) or caverns (i.e., naturally occurring or artificially created cavities that are typically located underground). Open-air systems typically provide superior energy density relative to closed-air systems.
Furthermore, the systems described herein may be advantageously utilized to harness and recover sources of renewable energy, e.g., wind and solar energy. For example, energy stored during compression of the gas may originate from an intermittent renewable energy source of, e.g., wind or solar energy, and energy may be recovered via expansion of the gas when the intermittent renewable energy source is nonfunctional (i.e., either not producing harnessable energy or producing energy at lower-than-nominal levels). As such, the systems described herein may be connected to, e.g., solar panels or wind turbines, in order to store the renewable energy generated by such systems.
In one aspect, embodiments of the invention feature a compressed-gas energy storage and recovery system including or consisting essentially of a cylinder assembly for compressing gas to store energy and/or expanding gas to recover energy, and a spray mechanism for introducing heat-transfer fluid within a chamber of the cylinder assembly to exchange heat with gas in the chamber, thereby increasing efficiency of the energy storage and recovery. The spray mechanism includes or consists essentially of a plurality of nozzles for collectively producing an aggregate spray filling substantially an entire volume of the chamber. The aggregate spray includes or consists essentially of a plurality of overlapping individual sprays each produced by one of the plurality of nozzles.
Embodiments of the invention may include one or more of the following, in any of a variety of combinations. Each individual spray may be an atomized spray of individual droplets. The individual droplets may have an average diameter ranging from approximately 0.2 mm to approximately 1 mm. The plurality of nozzles may maintain a Weber value of gas within the chamber of at least 40. Each nozzle may maintain a pressure drop across the nozzle of less than approximately 50 psi. At least one nozzle may have a divergent cross-sectional profile. At least one nozzle may include or consist essentially of a mechanism (e.g., a plurality of vanes and/or a corkscrew) for breaking of the flow of heat-transfer fluid through the nozzle. The system may include a control system for controlling the introduction of heat-transfer fluid into the chamber such that the compression and/or expansion of gas is substantially isothermal. The spray mechanism may occupy approximately the entire top surface of the chamber. The plurality of nozzles may be arranged in a triangular grid such that each nozzle having six nearest-neighbor nozzles is approximately equidistant from each of the six nearest-neighbor nozzles. The plurality of nozzles may be arranged in a plurality of concentric rings.
The system may include a movable boundary mechanism separating the cylinder assembly into two chambers and a rod coupled to the boundary mechanism and extending through at least one of the chambers. The spray mechanism may define a hole therethrough to snugly accommodate the rod. A crankshaft for converting reciprocal motion of the boundary mechanism into rotary motion may be mechanically coupled to the rod. A motor/generator may be coupled to the crankshaft. The spray mechanism may include a threaded connector for engaging a complementary threaded connector disposed within the cylinder assembly. The spray mechanism may include an interior channel (which may be toroidal) for transmitting heat-transfer fluid from a source external to the cylinder assembly to the plurality of nozzles. The system may include at least one o-ring groove configured to accommodate an o-ring for forming a liquid-impermeable seal between the spray mechanism and the interior surface of the chamber.
A compressed-gas reservoir for storage of gas after compression and supply of compressed gas for expansion thereof may be selectively fluidly connected to the cylinder assembly. A vent for exhausting expanded gas to atmosphere and supply of gas for compression thereof may be selectively fluidly connected to the cylinder assembly. An intermittent renewable energy source (e.g., of wind or solar energy) may be connected to the cylinder assembly. Energy stored during compression of gas may originate from the intermittent renewable energy source, and energy may be recovered via expansion of gas when the intermittent renewable energy source is nonfunctional.
The spray mechanism may include or consist essentially of a spray head or a spray rod. The system may include a circulation apparatus for circulating heat-transfer fluid to the spray mechanism and/or a heat exchanger for maintaining the heat-transfer fluid at a substantially constant temperature. The circulation apparatus may circulate heat-transfer fluid from the cylinder assembly through the heat exchanger and back to the cylinder assembly. The cylinder assembly may include or consist essentially of two separated chambers (e.g., a pneumatic chamber and a hydraulic chamber, or two pneumatic chambers). The system may include a heat-transfer fluid for introduction within the chamber. The heat-transfer fluid may include or consist essentially of water. The plurality of nozzles may be organized into at least two nozzle groups, at least one nozzle group not being active during a portion of a single cycle or compression or expansion.
