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Solid particles can operate at higher temperature than current molten salt or oil, and they can be a heat-transfer and storage medium in a concentrating solar power (CSP) system. By using inexpensive solid particles and containment material for thermal energy storage (TES), the particle-TES cost can be significantly lower than other TES methods such as a nitrate-salt system. The particle-TES system can hold hot particles at more than 800 degrees C with high thermal performance. The high particle temperatures increase the temperature difference between the hot and cold particles, and they improve the TES capacity. The particle-based CSP system is able to support high-efficiency power generation, such as the supercritical carbon-dioxide Brayton power cycle, to achieve >50% thermal-electric conversion efficiency. This paper describes a solid particle-TES system that integrates into a CSP plant. The hot particles discharge to a heat exchanger to drive the power cycle. The returning cold particles circulate through a particle receiver to absorb solar heat and charge the TES. This paper shows the design of a particle-TES system including containment silos, foundation, silo insulation, and particle materials. The analysis provides results for four TES capacities and two silo configurations. The design analysis indicates that the system can achieve high thermal efficiency, storage effectiveness (i.e., percentage usage of the hot particles), and exergetic efficiency. An insulation method for the hot silo was considered. The particle-TES system can achieve high performance and low cost, and it holds potential for next-generation CSP technology.
Increasing penetration of variable renewable energy resources requires the deployment of energy storage at a range of durations. Long-duration energy storage (LDES) technologies will fulfill the need to firm variable renewable energy resource output year round; lithium-ion batteries are uneconomical at these durations. Thermal energy storage (TES) is one promising technology for LDES applications because of its siting flexibility and ease of scaling. Particle-based TES systems use low-cost solid particles that have higher temperature limits than the molten salts used in traditional concentrated solar power systems. A key component in particle-based TES systems is the containment silo for the high-temperature (>1100 degrees C) particles. This study combined experimental testing and computational modeling methods to design and characterize the performance of a particle containment silo for LDES applications. A laboratory-scale silo prototype was built and validated the congruent transient finite element analysis (FEA) model. The performance of a commercial-scale silo was then characterized using the validated model. The commercial-scale model predicted a storage efficiency above 95% after 5 days of storage with a design storage temperature of 1200 degrees C. Insulation material and concrete temperature limits were considered as well. The validation of the methodology means the FEA model can simulate a range of scenarios for future applications. This work supports the development of a promising LDES technology with implications for grid-scale electrical energy storage, but also for thermal energy storage for industrial process heating applications.
The High Activity Oxide facility (HAO) reprocessed sheared and dissolved 4500 metric tons of light water reactor fuel the fuel of the emerging light water reactor spent fuel between 1976 and 1998. Over the period, approximately 2200 tons of process waste, composed primarily of sheared hulls, was produced and stored in a vast silo in the first place, and in canisters stored in pools in subsequent years. Upon shutdown of the facility, AREVA D and D Division in La Hague launched a thorough investigation and characterization of the silos and pools content, which then served as input data for the definition of a legacy waste retrieval and reconditioning program. Basic design was conducted between 2005 and 2007, and was followed by an optimization phase which lead to the definition of a final scenario and budget, 12% under the initial estimates. The scenario planned for the construction of a retrieval and reconditioning cell to be built on top of the storage silo. The retrieved waste would then be rinsed and sorted, so that hulls could subsequently be sent to La Hague high activity compacting facility, while resins and sludge would be cemented within the retrieval cell. Detailed design was conducted successfully from 2008 until 2011, while a thorough research and development program was conducted in order to qualify each stage of the retrieval and reconditioning process, and assist in the elaboration of the final waste package specification. This R and D program was defined and conducted as a response and mitigation of the major project risks identified during the basic design process. Procurement and site preparatory works were then launched in 2011. By the end of 2012, R and D is nearly completed, the retrieval and reconditioning process have been secured, the final waste package specification is being completed, the first equipment for the retrieval cell is being delivered on site, while preparation works are allowing to free up space above and around the silo, to allow for construction which is scheduled to being during the first semester of 2013. The elaboration of the final waste package is still undergoing and expected to be completed by then end of 2013, following some final elements of R and D required to demonstrate the full compatibility of the package with deep geological repository. The HAO legacy waste retrieval project is so far the largest such project entering operational phase on the site of La Hague. It is on schedule, under budget, and in conformity with the delivery requirements set by the French Safety Authority, as well as other stakeholders. This project paves the way for the successful completion of AREVA La Hague other legacy waste retrieval projects, which are currently being drafted or already in active R and D phase. (authors)
