• 专利附录
  • 专利说明
  • 权利要求
  • 类似技术
  • 同族专利
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    • 专利摘要:
    A thermal energy storage plant for storing thermal energy from a thermal energy source, said storage plant comprising: a liquid reservoir for being coupled to a thermal energy source and comprising a reservoir volume with an open top side, said open top side coinciding with a liquid level of a thermal energy storage liquid in the liquid reservoir, and a surface cover comprising an insulating material, such as mineral wool, for retaining heat energy stored in said liquid, said surface cover at least partly covering said open top side, wherein said surface cover is divided into surface cover segments, a first of the surface cover segments comprising a drain system, which is isolated from a drain system of a second of the surface cover segments by means of a substantially fluid tight and/or substantially liquid tight barrier so that liquid on a surface of each of and/or in each of said first and second cover segments can be individually drained off.
    公开号:DK201870618A1
    申请号:DKP201870618
    申请日:2018-09-20
    公开日:2020-04-20
    发明作者:Vang Bobach Morten
    申请人:Arcon-Sunmark A/S；
    IPC主号:
    专利说明:

    Field of the invention
    The present invention relates to a thermal energy storing plant. The invention further relates to a method for drainage of a surface cover for a thermal energy storage plant and a method for maintenance of a surface cover for a thermal energy storage plant.
    Background of the invention
    Storage of thermal energy is a topic of growing importance around the world, as it may provide a significant part of the solution to meeting increasingly stringent emission regulations in the field of energy supply. With ever rising fossil fuel prices, storage of thermal energy has the potential to be a more cost effective solution to meeting energy demands.
    Traditional thermal energy storage plants typically make use of very large vessels made of metal or concrete filled with water to store thermal energy captured by thermal collectors. Other approaches involve excavating very large pits in the ground, which may be covered with a liner before they are filled with water, which in turn is used to store thermal energy from a thermal energy source. These thermal energy storage pits rely on a surface cover to insulate and prevent thermal energy from escaping from the otherwise open top surface of the pit.
    Such thermal energy storage pits may be associated with drawbacks, including the surface cover being prone to leaking and having an unsatisfactory service life, which may reduce the effectiveness of the system.
    Another issue is that the surface cover may be damaged due to the stresses and forces imposed on it as a result of water in the pit expanding or evaporating.
    Furthermore, it may be difficult to determine the location and cause of a leak. This may be particularly difficult when water has entered into the surface cover. Further still, the liner separating the water from the ground surrounding the storage pit may also leak, resulting in heated water from the pit escaping into the surrounding ground. As the size of the thermal energy storage pits increase, so does the significance of the potential drawbacks.
    DK 2018 70618 A1
    On this background an object of the invention is to improve on and/or solve one or more of these issues.
    Summary of the invention
    In a first aspect of the invention this and/or other objects are met by a thermal energy storage plant for storing thermal energy from a thermal energy source, said storage plant comprising:
    a liquid reservoir for being coupled to a thermal energy source and comprising a reservoir volume with an open top side, said open top side coinciding with a liquid level of a thermal energy storage liquid in the liquid reservoir, and a surface cover comprising an insulating material, such as mineral wool, for retaining heat energy stored in said liquid, said surface cover at least partly covering said open top side, wherein said surface cover is divided into surface cover segments, a first of the surface cover segments comprising a drain system, which is isolated from a drain system of a second of the surface cover segments by means of a substantially fluid tight and/or substantially liquid tight barrier so that liquid on a surface of each of and/or in each of said first and second cover segments can be individually drained off.
    The liquid reservoir may have a reservoir volume of at least 50,000 m3, 100,000 m3, 250,000 m3 or 500,000 m3 or even larger.
    The term “thermal energy source” may be understood as solar energy, geothermal energy, incinerators, heat exchangers etc. The thermal energy source may also be thermal energy produced from power or excess power produced from wind turbines, solar collectors, waste incinerators and other power plants such as used in district heating or electricity generation. It may also be heat captured from buildings, server stations, cooling water from power stations etc. and/or power generation in general.
    The liquid reservoir may be embedded in a depression so as to provide the open top side and to be substantially surrounded by earth material on a number of remaining sides of the liquid reservoir. The open top side may have
    DK 2018 70618 A1 an area extent of at least 10,000 m2.
    The surface cover segments may be 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, or 100 m long and 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100 m wide and/or any combination thereof.
    The liquid reservoir may comprise a liner substantially covering said remaining sides for substantially separating liquid in the liquid reservoir from said surrounding earth materials.
    The thermal storage liquid may be any liquid suitable for storing thermal energy. The thermal storage liquid may be or comprise or essentially consist of water.