In another aspect, embodiments of the invention feature a method for improving efficiency of compressed-gas energy storage and recovery. Gas is compressed to store energy and/or expanded to recover energy within a chamber of a cylinder assembly. During the compression and/or expansion, an entire volume of the chamber is substantially filled with an atomized spray of heat-transfer fluid to exchange heat between the gas and the atomized spray, thereby increasing efficiency of the energy storage and recovery. The atomized spray includes or consists essentially of a plurality of overlapping individual sprays each produced within the chamber.
Embodiments of the invention may include one or more of the following, in any of a variety of combinations. The heat exchange between the gas and the atomized spray may render the compression and/or expansion substantially isothermal. Expanded gas may be vented to atmosphere and/or compressed gas may be stored in a compressed-gas reservoir. Energy stored during compression of gas may originate from an intermittent renewable energy source (e.g., of wind or solar energy). Energy may be recovered via expansion of gas when the intermittent renewable energy source is nonfunctional. The individual sprays may be each produced by one of a plurality of nozzles organized into at least two nozzle groups. At least one nozzle group may not be active during a portion of a single cycle of compression or expansion.
In yet another aspect, embodiments of the invention feature a compressed-gas energy storage and recovery system including or consisting essentially of a cylinder assembly for compressing gas to store energy and/or expanding gas to recover energy, an actuating mechanism, and a heat-transfer mechanism for introducing heat-transfer fluid within a chamber of the cylinder assembly to exchange heat with gas in the chamber, thereby increasing efficiency of the energy storage and recovery. The heat-transfer mechanism includes or consists essentially of a plurality of nozzles. The actuating mechanism controls the number of active nozzles introducing heat-transfer fluid within the chamber during a single cycle of compression or expansion of gas.
Embodiments of the invention may include one or more of the following, in any of a variety of combinations. The actuating mechanism may include or consist essentially of at least one cracking-pressure valve. The actuating mechanism may include or consist essentially of a plurality of valves (e.g., each valve being associated with a nozzle) and a control system for controlling the valves based at least on a pressure within the cylinder assembly. The system may include a sensor for measuring the pressure within the cylinder assembly, and the control system may be responsive to the sensor. The control system may control the cylinder assembly and/or the heat-transfer mechanism to render the compression and/or expansion substantially isothermal. The plurality of nozzles may be substantially identical to each other. At least two nozzles may differ in at least one characteristic, e.g., type, size, and/or throughput. The heat-transfer mechanism may include or consist essentially of a spray head and/or a spray rod. The system may include a heat exchanger and a circulation apparatus for circulating heat-transfer fluid between the heat exchanger and the cylinder assembly. The plurality of nozzles may be organized into at least two nozzle groups, and at least one nozzle group may not be active during a portion of the single cycle of compression or expansion.
A compressed-gas reservoir for storage of gas after compression and supply of compressed gas for expansion thereof may be selectively fluidly connected to the cylinder assembly. A vent for exhausting expanded gas to atmosphere and supply of gas for compression thereof may be selectively fluidly connected to the cylinder assembly. An intermittent renewable energy source (e.g., of wind or solar energy) may be connected to the cylinder assembly. Energy stored during compression of gas may originate from the intermittent renewable energy source, and energy may be recovered via expansion of gas when the intermittent renewable energy source is nonfunctional.
The cylinder assembly may include or consist essentially of two separated chambers (e.g., a pneumatic chamber and a hydraulic chamber, or two pneumatic chambers). The system may include a movable boundary mechanism separating the cylinder assembly into two chambers. A crankshaft for converting reciprocal motion of the boundary mechanism into rotary motion may be mechanically coupled to the boundary mechanism. A motor/generator may be coupled to the crankshaft. The heat-transfer fluid may be introduced within the chamber in the form of an atomized spray filling substantially an entire volume of the chamber.
In another aspect, embodiments of the invention feature a method for improving efficiency of compressed-gas energy storage and recovery. Gas is compressed to store energy and/or expanded to recover energy within a chamber of a cylinder assembly. During the compression and/or expansion, heat-transfer fluid is introduced into the chamber through at least one of a plurality of nozzles to exchange heat with the gas, thereby increasing efficiency of the energy storage and recovery. The number of active nozzles introducing the heat-transfer fluid is based at least in part on a pressure of the gas in the chamber.