In this paper, the experiences and directions of the construction of the LILW disposal facility in Korea are discussed. The LILW disposal facility is being constructed in Gyeongju-si, Korea. The disposal facility is officially called 'Wolsong Low and Intermediate Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Center (WLDC)'. It can dispose of 800,000 drums (hereafter, 'drums' means '200 liter drum equivalents' unless specified otherwise) of radioactive waste in a site of 2,060,000 m{sup 2}. The first stage of the LILW facility construction was completed in June 2014, and approved for use by Nuclear Safety and Security Commission (NSSC) in December 2014. The first stage of the LILW facility is a type of underground silo with disposal capacity of 35,200 m{sup 3} (100,000 drums). The first stage of the LILW facility consists of a construction tunnel, an operation tunnel, an access shaft and six silos, etc. Silo for final disposal is located 80∼130 m below sea level, 25 m in diameter and 50 m in height. The capacity of each silo is approximately 16,700 drums. The second stage of the LILW facility is under construction to be completed by December 2019. Site construction is currently underway. The second stage of the LILW facility is a type of near-surface disposal with disposal capacity of 32,875 m{sup 3} (125,000 drums). This stage of the LILW disposal facility consists of an underground gallery, three movable cranes and twenty vaults, etc. Vault for final disposal is located 70 m above sea level, 20 m in width, 20 m length and 10 m in height. The capacity of each vault is approximately 6,250 drums. These stages of the LILW disposal facilities are together called LILW complex disposal facility. It's the world's first LILW disposal facility with two different types of disposal facilities in one site. For efficient operation, these disposal facilities share a reception and storage building, waste water treatment system, measurement and monitoring system, etc. After construction of the first two stages is completed, LILW disposal facilities will be incrementally expanded, and as the whole LILW disposal facilities are completed, all LILW in Korea will be managed safely in WLDC. (authors)
This paper provides the status and experiences of Low and Intermediate-level radioactive Waste (LILW) disposal facility in Korea. The LILW disposal facility is being constructed in Gyeongju-si, Korea. It can dispose of 800,000 drums (hereafter, 'drums' means '200 liter drum equivalents' unless specified otherwise) of radioactive waste in a site of 2,060,000 m{sup 2}. The first stage of the LILW facility construction was completed in June 2014, and approved for use by Nuclear Safety and Security Commission (NSSC) in December 2014. The first stage of the LILW facility, which is a type of underground silo with disposal capacity of 35,200 m{sup 3} (100,000 drums), consists of a construction tunnel, an operation tunnel, an access shaft, and six silos, etc. Silo for final disposal is located 80∼130 m below sea level, 25 m in diameter and 50 m in height. The capacity of each silo is approximately 16,700 drums. The second stage of the LILW facility is under construction and will be completed by December 2020. The second stage of the LILW facility, which is a type of near-surface disposal with disposal capacity of 32,875 m{sup 3} (125,000 drums), consists of an underground gallery, three movable cranes and twenty vaults, etc. Vault for final disposal is located about 100 m above sea level, 20 m in width, 20 m length and 10.9 m in height. The capacity of each vault is approximately 6,250 drums. A second receipt and storage facility is to be completed by June 2021. This facility is under designing to prepare for further increasing radioactive waste receipt quantities. It has storage capacity of 10,000 drums (existing receipt and storage facility have storage capacity of 7,000 drums)and will be divided into several sections for pre-disposal work, storage, a passage to link the existing facility to the second receipt and storage facility and truck bay, etc. These components of the LILW disposal facilities are together called LILW complex disposal facility. It is the world's first LILW disposal facility with two different types of disposal facilities in one site. For efficient operation, these disposal facilities share a receipt and storage building, a waste water treatment system, a measurement and monitoring system, etc. Once the construction of the first two stages is completed, LILW disposal facilities will be incrementally expanded, and as the whole LILW disposal facilities are completed, all LILW in Korea will be disposed of these disposal facilities efficiently according to its radioactivity level and managed safely by KORAD. (authors)
The Pile Fuel Cladding Silo (PFCS) at Sellafield was built in 1949/50 to receive and store fuel cladding from reprocessing of Windscale Pile fuel; it has been used to store this material and other waste from the UK nuclear programme ever since. The Silo is unsuitable for indefinite storage; this along with uncertainty in the make-up and condition of the inventory combine to rank the facility alongside the most hazardous in Western Europe. Sellafield Ltd, began working with its supply chain partners Bechtel Cavendish Nuclear Solutions (BCNS - a joint venture between Bechtel Inc and Cavendish Nuclear Ltd) in 2012, to execute a suite of projects to create an access route to the waste and a capability to retrieve waste from the silo for the first time ever. However, the challenge of providing this capability, while maintaining ongoing safe storage of the waste, and underpinning future performance of both the silo and the waste packages for many hundreds of years, proved to be too much for traditional Sellafield Ltd delivery models. With both cost and schedule forecasts doubling from initial estimates, a new approach was clearly required. The team recognised that success would require all of the experience and expertise of each organisation working together to a common goal. Therefore, significant effort was expended to build a collaborative team environment into which an innovative approach to both the engineering of what was provided and the delivery methods for doing it could be launched. Focussing on collaborative culture in which innovation and fit for purpose thinking were encouraged has completely rebuilt stakeholder confidence. The project is now almost complete; 17 months ahead of schedule and British Pounds 100 m less than the approved cost. (authors)