    The surface cover may comprise at least one layer of solid insulating material. The surface cover may essentially cover said open top side of the liquid reservoir.
    The insulating material preferably is water resistant and may be chosen as including one or more from the following group of materials: Polyurethane, polyurethane foam, polyisocyanurate, polystyrene, mineral wool, stone wool, fiberglass, natural fibres, perlite, EPS, polymers, elastomers and/or combinations thereof.
    The drain system may comprise channels in the surface cover. The channels may be provided between layers of the surface cover material. Additionally or alternatively the channels may be in the form of pipes. The pipes may be made from a material chosen from the following group: polymers, ceramics, metals or combinations thereof.
    The surface cover may be floating on a liquid level surface of the liquid in the liquid reservoir.
    The division of the surface cover into cover segments may have the effect of enabling the location of a potential leak to be narrowed down to a single segment of the surface cover. This may improve the ease with which a location of a leak may be determined, as a much smaller area has to be analysed. It may have the further effect that a leak in the surface cover may be contained within the segment where the leak occurred.
    The division of the surface cover into cover segments may have the
    DK 2018 70618 A1 further effect that maintenance of the surface cover is improved, as individual segments may be maintained separately without impacting other cover segments e.g. when fixing a leak.
    The division of the surface cover into individual cover segments may also have the effect that replacement of the surface cover is improved as a single cover segment may be replaced separately from the surface cover as opposed to replacing the entire surface cover. This may have the further effect that the efficiency of the thermal energy storage plant is improved during maintenance or replacement as only a segment of the surface cover has to be removed, leaving the remaining surface cover intact, and so the liquid reservoir will be better insulated than if the entire surface cover had to be removed.
    The division of the surface cover into surface cover segments may also improve the ease of transport of the surface cover to the site, as it may be transported in separate segments. The surface cover may then be assembled on site.
    The division of the surface cover into surface cover segments may also have the effect that manufacturing costs are reduced as cover segments may be produced in large quantities, where a required amount of cover segments may be assembled to form a surface cover of a specific size required for a certain thermal energy storage system.
    The division of the surface cover into surface cover segments may have the effect that the durability and strength of the surface cover is improved as it is better able to withstand thermal expansions and contractions. A further effect may be that air under the surface cover may be transported to ventilation valves.
    Two or three or four or more or all of the surface cover segments may be substantially of same size and shape, preferably substantially identical.
    Each surface cover segment may have a top surface area extent of at least 1/8, 1/16, 1/25, 1/32, or 1/40 of said area extent of said open top surface.
    The surface cover segments may be plate-shaped.
    The surface cover segments may be provided as separate modules, which may be attached to each other during assembly of the storage plant.
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    A “thermal energy storage plant” may be a thermal energy storage plant such as a thermal storage sink pond.
    The term “solid” may potentially be understood as non-fluid.
    The term “drained off” may potentially be understood as “being caused to leave the surface of something”.
    The term “individually” may alternatively be denoted or include “independently” and/or “separately”.
    Each drain system may be a drain system draining liquid upstream of an outlet of the respective segment. This may have the effect of improving the locating of a leak in the surface cover. This may be achieved by determining that a drain system is draining more liquid than another drain system.
    The liquid on or in each surface cover segment that can be drained individually may be precipitate and/or condensed liquid inside a segment and/or storage liquid, which may have entered into a segment from a leak, or the like, in the segment.
    In an embodiment according to the present invention, the surface cover comprises a substantially fluid and/or liquid tight bottom liner at least partly covering said open top side, and a top liner, where said barrier is attached to said bottom liner and where one or more layers of insulating material is provided between the top and bottom liner.
    The top liner may constitute the top of the surface cover. The bottom liner may constitute the bottom of the surface cover. One or more of the liners may be continuous or may comprise two or more elements attached together. One or more of the liners may comprise openings to accommodate a barrier. One or more of the liners may be continuous or comprise two or more elements over a segment of the surface cover. The elements of the surface cover liner may be attached by welding, gluing, sewing, riveting, zippers, one or more overlapping flaps of material or a combination thereof. One or more of the liners may be substantially liquid tight. Additionally or alternatively, one or more of the liners may be substantially vapour tight. One or more of the liners may be in the form of a one-way liquid and/or vapour membrane. One or more of the liners may be in the form of a diffusion membrane.
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    The diffusion membrane may have the effect of allowing air and/or vapour in and/or below the surface cover to vent to the atmosphere.
    The term “diffusion membrane” may be understood as a membrane that allows diffusion of air and/or vapour.
    The liners may be made from a material chosen from the following group of materials: HDPE, PE, EPDM, polymeric geomembranes polymers, elastomers and combinations thereof.