Embodiments of the invention may include one or more of the following, in any of a variety of combinations. The heat exchange between the heat-transfer fluid and the gas may render the compression and/or expansion substantially isothermal. Expanded gas may be vented to atmosphere, and/or compressed gas may be stored in a compressed-gas reservoir. Energy stored during compression of gas may originate from an intermittent renewable energy source (e.g., of wind or solar energy). Energy may be recovered via expansion of gas when the intermittent renewable energy source is nonfunctional. The heat-transfer fluid may be recirculated between the chamber and an external heat exchanger to maintain the heat-transfer fluid at a substantially constant temperature. During a first portion of a single cycle of expansion or compression at least one nozzle may not be active. During a second portion of the single cycle of expansion or compression different from the first portion, each of the nozzles may be active. The heat-transfer fluid may be introduced within the chamber in the form of an atomized spray filling substantially the entire volume of the chamber.
In yet another aspect, embodiments of the invention feature a method for energy storage and recovery. Gas is compressed within a chamber of a cylinder assembly to store energy. During the compression, heat-transfer fluid is introduced into the chamber at a rate that increases as the pressure of the gas increases. The heat-transfer fluid exchanges heat with the gas, thereby increasing efficiency of the energy storage.
Embodiments of the invention may include one or more of the following, in any of a variety of combinations. Introducing the heat-transfer fluid may include or consist essentially of increasing the spraying power of heat-transfer fluid at a less-than-geometric rate relative to the rate of introduction. The rate of introduction may be increased by increasing the number of active nozzles introducing the heat-transfer fluid into the chamber. The heat-transfer fluid may be recirculated between the chamber and a heat exchanger to maintain the heat-transfer fluid at a substantially constant temperature. The heat-exchange between the gas and the hear-transfer fluid renders the compression substantially isothermal.
These and other objects, along with advantages and features of the invention, will become more apparent through reference to the following description, the accompanying drawings, and the claims. Furthermore, it is to be understood that the features of the various embodiments described herein are not mutually exclusive and can exist in various combinations and permutations. Note that as used herein, the terms “pipe,” “piping” and the like shall refer to one or more conduits that are rated to carry gas or liquid between two points. Thus, the singular term should be taken to include a plurality of parallel conduits where appropriate. Herein, the terms “liquid” and “water” interchangeably connote any mostly or substantially incompressible liquid, the terms “gas” and “air” are used interchangeably, and the term “fluid” may refer to a liquid or a gas unless otherwise indicated. As used herein unless otherwise indicated, the term “substantially” means ±10%, and, in some embodiments, ±5%. A “valve” is any mechanism or component for controlling fluid communication between fluid paths or reservoirs, or for selectively permitting control or venting. The term “cylinder” refers to a chamber, of uniform but not necessarily circular cross-section, which may contain a slidably disposed piston or other mechanism that separates the fluid on one side of the chamber from that on the other, preventing fluid movement from one side of the chamber to the other while allowing the transfer of force/pressure from one side of the chamber to the next or to a mechanism outside the chamber. In the absence of a mechanical separation mechanism, a “chamber” or “compartment” of a cylinder may correspond to substantially the entire volume of the cylinder. A “cylinder assembly” may be a simple cylinder or include multiple cylinders, and may or may not have additional associated components (such as mechanical linkages among the cylinders). The shaft of a cylinder may be coupled hydraulically or mechanically to a mechanical load (e.g., a hydraulic motor/pump or a crankshaft) that is in turn coupled to an electrical load (e.g., rotary or linear electric motor/generator attached to power electronics and/or directly to the grid or other loads), as described in the '595 and '853 applications.