Increasing penetration of variable renewable energy resources requires the deployment of energy storage at a range of durations. Long-duration energy storage (LDES) technologies will fulfill the need to firm variable renewable energy resource output throughout the year. Conventional electrochemical batteries (e.g., lithium-ion) are uneconomical in this role due to high energy capacity costs. Thermal energy storage (TES) is one promising technology for LDES applications because of its siting flexibility and ease of scaling. Particle-based TES systems use low-cost solid particles that have higher temperature limits than the molten salts used in traditional concentrated solar power systems. A key component in particle-based TES systems is the containment silo for the high-temperature (> 1100 degrees C) particles. This study combined experimental testing and computational modeling methods to design and characterize the performance of a particle containment silo for LDES applications. A containment silo prototype was built at a laboratory scale and used to validate a congruent transient finite element analysis (FEA) model. The validation compared the actual and predicted temperature profile through the prototype over six days as the particles cooled from their initial temperature. The performance of a commercial scale (> 5 GWhth) was then characterized using the validated model. The transient FEA model was subject to several charge-discharge cycles to mimic a possible operating schedule. The commercial-scale model predicted a storage efficiency in excess of 95% after five days of storage with a design storage temperature of 1200 degrees C. Insulation material and concrete temperature limits were considered as well. The validation of the methodology means the FEA model can simulate a range of scenarios for future applications. This work supports the development of a promising LDES technology with implications for grid-scale electrical energy storage, but also for thermal energy storage for industrial process heating applications.
The rapid growth of future energy demand increases the need to economically store electrical energy over durations up to several days in long-duration energy storage (LDES) applications. LDES can reduce the grid stress for improving the resilience of the grid. The integration of renewable power and storage has several significant and positive impacts including expanding the renewable energy portion of electricity generation, meeting peak-load demand, and coordinating supply and demand. Several energy storage approaches including mechanical, chemical and electrochemical methods are currently deployed or under development. However, LDES requirements pose unique challenges for scalability, energy capacity, and cost. Thermal energy storage (TES) has the ability to store a large capacity of energy with improved site flexibility compared to incumbent LDES technologies (i.e., pumped hydro) and has attracted significant interest. Our development in TES technology using solid particles as the storage medium has shown feasibility and potential in serving LDES purposes. Particle TES has various advantages over commercialized molten nitrate salt TES and has emerged as a promising storage technology originating from Generation 3 concentrating solar power (CSP) development. Stable, inexpensive silica sand produced in the Midwestern U.S. was identified as a suitable storage medium and has been validated through lab heating and cycling tests. We have successfully developed particle TES for bidirectional electric energy storage to broaden the applications for TES beyond CSP technologies and into standalone electric-thermal energy storage (ETES) systems. Key component designs and performance were verified with prototype testing and model simulations. The ETES system uses high-temperature, low-cost particle thermal energy storage coupled with a unique pressurized fluidized bed heat exchanger that supports a high-efficiency, air-Brayton combined power cycle. At times of low energy demand or high renewable production, an electric particle heater heats large quantities of solid particles to high temperatures in excess of 1100 degrees C. The particles are stored in internally insulated silos. At times of high electricity demand, the hot particles are gravity-fed through the heat exchanger where stored thermal energy is transferred to the power cycle working fluid to drive the gas turbine power generation system, thereby converting the thermal energy back into electricity for the grid. The cold particles leaving the heat exchanger are returned to the storage silos by a well-insulated particle conveyor. This ETES technology using particle TES can be sited anywhere and is predicted to be economic and efficient. Moreover, this ETES technology could be co-located with a retired coal or gas plant to leverage existing power generation and grid infrastructure. Our work has focused on the development of each of the key components (e.g., the electric particle heater, particle storage silos, and the particle-to-gas pressurized fluidized bed heat exchanger) through conceptual designs, prototype testing, and computational modeling. These developments demonstrate technological feasibility and are an important step towards the next phase of development of this promising LDES technology. This presentation will show the progress in developing a pilot demonstration of the ETES system on a commercially relevant scale.
