The way its future power systems are designed will have significant impact on sub-Saharan Africa's (SSA) aspirations to move from low electricity consumption rates to enhance life quality and further increase economic opportunity. At present, Africa is experiencing higher economic growth rates than other continents (including Asia). And so is its need for electric power. However, all too often the options that are chosen are the ones with lowest risk and that require little coordination. In part, this is because region-wide planning, coordination and institutions are in their infancy. “Low risk” power plants typically include oil generators that can be sited close to loads, other fossil fuel power plants, and hydro plants that can easily be connected to the continent’s grid. However, hydropower production has been limited due to changes in weather and climate and socio-economic impacts. Additionally, its potential has also not been reached as large sites are far from adequate grids. A restructuring of the energy system that considers both the potential for increased geographical integration while moving gradually towards more sustainable electricity generation may hold significant promise. This work considers the potential of another renewable technology namely concentrating solar power (CSP) and connecting supply and demand centers via high voltage direct current (HVDC) power lines. Specifically, the focus is on utility-scale solar power generation to supply the needs of growing urban centers of demand. It develops a Geographic Information System-based (GIS) model with a spatial resolution of 30 arc-seconds to calculate the cost evolution of the electricity produced by different technologies of CSP plants and the costs of grid development to selected centers of demand. The results show that major SSA metropolis can benefit from distant CSP economically attractive to compete with inlaid coal-based generation. In 2010, total imports of coal exceeded 1.4 million short tons with consequent economic and environmental costs. Solar towers plants endowed with thermal storage may become a leading technology for smoothing purposes with zero fuel costs. Furthermore, Africa’s vast solar resources are far from urban centers of demand and a transmission system capable to integrate high levels of renewable energy while improving reliability of supply is required. The results of this study point to the importance of SSA centers to rely on a Super Grid approach to take advantage from CSP least-cost potential and to discontinue expensive traditional sources. Overall, solar corridors can integrate with geographically-wide wind and hydro potentials to create clean energy corridors and encourage a transition towards more sustainable energy systems.

Kuba har i dagsläget ett högt beroende av importerad olja, för att tillgodose sin växande efterfrågan på elektricitet. Importen sker främst från Venezuela. Detta beroende gör Kuba känsligt för ändringar i oljepriser samt det politiska klimatet. Den nuvarande krisen i Venezuela har haft en betydande inverkan på Kubas elproduktion. Genom att utöka landets förnybara energikällor kan Kuba minska sitt beroende av andra länder och diversifiera sin energiförsörjning. Detta kommer även att leda till en positiv miljöpåverkan då landets CO 2-utsläpp minskar. Kubas geografiska läge har ideala förhållanden för förnyelsebar energigenerering, så som solkraft. Solkraft utvecklas konstant och innehåller en hög potential. Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) är en teknologi där speglar och/eller linser används för att koncentrera solljus till en liten yta som konverterar solljuset till värme. Denna värme kan sedan användas i termodynamiska cykler. Det finns två huvudsakliga problem med implementering av CSP på Kuba. För det första är CSP beroende av momentana väderförhållanden, vilket leder till en oregelbunden elproduktion. För det andra har CSP höga investeringskostnader. För att adressera dessa problem, är det möjligt att implementera CSP i ett redan existerande kraftverk med regelbunden energikälla, d.v.s. skapa ett hybridkraftverk. På så vis uppnås regelbunden elproduktion med signifikant lägre investeringskostnad. Ett sådant existerande kraftverk kan hittas hos många av Kubas sockerbruk. Den här studien undersöker möjligheten att implementera solkraft i sockerbruket Carlos Baliño, beläget i Villa Clara, Kuba. Fabriken är självförsörjande av elektricitet på årlig basis. De använder en Rankine-cykel för att generera el och processvärme som används i sockerframställningen. Bränslet som används är bagasse, en restprodukt efter att sockerjuicen pressats ut ur sockerrören. Fyra CSP-teknologier och tre implementeringslayouts undersöktes, vilket resulterade i att parabolic trough-teknologin och förvärmning av vatten ansågs vara de bästa alternativen för Kuba och Carlos