In the drawings, like reference characters generally refer to the same parts throughout the different views. Cylinders, rods, and other components are depicted in cross section in a manner that will be intelligible to all persons familiar with the art of pneumatic and hydraulic cylinders. Also, the drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead generally being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention. In the following description, various embodiments of the present invention are described with reference to the following drawings, in which:
The control system 105 may be any acceptable control device with a human-machine interface. For example, the control system 105 may include a computer (for example a PC-type) that executes a stored control application in the form of a computer-readable software medium. More generally, control system 105 may be realized as software, hardware, or some combination thereof. For example, control system 105 may be implemented on one or more computers, such as a PC having a CPU board containing one or more processors such as the Pentium, Core, Atom, or Celeron family of processors manufactured by Intel Corporation of Santa Clara, Calif., the 680x0 and POWER PC family of processors manufactured by Motorola Corporation of Schaumburg, Ill., and/or the ATHLON line of processors manufactured by Advanced Micro Devices, Inc., of Sunnyvale, Calif. The processor may also include a main memory unit for storing programs and/or data relating to the methods described above. The memory may include random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), and/or FLASH memory residing on commonly available hardware such as one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASIC), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA), electrically erasable programmable read-only memories (EEPROM), programmable read-only memories (PROM), programmable logic devices (PLD), or read-only memory devices (ROM). In some embodiments, the programs may be provided using external RAM and/or ROM such as optical disks, magnetic disks, or other storage devices.
For embodiments in which the functions of controller 105 are provided by software, the program may be written in any one of a number of high-level languages such as FORTRAN, PASCAL, JAVA, C, C++, C#, LISP, PERL, BASIC or any suitable programming language. Additionally, the software can be implemented in an assembly language and/or machine language directed to the microprocessor resident on a target device.
The control system 105 may receive telemetry from sensors monitoring various aspects of the operation of system 100 (as described below), and may provide signals to control valve actuators, valves, motors, and other electromechanical/electronic devices. Control system 105 may communicate with such sensors and/or other components of system 100 via wired or wireless communication. An appropriate interface may be used to convert data from sensors into a form readable by the control system 105 (such as RS-232 or network-based interconnects). Likewise, the interface converts the computer's control signals into a form usable by valves and other actuators to perform an operation. The provision of such interfaces, as well as suitable control programming, is clear to those of ordinary skill in the art and may be provided without undue experimentation.
The cylinder assembly 102 includes a piston 110 (or other suitable boundary mechanism) slidably disposed therein with a center-drilled rod 112 extending from piston 110 and preferably defining a fluid passageway. The piston 110 divides the cylinder assembly 102 into a first chamber (or “compartment”) 114 and a second chamber 116. The rod 112 may be attached to a mechanical load, for example, a crankshaft or hydraulic system. Alternatively or in addition, the second chamber 116 may contain hydraulic fluid that is coupled through other pipes 118 and valves to a hydraulic system 120 (which may include, e.g., a hydraulic motor/pump and an electrical motor/generator). The heat-transfer subsystem 104 includes or consists essentially of a heat exchanger 122 and a booster-pump assembly 124.
At any time during an expansion or compression phase of gas within the first or upper chamber 114 of the cylinder assembly 102, the chamber 114 will typically contain a gas 126 (e.g., previously admitted from storage vessel 106 during the expansion phase or from vent 108 during the compression phase) and (e.g., an accumulation of) heat-transfer fluid 128 at substantially equal pressure Ps, (e.g., up to approximately 3,000 psig). The heat-transfer fluid 128 may be drawn through the center-drilled rod 112 and through a pipe 130 by the pump 124. The pump 124 raises the pressure of the heat-transfer fluid 128 to a pressure Pi′ (e.g., up to approximately 3,015 psig) somewhat higher than Ps, as described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/009,409, filed on Jan. 19, 2011 (the '409 application), the entire disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein. The heat-transfer fluid 128 is then sent through the heat exchanger 122, where its temperature is altered, and then through a pipe 132 to a spray mechanism 134 disposed within the cylinder assembly 102. In various embodiments, when the cylinder assembly 102 is operated as an expander, a spray 136 of the heat-transfer fluid 128 is introduced into the cylinder assembly 102 at a higher temperature than the gas 126 and, therefore, transfers thermal energy to the gas 126 and increases the amount of work done by the gas 126 on the piston 110 as the gas 126 expands. In an alternative mode of operation, when the cylinder assembly 102 is operated as a compressor, the heat-transfer fluid 128 is introduced at a lower temperature than the gas 126. Control system 105 may enforce substantially isothermal operation, i.e., expansion and/or compression of gas in cylinder assembly 102, via control over, e.g., the introduction of gas into and the exhausting of gas out of cylinder assembly 102, the rates of compression and/or expansion, and/or the operation of heat-transfer subsystem 104 in response to sensed conditions. For example, control system 105 may be responsive to one or more sensors disposed in or on cylinder assembly 102 for measuring the temperature of the gas and/or the heat-transfer fluid within cylinder assembly 102, responding to deviations in temperature by issuing control signals that operate one or more of the system components noted above to compensate, in real time, for the sensed temperature deviations. For example, in response to a temperature increase within cylinder assembly 102, control system 105 may issue commands to increase the flow rate of spray 136 of heat-transfer fluid 128.
