Considering the limitation of conventional energy resources, researches are being done to explore efficient ways of producing energy from renewable sources like sun, water, wind. With these energy generation methods, their proper storage... more
Considering the limitation of conventional energy resources, researches are being done to explore efficient ways of producing energy from renewable sources like sun, water, wind. With these energy generation methods, their proper storage for future use (specially at night or bad weather, etc.) also poses a challenge before us. Through this paper we look at one such method of energy storage where molten salt is employed as a medium to retain thermal energy collected by Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) plants allowing solar power to be converted into electricity on demand. This method provides the comparatively cheaper way of energy storage & it could make the power grid more resilient and efficient by giving utilities more flexibility in how they produce and distribute power. Molten salt storage is commercially available after it was demonstrated in the Solar Two project from 19951999 and its near term advancements include planned up scaling, better alternative for molten salts, development of single tank storage solution, etc. which will enable CSP plants to continue producing dispatchable solar power with efficient energy storing solution to sunbelt countries.
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Any engine or propulsion system uses thermodynamic cycle for its operation. The working fuel passes through series of compression, expansion, heating or cooling (in turn change in states) and at each of these steps, energy is either... more
Any engine or propulsion system uses thermodynamic cycle for its operation. The working fuel passes through series of compression, expansion, heating or cooling (in turn change in states) and at each of these steps, energy is either provided or extracted out of the system. In this paper, we describe the Brayton cycle and its variations which is the basis of all constant pressure heat engines like gas turbine & air breathing jet engines. We look into both of its types open to atmosphere & using internal combustion chamber and closed & using heat exchanger. We briefly describe its variants Closed Brayton cycle, Solar Brayton cycle & Reverse Brayton cycle which exploits different methods of thermodynamic operations while the fundamental principle remains the same. The work (or power) output & first law efficiency is measured and compared with that of Carnot cycle. At the end we propose some measures to enhance/optimize these parameters as it faces trade off due to metallurgical constraints.
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The Second Law of Thermodynamics talks about the entropy and exergy of a thermodynamic system in its own state of internal thermodynamic equilibrium. It is an empirical finding that has been accepted as an axiom of thermodynamic theory.... more
The Second Law of Thermodynamics talks about the entropy and exergy of a thermodynamic system in its own state of internal thermodynamic equilibrium. It is an empirical finding that has been accepted as an axiom of thermodynamic theory. This law is explained through Statistical thermodynamics either classically or through quantum formulation. Although the firstlaw aspects of thermodynamics readily understood & accepted, people fail to comply with the secondlaw aspects. It is viewed as a topic more of theoretical interest rather than being an important engineering tool well applicable to our life aspects. In view of human efficiency, the second law discussion disregards the availability of time to a person being a problem and rather focuses upon its effective utilization. The irreversiblity of a process cast the difference between the actual work delivered and the maximum work (reversible work) that could have been derived from the system. Here we try to identify the major sources of irreversibilities and the way to minimize them in order to maximize performance.