Baliño. Vidare undersöktes två olika scenarier för CSP. Scenario 1 innefattar implementering av CSP i sockerbruket under rådande skick och Scenario 2 består av implementering av CSP efter en investering gjorts i en Condensing Extraction turbin (CEST). Resultatet visar att Carlos Baliño bör investera i CEST innan de implementerar CSP, det vill säga Scenario 2. Detta beror på att i scenario 1 är det inte möjligt att generera elektricitet utanför sockersäsongen, vilket leder till att en stor del av solpotentialen inte kan utnyttjas. Den maximala investeringskostnaden för scenario 1 är 3,7 MUSD, vilket inte är en realistisk kostnad. Den maximala investeringskostnaden för scenario 2 beror av tillgänglig bagasseimport och är 5,9 – 7,2 MUSD. Att investera i CSP rekommenderas ej om bagasseimporten är obegränsad. Givet att bagasseimporten är begränsad skulle CSP-implementeringen leda till en utökad elproduktion av 5,4 – 7,2 GWh/år, en årlig minskning av oljeanvändandet med 16 100 – 21 800 tunnor och minskade CO2-utsläpp med 12 00-16 00 ton årligen. Carlos Baliños ekonomiska resultat skulle öka med 0,5 MUSD/år och den kubanska statens med 0,7 – 0,9 MUSD/år. Framtida studier rekommenderas undersöka möjligheten till generering av el året runt vid Carlos Baliño utan en CEST, solkraftsefterfrågan på nationell nivå och potentiella utvecklingar av solkraft hos Carlos Baliño. / Cuba is currently highly dependent on imported oil, mainly from Venezuela, to meet their growing electricity demand. This dependence makes Cuba sensitive to changes in oil price as well as the political climate. The current crisis in Venezuela has a large impact on Cuba’s electricity generation. By expanding its renewable energy sources Cuba could decrease their dependence on other countries and diversify their energy supply. Moreover, it would have a positive climate impact by reducing the country’s CO2-emissions. Geographically, Cuba has ideal conditions for renewable energy utilization, such as solar power. Solar energy is constantly progressing and is considered a great source of energy. Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) is a technology which applies mirrors and/or lenses to concentrate the sunlight onto a small area which converts the sunlight into heat, possible to use in a thermodynamic cycle. There are mainly two problems with the implementation of CSP in Cuba. Firstly, CSP is a non-dispatchable power generating system since it is dependent on the instantaneous weather conditions. Secondly, it has high investment costs. One way of solving these problems is by implementation CSP in an already existing power plants with a dispatchable source of energy, making it a hybrid power plant. Accordingly, the hybrid power plant would be dispatchable and the investment costs would be significantly lower. Existing power plants can be found in Cuban sugar mills. This study investigates the possibility to implement solar power in the sugar mill Carlos Baliño, located in Villa Clara, Cuba. The factory is currently self-sufficient electricity wise on a yearly basis, using a co-generation Rankine cycle to generate electricity and process heat used in the sugar production. The fuel used is bagasse, a rest product obtained after the sugar juice has been pressed out of the sugar canes. Four CSP-technologies and three implementation layouts were examined, resulting in the parabolic trough-technology and feedwater heating being considered the optimal solution. Furthermore, two different scenarios for CSP was investigated; implementation of CSP in the mill at the current state (scenario 1) or after investing in a Condensing-Extraction Turbine (CEST) (scenario 2). The results show that Carlos Baliño should invest in a CEST before considering implementation of CSP. Off-season operation is not available for scenario 1, leading to a vast amount of solar potential being unexploited. The maximal investment allowed for scenario 1 is 3.7 MUSD, which is not a realistic number. The maximal investment allowed for in scenario 2 is 5.9 – 7.2 MUSD, depending on bagasse import availability. If bagasse import is unlimited, it is not recommended to invest in solar power. Implementation of CSP in scenario 2 regarding bagasse import limits would yearly lead to an additional electricity generation at Carlos Baliño of 5.4 – 7.3 GWh, decrease the oil usage with 16,100 – 21,800 barrels and the CO2-emissons with 1,200 – 1,600 tonnes. Carlos Baliño’s annual yield would increase with 0.5 – 0.6 MUSD/year and the Cuban states annual yield would increase with 0.7 – 0.9 MUSD/year. Future work is recommended to explore alternatives to all year-around electricity generation in Carlos Baliño without investing in a CEST, investigate solar power demand on a national level, and examine possible developments of the suggested solar field, for instance solar-only operation.