Storage of wood pellets has resulted in deadly accidents in connection with off-gassing and self-heating. A forced ventilation system should be in place to sweep the off-gases and control the thermal conditions. In this study, multiple purging tests were conducted in a pilot scale silo to evaluate the effectiveness of a purging system and quantify the time and volume of the gas needed to sweep the off-gases. To identify the degree of mixing, residence time distribution of the tracer gas was also studied experimentally. Large deviations from plug flow suggested strong gas mixing for all superficial velocities. As the velocity increased, the system dispersion number became smaller, which indicated less degree of mixing with increased volume of the purging gas. Finally, one-dimensional modelling and numerical simulation of the off-gas concentration profile gave the best agreement with the measured gas concentration at the bottom and middle of the silo.
Increasing heat poses a growing threat to cities worldwide due to both climate change and the urban heat island effect. While heat planning and governance are still emergent, research suggests that silos and conflicts within cities' networks of plans often impede heat resilience. Integrated heat resilience planning, therefore, requires a systematic and comprehensive analysis of the silos and conflicts relevant to heat resilience within networks of plans. This study is the first to combine three complementary plan evaluation methods to assess how cities' networks of plans address heat resilience. We applied 1) plan cross-referencing, 2) Plan Quality Evaluation for Heat Resilience, and 3) Plan Integration for Resilience Scorecard™ (PIRS™) for Heat to 19 plans from seven Arizona cities. We find similarities and differences in how these cities' networks of plans address heat hazards. The plans have consistently high-quality participation and coordination principles but lack details on vulnerability and climate change uncertainty, suggesting a need to move beyond immediate heat risks. We also identify opportunities to diversify policy mechanisms, spatially target high heat risk areas, and enhance the connection between planning efforts. These results validate that plan elements are interlinked and the importance of integrative plan development processes to improve heat resilience.
China is significantly expanding the size and sophistication of its nuclear forces. Over the summer of 2021, researchers using satellite imagery discovered three separate fields of intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) silos under construction in the deserts of north-central China. If each silo is eventually equipped with a missile, the Chinese nuclear arsenal capable of striking the continental US could triple in size. Furthermore, the US government estimates that China’s nuclear arsenal could number 1000 warheads by 2030, with at least 200 deployed on long-range platforms.
The electrification of transportation and the integration of electric vehicles (EVs) with buildings connected to clean grids has been touted as one of the key solutions to the global decarbonization challenge. Cities are on the frontlines of current and future electrification, as they depend on and drive electricity generation, distribution, and use. City actors also occupy a central role in the actions to enable electrification to support energy transitions in efficient, equitable, environmentally sound, and resilient ways. Currently, however, research and development on the interactions between actors, cities and energy systems is predominantly conducted in disciplinary siloes. This topical review analyzes the transformational potential of urban electrification. It focuses on efforts to electrify transportation and integrate EVs with buildings connected to a clean grid. We find that actions in these area are driving change; they are adopted by wealthier populations and on an experimental basis by specific communities. Their larger-scale growth is constrained by institutional, behavioral, and infrastructural factors. We also find that existing siloed disciplinary approaches are often incompatible with advancing holistic research. To achieve that, divergent communities of scholars need to come together to integrate their research and create broader perspectives. Through incorporation of the social sciences, these perspectives need to consider the societal limits and potentials brought to bear by human behavior and decision making. Only then can urban electrification be understood as the empirically rich and socially complex topic that it is. And only with this understanding will innovations and smart policy actions be able to tap into the transformational potential of urban electrification.