    Additionally or alternatively, the surface cover segments may comprise interconnecting portions for connecting to a barrier. The interconnecting portion may be in the form of a flap, cut-out or the like. The flap may comprise one or more strips of material. Attachment of the surface cover section to said interconnecting portion may be through welding, gluing, sewing, riveting, zippers, one or more overlapping flaps of material or a combination thereof.
    Additionally or alternatively, one or more barriers may be arranged and/or attached on a bottom liner of the surface cover. The bottom liner may be a continuous liner comprising a single element or may be a liner comprising two or more liner elements attached together to form a continuous liner. A layer of insulating material may be placed and/or attached to the bottom liner and or to the barriers, above the bottom liner. A top liner may be placed and/or attached to an insulating layer and/or to the barriers, above the insulating layer. In a development of the latter embodiment the barrier is an integral part of the bottom liner.
    The term “integral” may be understood as the barrier being integral with the bottom liner. That is at least a part of the barrier may be part of the bottom liner.
    In an embodiment of the present invention, said first surface cover segment comprises a liquid outlet provided separately from a liquid outlet of said second surface cover segment.
    The separate liquid outlets of the first and second surface cover segments and/or of further of the surface cover segments may each be connected to downstream drain channels, which may be connected to each other for downstream collection of liquid drained from several surface cover
    DK 2018 70618 A1 segments.
    In an embodiment, at least said first and second surface cover segments each comprises a well for collecting liquid drained off of the respective surface cover segment.
    The term “well” may be understood as a shaft for collecting fluid. Additionally, or alternatively, it may be understood as a depression to hold liquid. Additionally, or alternatively, it may be understood as a depression made to hold liquid extending below a surface.
    At least one of the cover segments of the surface cover may be inclined to facilitate drainage of precipitation from the surface of the segments.
    The upper and/or lower liner may be sloped towards the well, so that liquid on or in the surface cover is urged to flow towards the well.
    The upper and/or lower liner may comprise a ballast. This may have the effect of causing the upper and/or lower liner to slope towards the well.
    The surface cover may comprise ballast. This may have the effect of causing the surface cover to slope towards the well. The ballast may be arranged at the bottom and/or inside and/or at the top of the surface cover.
    The insulating material may be wedge shaped and/or inclined relative to the liquid level of the liquid reservoir. The insulating material may be arranged such that it slopes downwardly towards the well, so as to drain water into the well. This may have the effect that water which has entered the surface cover and contacts the insulating material is drained out of the surface cover and into the well. The insulating material may be wedge shaped and/or inclined such that there is a drop from a barrier adjacent to a segment to the well of that segment. This drop may be 20 cm. This may be achieved by the wedge shaped insulating material being 50 cm tall at the barrier and 30 cm tall at the well.
    The well may comprise a pump unit for extracting the water. Each surface cover segment may comprise at least one well. A first well may be for liquid drained off from the surface of the surface cover and the second well may be for liquid drained off from inside the surface cover. This may allow liquid from external sources such as precipitation, to be drained separately and may also allow liquid stemming from the liquid reservoir to be drained separately.
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    This may prevent contamination of the liquid reservoir and may also the separately drained liquids to be treated separately according to the best practice.
    At least one well may comprise at least one filter unit.
    In a development of the latter embodiment, each of said at least two surface cover segments comprise at least one drain channel extending from an adjacent of said barrier to said well of each said surface cover segment so as to drain liquid on or in the surface cover segment into the well.
    The drain channel may comprise a one-way valve preventing water from flowing from the well into said drain channel
    In another or additional development, the well extends below the surface cover and/or the bottom liner and wherein the well preferably has a liquid extraction point or a liquid outlet positioned beneath said open top side. Additionally or alternatively, the liquid extraction point or liquid may be positioned below the bottom liner of the surface cover segment.
    In an embodiment said barrier is provided by a barrier element interposed between said insulating material of each of the first and second surface cover segments.
    The barrier element may be provided potentially so as to assist in the positioning of said insulating material adjacent said barrier element, and/or potentially so that at least one of said surface cover segments can be removed from said surface cover to allow individual maintenance or replacement of said at least one surface cover segment.
    The phrase “assist in the positioning” may be understood as the barrier elements acting as a guide for the insulating material and/or provide an attachment point for the insulating material. One or more of the barrier elements may comprise a sloped surface relative to the surface cover or a liquid level or liquid top surface, in so providing a funnel effect aiding the positioning of the insulating material. Additionally or alternatively, at least one side surface of at least one barrier element facing one of said surface cover segments may be sloped relative to said liquid level of the thermal energy storage liquid in the liquid reservoir, so that at least one of said barrier elements assists in the
    DK 2018 70618 A1 positioning of said surface cover segments adjacently.