No description available.

The thesis presents background on solar thermal energy and addresses the structural challenges associated with the deployment of concentrating solar power fields in urban areas. Two potential structural systems and urban locales of deployment are proposed and investigated to determine whether they have the potential to be a cost-effective renewable energy solution for urban areas. The structural issues explored in the thesis include flutter, the wind loading of open frame structures, performance-based design, and the design of flexibly mounted equipment on a building.

L’objectif principal de cette thèse est de déterminer les risques et les barrières d’investissement dans le secteur des énergies renouvelables, en Tunisie, et d’en déduire les stratégies et les mécanismes à adopter pour accélérer le processus de transition vers les énergies renouvelables. Bien que les fondements de cette thèse soient basés sur l’analyse économique, elle privilégie, plutôt, une approche interdisciplinaire de management du risque. Nous avons procédé à une étude de cas d’un projet d’énergie solaire thermodynamique à concentration (le projet « TuNur ») qui aura lieu au sud de la Tunisie. Nous avons utilisé la méthode d’Analyse Globale des Risques (AGR) qui permet de déterminer les cartographies des risques (le diagramme de Kiviat et le diagramme de Farmer) ainsi que les moyens pour les réduire. L’application de cette méthode nous a permis de dégager la liste des 8 risques majeurs ainsi que les mécanismes et les stratégies à adopter pour les réduire. A la fin de cette thèse, nous avons présenté les différentes formes de gouvernance énergétique qui permettent de faciliter la diffusion des énergies renouvelables en Tunisie. Nous avons expliqué le fait que la politique énergétique de transition vers les énergies renouvelables doit être faite par les autorités publiques, au début, mais elle doit progresser rapidement vers d’autres formes de gouvernance, en passant par la participation du secteur privé et la gouvernance locale participative jusqu’à arriver à un stade où la gouvernance des risques devient nécessaire. / The main objective of this thesis is to identify and analyze the risks and barriers faced by renewable energy investors, in Tunisia, and to deduce strategies and mechanisms that should be adopted to accelerate the process of transition to renewable energies. Although the foundations of this thesis are based on the economic analysis, it favors, rather, an interdisciplinary approach of risk management.We conducted a case study of a project of concentrating solar power (the “TuNur” project) which will be held in southern Tunisia. We used the Global Risk Analysis method (GRA) which permits the determination of cartographies of risks (Kiviat diagram and Farmer diagram) and the ways to reduce them. The application of this method allowed us to generate a list of 8 major risks and the mechanisms and strategies to reduce them. At the end of this thesis, we presented the different forms of energy governance that facilitate the diffusion of renewable energies in Tunisia. We explained that the energy policy of transition to renewable energies must be made by public authorities, at the beginning, but it must quickly move to other forms of governance, through private sector participation and participative local governance until we get to a stage where the risk governance becomes necessary.