The landscape for connected mobility ecosystems is evolving rapidly as information and communication technologies lower the cost and complexity of connecting people to places, integrating transportation modes and collecting data regarding such movements. These developments have been key to unlocking new business opportunities, particularly through mobility services. While the mechanisms for data collection, processing, and transfer have made significant advances in the past decade, the broader landscape of mobility data architectures and data users remains largely unresolved. It is unclear as to whether the result will converge towards a framework that resembles a coherent quilt or a disjointed patchwork of competing visions. Initial approaches to mobility data collection and provisioning have been largely siloed - by mode or software - or held for exclusive use, however several key players are quickly realizing the need and opportunities enabled through integrated mobility data eco-systems, or mobility data hubs as referred to in this paper. As the business case for hosting mobility data hubs evolves, there is great uncertainty regarding their impact to either advance or exacerbate sustainable mobility (e.g., seamless connectivity across modes, decreased energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, etc.). Groups such as the United Nations and World Bank have identified data platforms as a key enabler of realizing environmental and social benefits. If designed with decarbonization in mind, we hypothesize that enhanced observability provided by these ever-expanding mobility data hubs can facilitate energy and emissions reductions that are otherwise limited by transactional barriers and knowledge asymmetry that is inherent to a more siloed approach. In this sense, integration of mobility data can help to create a competitive playing field where value is not determined by exclusivity of data, but rather the quality and uniqueness of a given service. The goals of this paper are to 1) identify key players and data architectures that are emerging in a service-based mobility market, 2) explore several use cases where mobility data hubs have enabled greater sustainability outcomes, and 3) discuss key issues that will need to be resolved to fully leverage emerging mobility data hubs towards a sustainable transportation future.
In this paper, we discuss the experiences during the construction of the first LILW disposal facility in South Korea. In December 2005, the South Korean Government designated Gyeongju-city as a host city of Low- and Intermediate-Level Radioactive Waste(LILW) disposal site through local referendums held in regions whose local governments had applied to host disposal facility in accordance with the site selection procedures. The LILW disposal facility is being constructed in Bongilri, Yangbuk-myeon, Gyeongju. The official name of the disposal facility is called 'Wolsong Low and Intermediate Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Center (LILW Disposal Center)'. It can dispose of 800,000 drums of radioactive wastes in a site of 2,100,000 square meters. At the first stage, LILW repository of underground silo type with disposal capacity of 100,000 drums is under construction expected to be completed by June of 2014. The Wolsong Low and Intermediate Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Center consists of surface facilities and underground facilities. The surface facilities include a reception and inspection facility, an interim storage facility, a radioactive waste treatment building, and supporting facilities such as main control center, equipment and maintenance shop. The underground facilities consist of a construction tunnel for transport of construction equipment and materials, an operation tunnel for transport of radioactive waste, an entrance shaft for workers, and six silos for final disposal of radioactive waste. As of Dec. 2012, the overall project progress rate is 93.8%. (authors)
Laboratory studies of the ‘floor-loads’ under submerged vertical columns of sand and/or gravel indicate that such loads can be approximated by a buoyancy-corrected Janssen-silo-theory-like relationship. Similar to conditions in storage silos filled with dry granular solids, most of the weight of the sand or gravel is supported by wall friction forces. Laboratory measurements of the loads on the floor at the base of the water-filled columns (up to 25-diameters tall) indicate that the extra floor-load from the addition of the granular solid never exceeded the load that would exist under an unsupported (wide) bed of submerged sand or gravel that has a total depth corresponding to only two column-diameters. The measured floorloads reached an asymptotic maximum value when the depth of granular material in the columns was only three or four pipe-diameters, and never increased further as the columns were filled to the top (e.g. up to heights of 10 to 25 diameters). The floor-loads were stable and remained the same for days after filling. Aggressive tapping (e.g. hitting the containing pipe on the outside, manually with a wrench up and down the height and around the circumference) could increase (and occasionally decrease) the floor load substantially, but there was no sudden collapse or slumping to a state without significant wall friction effects. Considerable effort was required, repeatedly tapping over almost the entire column wall periphery, in order to produce floor-loads that corresponded to the total buoyancy-corrected weight of granular material added to the columns. Projecting the observed laboratory behavior to field conditions would imply that a stable floor-load condition, with only a slightly higher total floor pressure than the preexisting hydrostatic-head, would exist after a water-filled bore-hole is filled with sand or gravel. Significant seismic vibration (either a large nearby event or many micro-seismic events over an extended period) would likely be necessary before the full (buoyancy-corrected) weight of the sand and/or gravel would be ‘delivered’ to the bottom of the submerged column.