    The barrier elements may be trapezoidal, triangular, semi-spherical, curved etc. Similarly, the barrier elements may assist in the positioning of the surface cover segments during manufacture of the surface cover or the like. The barrier elements should preferably be able to withstand the pressure from liquid collected in adjacent segments of the surface cover.
    The barrier elements and/or surface cover may further comprise a vent for allowing air and/or vapour from below the surface cover to be vented to above the surface cover. Additionally or alternatively, the vent may vent vapour from inside the surface cover to the above the surface cover. The vent may further comprise one or more valves. The one or more of the valves may be in the form of a control and/or one-way valve. The vent may also extend through the surface cover from the bottom of the surface cover to the top of the surface cover. The vent may extend from a bottom liner to a top liner. It may extend through the insulating material. This may have the effect that air and/or vapour below the surface cover or inside the surface cover may be vented to the atmosphere above the surface cover.
    The phrase ”can be removed” may be understood as the cover segment not being mechanically attached to other parts of the surface cover, e.g. so that it is possible to remove the cover segment by lifting it out from between barrier elements, and/or the cover segment being attached to other parts of the surface cover in such a way that the barrier elements and/or the cover segment are not damaged and/or that it can be detached from a mechanical attachment by a substantially non-destructive mechanical separation, e.g. by cutting with a knife and/or by a separating e.g. upwards pull of the cover element or by welding, cutting or tearing a seam or point of attachment.
    The barrier elements may further comprise one or more interconnecting portions allowing a surface cover section to be attached to said barrier element. The interconnecting portion may be in the form of a flap, cutout or the like. The flap may comprise one or more strips of material. Attachment of the surface cover section to said interconnecting portion may be
    DK 2018 70618 A1 through welding, gluing, sewing, riveting, zippers, one or more overlapping flaps of material or a combination thereof.
    The barrier elements may further comprise a linking section for linking barrier elements together. The linking section may be in the form of a cut-out and/or may be in the form of one or more flaps. The flaps may comprise strips of material. The barrier elements may be linked through the linking sections through press fitting and/or one more flaps which may be overlapping. The linking sections and/or the flaps may be welded, glued, sewed, riveted, zipped together through a zipper.
    The barrier elements may comprise insulating material. The insulating material should preferably be water resistant and may be a solid insulating material and may be chosen from the following group of materials: polyurethane, polyurethane foam, polyisocyanurate, polystyrene, mineral wool, stone wool fiberglass, natural fibers, perlite, EPS, polymers, elastomers and/or combinations thereof.
    Barrier elements may comprise one or more drain elements draining off liquid from the surface cover and/or barrier element. The drain element may be connected to a well, such that the liquid drained will be collected in the well. This may improve the thermal performance of the surface cover as liquid may be prevented from building up in the surface cover.
    In an embodiment, at least each of said first and second surface cover segments, potentially each of all of said surface cover segments, is surrounded by barriers on at least two sides, preferably substantially on all sides.
    In an embodiment, the barriers extend above an adjacent surface cover segment, preferably at least 5 cm above. The barrier may extend at least 10 cm, 15 cm, 20 cm, 25 cm or 30 cm above an adjacent surface cover segment. The distance the barrier extends above an adjacent surface cover segment may be dependent on the volume of water that a segment is expected to have to drain. The barrier may in this way act as a dam.
    The barrier may be covered by a liner and/or insulating material. An effect of this may be that the top surface of the surface cover also covers the barrier, providing a continuous top surface. This may have the further effect of
    DK 2018 70618 A1 improving drainage of precipitation on the surface cover and/or improving the insulating properties of the surface cover.
    The liquid outlets and/or drainage channels may be covered by a liner and/or insulating material. The liquid outlets and/or drainage channels may be arranged at least partly inside said barrier and/or surface cover.
    In a second aspect of the present invention, the above-mentioned and/or other objects are met by a method for drainage of a surface cover of a thermal energy storage plant, the storage plant being for storing thermal energy from a thermal energy source, the method comprising the steps of:
    providing a liquid reservoir for being coupled to a thermal energy source and comprising a reservoir volume with an open top side, said open top side coinciding with a liquid level of a thermal energy storage liquid in the liquid reservoir, and providing said surface cover comprising an insulating material, such as mineral wool, for retaining heat energy stored in said liquid, said surface cover at least partly covering said open top side, and individually draining off liquid on a surface of each of and/or in each of said first and second cover segments.
    In an embodiment of the first aspect of the invention at least one of said surface cover segments is detached from at least another of said surface cover segments, and said at least one detached surface cover segment is either repaired or is replaced with a replacement surface cover segment.
