Thermal Energy Storage (TES) Prototype Based on Geopolymer Concrete for High-Temperature Applications

Abstract

Thermal energy storage (TES) systems are dependent on materials capable of operating at elevated temperatures for their performance and for prevailing as an integral part of industries. High-temperature TES assists in increasing the dispatchability of present power plants as well as increasing the efficiency in heat industry applications. Ordinary Portland cement (OPC)-based concretes are widely used as a sensible TES material in different applications. However, their performance is limited to operation temperatures below 400 °C due to the thermal degradation processes in its structure. In the present work, the performance and heat storage capacity of geopolymer-based concrete (GEO) have been studied experimentally and a comparison was carried out with OPC-based materials. Two thermal scenarios were examined, and results indicate that GEO withstand high running temperatures, higher than 500 °C, revealing higher thermal storage capacity than OPC-based materials. The high thermal energy storage, along with the high thermal diffusion coefficient at high temperatures, makes GEO a potential material that has good competitive properties compared with OPC-based TES. Experiments show the ability of geopolymer-based concrete for thermal energy storage applications, especially in industries that require feasible material for operation at high temperatures.