Thermal energy storage (TES) in a concentrating solar power (CSP) plant allows for continuous operation even during times when solar radiation is not available, thus providing a reliable output to the grid. Energy can be stored either as sensible heat or latent heat, of which latent heat storage is advantageous due to its high volumetric energy density and the high Rankine cycle efficiency owing to the isothermal operation of latent thermal energy storage (LTES) system. Storing heat in the form of latent heat of fusion of a phase change material (PCM), in addition to sensible heat, significantly increases the energy density, thus potentially reducing the storage size and cost. However, a major technical barrier to the use of latent thermal energy of PCM is the high thermal resistance to energy transfer due to the intrinsically low thermal conductivity of PCMs, which is a particularly acute constraint during the energy discharge. Secondly, for integration of TES in CSP plants, it is imperative that the cyclic exergetic efficiency be high, among other requirements, to ensure that the energy extracted from the system is at the maximum possible temperature to achieve higher cycle conversion efficiency in the power block. The first objective is addressed through computational modeling and simulation to quantify the effectiveness of two different approaches to reduce the thermal resistance of PCM in a LTES, viz. (a) developing innovative, inexpensive and passive heat transfer devices that efficiently transfer large amount of energy between the PCM and heat transfer fluid (HTF) and (b) increase the heat transfer area of interaction between the HTF and PCM by incorporating the PCM mixture in small capsules using suitable encapsulation techniques.   The second portion of the research focuses on numerical modeling of large scale latent thermal storage systems integrated to a CSP plant with the aforementioned enhancement techniques and cascaded with more than one PCM to maximize the exergetic efficiency. Based on systematic parametric analysis on the various performance metrics of the two types of LTES, feasible operating regimes and design parameters are identified to meet the U.S. Department of Energy SunShot Initiative requirements including storage cost < $15/kWht and exergetic efficiency > 95%, for a minimum storage capacity of 14 h, in order to reduce subsidy-free levelized cost of electricity (LCE) of CSP plants from 21¢/kWh (2010 baseline) to 6¢/kWh, to be on par with the LCE associated with fossil fuel plants. / Ph. D.

Conventional concentrating solar power (CSP) plants typically have a very high levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) compared with coal-fired power stations. To generate 1 kWh of electrical energy from a conventional linear Fresnel CSP plant without a storage application, costs the utility approximately R3,08 (Salvatore, 2014), whereas it costs R0,711 to generate the same amount of energy by means of a highly efficient supercritical coal-fired power station, taking carbon tax into consideration. This high LCOE associated with linear Fresnel CSP technology is primarily due to the massive capital investment required per kW installed to construct such a plant along with the relatively low-capacity factors, because of the uncontrollable solar irradiation. It is expected that the LCOE of a hybrid plant in which a concentrating solar thermal (CST) station is integrated with a large-scale supercritical coal-fired power station, will be higher than that of a conventional supercritical coal-fired power station, but much less than that of a conventional CSP plant. The main aim of this study is to calculate and then compare the LCOE of a conventional supercritical coal-fired power station with that of such a station integrated with a linear Fresnel CST field. When the thermal energy generated in the receiver of a CST plant is converted into electrical energy by using the highly efficient regenerative Rankine cycle of a large-scale coal-fired power station, the total capital cost of the solar side of the integrated system will be reduced significantly, compared with the two stations operating independently of one another for common steam turbines, electrical generators and transformers, and transmission lines will be utilised for the integrated plants. The results obtained from the thermodynamic models indicate that if an additional heat exchanger integration option for a 90 MW (peak thermal) fuel-saver solar-augmentation scenario, where an annual average direct normal irradiation limit of 2 141 kWh/m2 is considered, one can expect to produce approximately 4,6 GWh more electricity to the national grid annually than with a normal coal-fired station. This increase in net electricity output is mainly due to the compounded lowered auxiliary power consumption during high solar-irradiation conditions. It is also found that the total annual thermal energy input required from burning pulverised coal is reduced by 110,5 GWh, when approximately 176,5 GWh of solar energy is injected into the coal-fired power station’s regenerative Rankine cycle for the duration of a year. Of the total thermal energy supplied by the solar