    Positioning of the repaired or replaced cover segment may be carried out similarly to the positioning of the cover segment during manufacture of the surface cover as described above.
    Additionally, a method for manufacture of a thermal energy storage plant according to the invention may comprise the steps of:
    providing a liquid reservoir for being coupled to a thermal energy source, the liquid reservoir having a reservoir volume of at least 50,000 m3, at least partly filling said liquid reservoir with a thermal energy storage liquid for storing thermal energy collected from a thermal energy source so that said storage liquid in said liquid reservoir has a level surface, a liner for
    DK 2018 70618 A1 substantially separating liquid in the liquid reservoir from the surroundings, providing at least four plate-shaped surface cover segments and a number of barrier elements, providing a surface cover essentially covering said liquid level surface by positioning said surface cover segments adjacently and separated from each other by said barrier elements so that said surface cover segments at least partly float on a liquid level surface of said storage liquid, whereby at least one of said barrier elements assists in said positioning of said surface cover segments.
    Several or all barrier elements associated with one segment or positioned adjacently to said one segment in the produced surface cover may be positioned initially, after which said one segment may be placed between the associated barrier elements, potentially being guided by surfaces of the associated barrier elements during positioning or insertion, potentially in a topdown direction.
    In the following, embodiments of the invention will be explained in more detail with reference to the schematic drawings, in which:
    Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a thermal energy storage plant according to the invention,
    Fig. 2 is a side view of a section thermal storage plant according to the invention,
    Fig. 3 a section view along line AA in Fig. 1 of the thermal storage plant according to the invention,
    Fig. 4 is section view along line BB in Fig. 1 of the surface cover according to the invention,
    Fig. 5 is a top down view of a surface cover according to the invention,
    Fig. 6 is a top down view of a different embodiment of a surface cover according to the invention,
    Fig. 7 is a profile view of a surface cover and liquid reservoir according to the invention,
    Fig. 8 is a profile view of a different embodiment of a surface cover according to the invention,
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    Fig. 9-12 are profile views of different embodiments of a surface cover according to the invention.
    Fig. 13 is a profile view of a surface cover and liquid reservoir with a continuous top surface.
    In the following, a thermal energy storage plant for storing thermal energy according to the invention will be described in detail with reference to the figures.
    When planning a location for a thermal energy storage plant there are several important factors, such as the proximity to the energy consumer, the type of soil (particularly in regard to the geotechnical stability and thermal properties) and the cost of the land. A plant like this is may be connected to an array of solar thermal collectors and used to feed into a district heating system. Abandoned gravel pits are often used.
    Once a location has been chosen the liquid reservoir for storage of the thermal liquid is excavated. A series of outlet and inlet pipes at different depths may be installed to allow both the extraction and resupply of liquid at the depth with the optimum temperature in the reservoir. The extracted liquid is typically transferred to a district heating plant where a heat exchanger is deployed to extract the heat from the thermal storage liquid in order to keep the thermal storage liquid of the thermal energy storage plant separate from that of a district heating system.
    Looking at fig. 1 the thermal energy storage plant 100 has a liquid reservoir 110 with a sloping banking that has been excavated in the surrounding earth material 160. The reservoir 110 has an open top side 120 which is partly covered by a surface cover 200. The surface cover is segmented by barriers 230 and includes drain systems 220 which drain off liquid from the surface of the surface cover. Gathering the outlets of the separate drain systems is a common outlet 140, which guides the drained off liquid to a sewage system 150.
    As seen in the embodiment shown in fig. 1 the surface cover includes four separate drain systems 220a-220d corresponding to the four separate segments, which each include a separate liquid outlet 260 connected to the
    DK 2018 70618 A1 common outlet 140. For demonstration purposes the surface cover is here shown with four segments, it should however be clear to the person skilled in the art that the surface cover may be carried out in a plurality of different configurations and may comprise a different number of separate segments and drain systems than shown here. A monitoring device may be placed in each drain system for relaying information about a potential amount of liquid drained. This may be information concerning the volume of liquid in the drain system as well as the rate at which a liquid volume is entering and/or leaving the drain system.