The circulating system 124 described above will typically have higher efficiency than a system which pumps liquid from a low intake pressure (e.g., approximately 0 psig) to Pi′, as detailed in the '409 application.
Furthermore, embodiments of the invention may be applied to systems in which chamber 114 is in fluid communication with a pneumatic chamber of a second cylinder (rather than with vessel 106). That second cylinder, in turn, may communicate similarly with a third cylinder, and so forth. Any number of cylinders may be linked in this way. These cylinders may be connected in parallel or in a series configuration, where the compression and expansion is done in multiple stages.
The fluid circuit of heat exchanger 122 may be filled with water, a coolant mixture, and/or any acceptable heat-transfer medium. In alternative embodiments, a gas, such as air or refrigerant, is used as the heat-transfer medium. In general, the fluid is routed by conduits to a large reservoir of such fluid in a closed or open loop. One example of an open loop is a well or body of water from which ambient water is drawn and the exhaust water is delivered to a different location, for example, downstream in a river. In a closed-loop embodiment, a cooling tower may cycle the water through the air for return to the heat exchanger. Likewise, water may pass through a submerged or buried coil of continuous piping where a counter heat-exchange occurs to return the fluid flow to ambient temperature before it returns to the heat exchanger for another cycle.
In various embodiments, the heat-exchange fluid is conditioned (i.e., pre-heated and/or pre-chilled) or used for heating or cooling needs by connecting the fluid inlet 138 and fluid outlet 140 of the external heat exchange side of the heat exchanger 122 to an installation (not shown) such as a heat-engine power plant, an industrial process with waste heat, a heat pump, and/or a building needing space heating or cooling, as described in the '513 application. The installation may be a large water reservoir that acts as a constant-temperature thermal fluid source for use with the system. Alternatively, the water reservoir may be thermally linked to waste heat from an industrial process or the like, as described above, via another heat exchanger contained within the installation. This allows the heat-transfer fluid to acquire or expel heat from/to the linked process, depending on configuration, for later use as a heating/cooling medium in the compressed air energy storage/conversion system.
For the system 100 in
The efficiency of spray mechanisms such as spray mechanism 134 is increased in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention. Total expansion efficiency depends partly on (a) the behavior of the liquid injected into the gas and (b) the energy required to inject the liquid into the gas. Regarding the behavior of the liquid injected into the gas, the rate at which heat may be transferred to or from a given quantity of liquid to a given quantity of gas is generally proportional to the area of contact between the two (i.e., liquid surface area). When a given volume of liquid is reduced to N spherical droplets, the total surface area of the droplets is proportional to N2/3. Atomization of the liquid during injection (i.e., large N, creation of a fine spray) is therefore generally conducive to more rapid heat transfer. For a given droplet residence time in the gas, more-rapid heat transfer also typically entails larger total heat transfer.
The energy required to inject the liquid into the gas is the energy required to force water through the spray mechanism 134. In general, for a given liquid flow rate (e.g., gallons per minute) through each orifice, larger orifices in the spray mechanism 134 will entail a smaller liquid pressure drop (ΔP) from the interior of the spray mechanism 134 to the interior of chamber 114 and therefore less expenditure of energy (Ei) to inject a given volume (VT) of heat-transfer liquid: Ei=VT×ΔP.
However, in attempting to increase efficiency, the above considerations may be at odds. Higher injection velocity through an orifice of given size tends to result in a finer spray and more surface area (which pertains to consideration (a)) but also requires a larger ΔP and therefore a greater expenditure of energy (which pertains to consideration (b)). On the other hand, for a given rate of liquid flow per orifice, a larger orifice will entail a lower pressure drop ΔP and therefore lower injection energy Ei per unit of heat-transfer liquid, but above a certain diameter a larger orifice will tend to produce a narrow jet rather than a fine spray. Ei will thus be lower for a larger orifice (for a fixed flow rate), but so will droplet count N per unit of liquid volume, with a correspondingly lower rate of heat transfer. Therefore, to inject heat-exchange liquid in a manner that increases or maximizes total efficiency, it is necessary to consider in detail the behavior of a liquid injected into a gas, that is, liquid-phase dispersion (liquid breakup) in a liquid-gas system.