    Turning now to fig. 2 a section view of the plant 100 from a side is seen. In the embodiment shown here, it can be seen how the surface cover 200 sits on top of the liquid level 130, with the drain systems 220 extending below. The reasons for this will become clearer when looking at figs. 3-4, which provide a section view along line AA on fig.1 and a section view along line BB on fig. 2 respectively. As can be seen in fig. 3 the drain system in this embodiment comprises a well 270 extending below the surface cover and pump units 222 and 224 for pumping water out of the well. In the embodiment shown, the surface cover comprises a top liner 250, a bottom liner 240 and a layer of insulating material 210 between the top and bottom liners. In the embodiment shown, the barrier is in the form of trapezoidal-shaped barrier elements, which extend above the top liner 250 of the surface cover, essentially forming a trough. The barrier prevents liquid from flowing between the segments of the surface cover. As a trough is formed in the separate segments of the surface cover, liquid such as precipitation or the like, that deposits on the surface of a segment, is contained in that segment and will be drained by the drain system through drain inlets 226, which are best seen in fig. 4. The drained off liquid then collects in that segments well 270. As the well only collects liquid drained from a single segment 205, it may be possible to determine if a certain segment may require maintenance or repair, by evaluating the amount of liquid drained into its associated well. The pump units 222 and 224 may then extract the liquid from the well and pump it through the liquid outlet 260 into the common outlet and into the sewage system 150. In the embodiment shown,
    DK 2018 70618 A1 the liquid extraction point, is at the bottom of the pump unit 222, beneath the open top side 120. Although not shown here, the top liner and/or insulating layer and/or bottom liner of the segments 205 are preferably sloped towards the drain inlets 226 of the drain system, such that liquid will naturally flow towards and into the inlets 226. The sloping of the segments may be achieved by a wedge-shaped insulating layer and/or by a ballast inside or on top of the surface cover 200.
    In line with this, the surface cover may be executed in a variety of different layouts and configurations as will be explained in more detail now. As show in figs. 5 and 6 the surface cover 200 may be divided into several segments 205 by the barrier 230. The number of segments and the size of the segments may vary, with the currently preferred configuration being segments of substantially equal size. Similarly, the configuration of the barrier may vary, and may abut segments only on certain sides or may surround a segment on all sides such as seen in fig. 6. In an embodiment the barrier abuts all sides of the segments except for the sides of the segments contiguous to the perimeter of the open top side. In this configuration the amount of barrier required is reduced in comparison to surrounding all sides of each segment, whilst still maintaining the complete segregation of the segments. It may also have the effect that precipitation near the perimeter of the open top side isn't trapped in the segment and may potentially flow out of the segment and to the surrounding earth material.
    The surface cover segments may further comprise drain channels 280 located on the surface of the segments 205 or inside the segments such as seen fig. 7. These drain channels aid the drainage of the segments. In the embodiment shown here, the drain channel 280 extends from the adjacent barrier 230 to the well 270. The drain channel improves the drainage of liquid, which may have entered into the surface cover, to the well 270. The well shown here comprises a liquid extraction point or liquid outlet 260 positioned beneath the open top side 120 and beneath the bottom liner 240. This may have the effect of improving the volume of liquid that may be extracted from the well in comparison to having a liquid extraction point or liquid outlet 260 positioned
    DK 2018 70618 A1 higher up on the well. The surface cover segments may comprise more than one drain channels and/or more than one well, which may be configured such that the drain channels located on the surface of the segment drain into one well and the one or more drain channels located in the surface cover drain into another well. In this way, liquid drained from the surface of a segment may be kept separate from liquid drained from within the segment. Liquid on the surface of a segment may stem from precipitation, whereas liquid inside a segment may stem from the liquid reservoir. In this way, it is possible to process the two types of drained liquid separately. This may also make it possible to determine a potential leak on the surface or inside a segment by analysing the amount of liquid drained into the respective wells.
    The common outlet 140 and the drain system and drain channels are preferably insulated to ensure they keep functioning as intended even in cold weather, where freezing temperatures may be a factor. To this end, they may be arranged at least partly inside the barrier or surface cover.
    As can be seen from figs. 7-12, the surface cover may be executed in a variety of different ways. The top liner 250 may extend continuously from barrier to barrier across a segment such as shown in fig. 7. Here the bottom liner is a single continuous liner which extends across the entire bottom of the surface cover 200 and segments 205. The base of the barrier 230 is attached to the top of the bottom liner 240 by welding. The insulating layer 210 is then positioned on top of the bottom liner and sealed-in by the top liner 250, which is attached to a barrier on each of its sides by welding. It should be noted that although welding of the liners is currently preferred, the liners may also be attached by various other means such as gluing, sewing, riveting, zippers, one or more overlapping flaps of material or a combination thereof. The insulating layer may also be fixed to the bottom liner and/or top liner by the means mentioned above.