Under conditions where a jet is produced at the orifice outlet, three basic types or regimes of liquid phase breakup and their relationship to liquid properties have been defined in W. Ohnesorge, “Formation of drops by nozzles and the breakup of liquid jets,” Zeitschrift für Angewandte Mathematik and Mechanik [Applied Mathematics and Mechanics], vol. 16, pp. 355-358 (1936) (the “Ohnesorge reference”), the entire disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein. In a first regime 200 shown in
An operating point further to the right of line 300 in
The chart shown in
Furthermore, having specified the hole diameter and flow velocity in the first and third columns, and having knowledge of the specific heat of water, one may use the total flow per kW of per degree Celsius (heat-transfer coefficient) and an assumed temperature change of the injected fluid (here 5° C.) to calculate the number of orifices needed: this number is provided here in the fifth column of
Finally, the energy consumed in forcing the heat-exchange liquid through the orifices may then be calculated from the pressure drop and flow rate (flow rate coming from the number of holes, velocity and area of the holes), and is provided in the sixth column. This figure is typically a minimum, as forcing the liquid through the orifices at still higher velocities will also produce atomized flows, albeit at higher energy cost.
From the values in the sixth column of
In accordance with various embodiments of the invention, the geometry of each nozzle is selected to produce droplets having a diameter of about 0.2 mm to about 1.0 mm. Additionally, the nozzles may be configured to maintain a pressure drop of the heat-transfer fluid at less than approximately 50 psi during introduction thereof.
Droplets with smaller diameters will generally have lower terminal velocities than larger droplets. In higher-pressure air, droplet terminal velocities further decrease, so that drops having small diameters (e.g., less than 0.2 mm) may not reach all areas of a cylinder volume during a compression or expansion process. Additionally, nozzles configured to achieve even smaller average drop sizes than 0.2 mm (e.g., 0.05 mm) tend to require either substantially higher pressure drops or much smaller orifice sizes. Higher pressure drops require more pumping power, and larger quantities of smaller orifices may be more expensive and more prone to failure and clogging. Therefore, practicalities of droplet generation and distribution tend not to favor the generation of very small droplets, and optimal droplet size for a given cylinder assembly will be determined by a combination of factors. Among these factors, air pressures and piston speeds will tend to be more significant than cylinder diameter. For a liquid spray for isothermal-type compressed air systems as described herein, droplets having diameters of about 0.2 mm to about 1.0 mm both (a) effectively cover the volume of the cylinder chamber and (b) require relatively low pumping powers. For an exemplary system with two compression stages (e.g., the first stage compressing from 0 psig to 250 psig and the second stage compressing from 250 psig to 3000 psig), low-pressure cylinder diameters may be approximately 20 inches to approximately 50 inches (e.g., approximately 24 inches to approximately 42 inches) and high-pressure cylinder diameters may be approximately 6 inches to approximately 15 inches (e.g., approximately 8 inches to approximately 12 inches). Stroke lengths may be approximately 20 inches to approximately 80 inches (e.g., approximately 30 inches to approximately 60 inches). Peak piston speeds may be between 3 and 15 feet per second. In various embodiments, any of the above-described cylinders are utilized singly or in systems featuring two or more cylinders (that are identical to or different from each other).