    The top and/or bottom liner may also be in the form of several separate liner elements which are attached to each other or the base of the barrier by means such as gluing, sewing, riveting, zippers, one or more overlapping flaps of material or a combination thereof as is seen in fig. 8. Here the bottom liner
    DK 2018 70618 A1 and the top liner are in the form of several separate liner elements 240a-240c and 250a-250c respectively. The elements of the bottom liner are attached to the base of the barrier 230 by welding, to form a liquid and vapour tight seal. The top liner elements are attached in an overlapping fashion to the top of the barriers. The gaps between the liner elements are exaggerated for demonstration purposes. In a preferred embodiment of the assembled surface cover the overlapping elements of the top liner will be sealed by welding to form a liquid tight barrier. Similarly, the gap between the insulating layers 210 and the barrier 230 are exaggerated for demonstration purposes. In a preferred embodiment of the assembled surface cover, the insulating layers will extend closer to the barrier. The insulating layer may abut the barrier and/or be attached and/or sealed thereto.
    In another embodiment the bottom liner elements 240a and 240b extend above the barrier 230 and attach to the top of the barrier in an overlapping fashion similar to that as described for fig. 9. In the embodiment shown the barrier comprises a vent 290 which extends through the barrier and allows air and/or vapour below the surface cover to be vented to the atmosphere. The vent may be fitted with a control valve that may be electronically or mechanically adjustable. The vent may further be connected to the inside of the surface cover to allow vapour in the surface cover to be vented above the surface cover and so prevent the build-up of vapour inside the surface cover 200.
    The top liner elements may be attached to the top of the barrier in a similar overlapping fashion as described above for the bottom liner elements in fig. 7. As shown in fig. 10 the top liner elements 250a and 250b to the top of the barrier together with the bottom liner elements 240a and 240b. This provides a liquid and vapour tight seal against the barrier 230. The barrier may further comprise interconnecting means 300 for connecting to the bottom liner 240 and/or insulating layer 210, such as the flaps shown in fig. 11. The barrier may also comprise flaps for connecting to the top liner 250.
    As can be seen in figs. 11 and 12, the barrier may be executed in various shapes such as a triangular profile as in fig. 11 or a curved profile such
    DK 2018 70618 A1 as in fig. 12. The sloped profile of the barrier may assist in positioning of the insulating layer and/or top and/or bottom liner in a segment of the surface cover by providing a guiding surface.
    The barrier 230 may further be covered by a liner and/or insulating material as shown in fig. 13. This provides the surface cover 200 with a continuous top surface in form of the top liner 250. This improves the drainage of precipitation on the surface cover. In this embodiment, the difference in height of the top liner 250 at the barrier 230, and the height of the top liner at the well 270 is 20 cm. This is here achieved by a wedge-shaped insulating material which is 30 cm in height at the well and 50 cm in height at the barrier. The embodiment shown here also has a vent 290 extending through the surface cover 200, from the bottom liner 240 through to the top liner 250. This allows air and/or vapour trapped below the surface cover 200 to be vented to the atmosphere above the surface cover.
    If maintenance or repair of the surface cover is required, a single segment may be removed from the cover and maintained individually. This has the effect that the function of the rest of the surface cover is not affected during the maintenance or repair. The removed segment may however be immediately replaced by a new segment whilst the removed segment is repaired. This ensures that function of the entire surface cover is retained even during potential maintenance or repair. The segments may be removed by delaminating the weld or cutting of the thread or tearing of the seam between the barrier and/or other segments in a way that is non-destructive to the rest of the surface cover.
    In the embodiments shown, the surface cover may comprise at least two layers of insulating material or more. The surface cover may also comprise at least two liners or more.
    The segments of the surface cover may also be provided preassembled, such that a number of segments may be transported to the location of the thermal storage plant site and assembled on site to form the surface cover. This may also have the advantage that replacement of a surface cover segment is improved as a segment may be removed from the surface
    DK 2018 70618 A1 cover and replaced with a new preassembled segment.
    In the embodiments shown, the top and bottom liners are preferably made of a material chosen from the following group of materials: HDPE, PE, EPDM, polymeric geomembranes polymers, elastomers and combinations thereof.
    The layer of insulating material is preferably water resistant and may be chosen from the following group of materials: polyurethane, polyurethane foam, polyisocyanurate, polystyrene, mineral wool, stone wool, fiberglass, natural fibres and/or perlite, EPS, polymers, elastomers and/or combinations thereof.
    The barrier is preferably made of a material chosen from the following group of materials: HDPE, PE, EPDM, polymeric geomembranes polymers, elastomers, polyurethane, polyurethane foam, polyisocyanurate, polystyrene, mineral wool, fiberglass, natural fibres and/or perlite, EPS polymers, elastomers and/or combinations thereof.
    In the above, the inventive concept has been described with reference to a few embodiments. However, as is readily appreciated by a person skilled in the art, other embodiments than the ones disclosed above are equally possible within the scope of the inventive concept, as defined by the appended claims.
    List Of references
    100 Thermal energy storage plant
    110 Liquid reservoir
    120 Open top side
    130 Liquid level
    140 Common outlet
    150 Sewage system
    160 Surrounding earth material
    200 Surface cover
    205 Surface cover segment
    210 Insulating material
    220 Drain system
    222 Pump unit
    224 Pump unit
    226 Drain inlet
    230 Barrier
    DK 2018 70618 A1
    Bottom liner
    Top liner
    Liquid outlet
    Well
    Drain channel
    Vent
    Interconnecting portion
    DK 2018 70618 A1
    权利要求:
    Claims (12)
    [1] PATENT CLAIMS
    1. A thermal energy storage plant for storing thermal energy from a thermal energy source, said storage plant comprising:
    a liquid reservoir for being coupled to a thermal energy source and comprising a reservoir volume with an open top side, said open top side coinciding with a liquid level of a thermal energy storage liquid in the liquid reservoir, and a surface cover comprising an insulating material, such as mineral wool, for retaining heat energy stored in said liquid, said surface cover at least partly covering said open top side, wherein said surface cover is divided into surface cover segments, a first of the surface cover segments comprising a drain system, which is isolated from a drain system of a second of the surface cover segments by means of a substantially fluid tight and/or substantially liquid tight barrier so that liquid on a surface of each of and/or in each of said first and second cover segments can be individually drained off.
    [2] 2. A thermal energy storage plant for storing thermal energy from a thermal energy source according to claim 1, wherein said surface cover comprises a substantially fluid and/or liquid tight bottom liner at least partly covering said open top side, and a top liner, where said barrier is attached to said bottom liner and where one or more layers of insulating material is provided between the top and bottom liner.
    [3] 3. A thermal energy storage plant for storing thermal energy according to claim 2, where the barrier is an integral part of the bottom liner.
    [4] 4. A thermal energy storage plant for storing thermal a thermal energy source according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said first surface cover segment comprises a liquid outlet provided separately from a liquid outlet of said second surface cover segment.
    [5] 5. A thermal energy storage plant according to any one of the
    DK 2018 70618 A1 preceding claims, wherein at least said first and second surface cover segments each comprise at least one well for collecting liquid drained off of the respective surface cover segment.
    [6] 6. A thermal energy storage plant according to claim 5, wherein each of said at least two surface cover segments comprise at least one drain channel extending from an adjacent of said barrier to said well of each said surface cover segment so as to drain liquid on or in the surface cover segment into the well.
    [7] 7. A thermal energy storage plant according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the well extends below the surface cover and/or the bottom liner and wherein the well preferably has a liquid extraction point or a liquid outlet positioned beneath said open top side.
    [8] 8. A thermal energy storage plant for storing thermal energy from a thermal energy source according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said barrier is provided by a barrier element interposed between said insulating material of each of the first and second surface cover segments.
    [9] 9. A thermal energy storage plant according any one of the preceding claims, wherein at least each of said first and second surface cover segments, potentially each of all of said surface cover segments, are surrounded by a barrier on at least two sides, preferably substantially on all sides.
    [10] 10. A thermal energy storage plant according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the barriers extend above an adjacent surface cover segment, preferably at least 5 cm above.
    [11] 11. A method for drainage of a surface cover of a thermal energy storage plant, the storage plant being for storing thermal energy from a thermal energy source, the method comprising the steps of:
    DK 2018 70618 A1 providing a liquid reservoir for being coupled to a thermal energy source and comprising a reservoir volume with an open top side, said open top side coinciding with a liquid level of a thermal energy storage liquid in the liquid reservoir, and
    5 providing said surface cover comprising an insulating material, such as mineral wool, for retaining heat energy stored in said liquid, said surface cover at least partly covering said open top side, and individually draining off liquid on a surface of each of and/or in each of said first and second cover segments.
    [12] 12. A method for maintenance of a thermal energy storage plant according to any one of claims 1-10, wherein at least one of said surface cover segments is detached from at least another of said surface cover segments, and said at least one detached surface cover segment is either repaired or is 15 replaced with a replacement surface cover segment.
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    同族专利:
    公开号 | 公开日
    DK180399B1|2021-03-30|
    引用文献:
    公开号 | 申请日 | 公开日 | 申请人 | 专利标题
    法律状态:
    2020-04-20| PAT| Application published|Effective date: 20200321 |
    2021-03-30| PME| Patent granted|Effective date: 20210330 |
    优先权:
    申请号 | 申请日 | 专利标题
    DKPA201870618A|DK180399B1|2018-09-20|2018-09-20|A thermal energy storage plant and a method for drainage and maintenance of the same|DKPA201870618A| DK180399B1|2018-09-20|2018-09-20|A thermal energy storage plant and a method for drainage and maintenance of the same|
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