The spray head 900 may be mounted horizontally within a vertically-oriented cylinder with its faceplate 910 facing downward at the top of a gas-filled chamber within the cylinder (for example, in cylinder assembly 102). A piston shaft typically passes snugly through the circular central opening 930 of the spray head 900 and the lateral surface 940 of the spray head 900 is typically in snug contact with the cylindrical inner wall of the cylinder. The open horizontal area at the top of the cylinder chamber may be wholly occupied by the faceplate 910 of the spray head 900. Each orifice 920 communicates with the upper side of the faceplate 910 through a channel that may be convergent, straight-sided, or divergent, as shown in
The spray head 900 is primarily affixed to the cylinder by means of a threaded protruding collar (1200 in
Heat-exchange liquid is conveyed to the channels of the orifices 920 through an arrangement of channels or hollows in the body of the spray head (see
Six holes 1330 (two of which are visible in cross-section in
In the illustrative embodiment shown in
The spray head 1600 may be mounted horizontally within a vertically-oriented cylinder with its faceplate 1610 facing downward at the top of a gas-filled chamber within the cylinder (such as in, e.g., cylinder assembly 102). A piston shaft typically passes snugly through the circular central opening 1640, and the lateral surface 1650 of the spray head 1600 is typically in snug contact with the cylindrical inner wall of the cylinder. The open horizontal area at the top of the cylinder chamber is preferably wholly occupied by the faceplate 1610. The spray head 1600 is primarily affixed to a cylinder by means of through-holes 1660 that enable the spray head 1600 to be bolted to the inside of the cylinder.
In the illustrative application shown in
Spray mechanisms (e.g., spray heads) in accordance with various embodiments of the invention may incorporate multiple individually controllable groups of nozzles (each of which may include, e.g., one or more nozzles) utilized to introduce heat-transfer fluid into a gas in order to thermally condition the gas during, e.g., expansion and/or compression of the gas.
A spray head 2225 (that may share any number of characteristics with spray heads 900 and 1600 described above) holds in place a number of spray nozzles 2230, 2235 (eight nozzles are shown; only two are labeled explicitly). Two independent sets of spray nozzles are shown, namely (1) the four nozzles 2230 fed by pipe 2240 and manifold 2245, herein termed Nozzle Set 1 and depicted with cross-hatching, and (2) the four nozzles 2235 fed by pipe 2250 and manifold 2255, herein termed Nozzle Set 2 and depicted without cross-hatching. A valve 2260 controls flow of heat-exchange liquid to Nozzle Set 1 and a valve 2265 controls flow of heat-exchange liquid to Nozzle Set 2. Other embodiments are equipped with three or more independently valved nozzle sets and with any number of nozzles in each set; also, different nozzle sets may contain different nozzle types (for example, any of the nozzle types described above and/or depicted in
In the state of operation shown in
The use of two or more independently operable nozzle sets, as in, e.g.,
In
The system 2300 in
The pneumatic cylinders shown herein may be outfitted with an external gas heat exchanger instead of or in addition to liquid sprays. An external gas heat exchanger may also allow expedited heat transfer to or from the high-pressure gas being expanded (or compressed) in the cylinders. Such methods and systems for isothermal gas expansion (or compression) using an external heat exchanger are shown and described in the '426 patent.
Generally, the systems described herein may be operated in both an expansion mode and in the reverse compression mode as part of a full-cycle energy storage system with high efficiency. For example, the systems may be operated as both compressor and expander, storing electricity in the form of the potential energy of compressed gas and producing electricity from the potential energy of compressed gas. Alternatively, the systems may be operated independently as compressors or expanders.
The terms and expressions employed herein are used as terms of description and not of limitation, and there is no intention, in the use of such terms and expressions, of excluding any equivalents of the features shown and described or portions thereof, but it is recognized that various modifications are possible within the scope of the invention claimed.
This application claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/334,722, filed May 14, 2010, U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/349,009, filed May 27, 2010, U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/363,072, filed Jul. 9, 2010, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/393,725, filed Oct. 15, 2010, and is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/639,703, filed Dec. 16, 2009, which (i) is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/421,057, filed Apr. 9, 2009, which claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/148,691, filed Jan. 30, 2009, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/043,630, filed Apr. 9, 2008; (ii) is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/481,235, filed Jun. 9, 2009, which claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/059,964, filed Jun. 9, 2008; and (iii) claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Nos. 61/166,448, filed on Apr. 3, 2009; 61/184,166, filed on Jun. 4, 2009; 61/223,564, filed on Jul. 7, 2009; 61/227,222, filed on Jul. 21, 2009; and 61/251,965, filed on Oct. 15, 2009. The entire disclosure of each of these applications is hereby incorporated herein by reference.
This invention was made with government support under IIP-0810590 and IIP-0923633 awarded by the National Science Foundation and DE-OE0000231 awarded by the Department of Energy. The government has certain rights in the invention.
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