field, approximately 54,6 GWh is eventually converted into electrical energy. Approximately 22 kT less coal will be required, which will result in 38,7 kT less CO2 emissions and about 7,6 kT less ash production. This electricity generated from the thermal energy supplied by the solar field will produce approximately R8,188m in additional revenue annually from the trade of renewable energy certificates, while the reduced coal consumption will result in an annual fuel saving of about R6,189m. By emitting less CO2 into the atmosphere, the annual carbon tax bill will be reduced by R1,856m, and by supplying additional energy to the national grid, an additional income of approximately R3,037m will be due to the power station. The annual operating and maintenance cost increase resulting from the additional 171 000 m2 solar field, will be in the region of R9,71m. The cost of generating 1 kWh with the solar-augmented coal-fired power plant will only be 0,34 cents more expensive at R0,714/kWh than it would be to generate the same energy with a normal supercritical coal-fired power station. If one considers that a typical conventional linear Fresnel CSP plant (without storage) has an LCOE of R3,08, the conclusion can be drawn that it is much more attractive to generate electricity from thermal power supplied by a solar field, by utilising the highly efficient large-scale components of a supercritical coal-fired power station, rather than to generate electricity from a conventional linear Fresnel CSP plant. / MIng (Mechanical Engineering), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Conventional concentrating solar power (CSP) plants typically have a very high levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) compared with coal-fired power stations. To generate 1 kWh of electrical energy from a conventional linear Fresnel CSP plant without a storage application, costs the utility approximately R3,08 (Salvatore, 2014), whereas it costs R0,711 to generate the same amount of energy by means of a highly efficient supercritical coal-fired power station, taking carbon tax into consideration. This high LCOE associated with linear Fresnel CSP technology is primarily due to the massive capital investment required per kW installed to construct such a plant along with the relatively low-capacity factors, because of the uncontrollable solar irradiation. It is expected that the LCOE of a hybrid plant in which a concentrating solar thermal (CST) station is integrated with a large-scale supercritical coal-fired power station, will be higher than that of a conventional supercritical coal-fired power station, but much less than that of a conventional CSP plant. The main aim of this study is to calculate and then compare the LCOE of a conventional supercritical coal-fired power station with that of such a station integrated with a linear Fresnel CST field. When the thermal energy generated in the receiver of a CST plant is converted into electrical energy by using the highly efficient regenerative Rankine cycle of a large-scale coal-fired power station, the total capital cost of the solar side of the integrated system will be reduced significantly, compared with the two stations operating independently of one another for common steam turbines, electrical generators and transformers, and transmission lines will be utilised for the integrated plants. The results obtained from the thermodynamic models indicate that if an additional heat exchanger integration option for a 90 MW (peak thermal) fuel-saver solar-augmentation scenario, where an annual average direct normal irradiation limit of 2 141 kWh/m2 is considered, one can expect to produce approximately 4,6 GWh more electricity to the national grid annually than with a normal coal-fired station. This increase in net electricity output is mainly due to the compounded lowered auxiliary power consumption during high solar-irradiation conditions. It is also found that the total annual thermal energy input required from burning pulverised coal is reduced by 110,5 GWh, when approximately 176,5 GWh of solar energy is injected into the coal-fired power station’s regenerative Rankine cycle for the duration of a year. Of the total thermal energy supplied by the solar field, approximately 54,6 GWh is eventually converted into electrical energy. Approximately 22 kT less coal will be required, which will result in 38,7 kT less CO2 emissions and about 7,6 kT less ash production. This electricity generated from the thermal energy supplied by the solar field will produce approximately R8,188m in additional revenue annually from the trade of renewable energy certificates, while the reduced coal consumption will result in an annual fuel saving of about R6,189m. By emitting less CO2 into the atmosphere, the annual carbon tax bill will be reduced by R1,856m, and by supplying additional energy to the national grid, an additional income of approximately R3,037m will be due to the power station. The annual operating and maintenance cost increase resulting from the additional 171 000 m2 solar field, will be in the region of R9,71m. The cost of generating 1 kWh with the solar-augmented coal-fired power plant will only be 0,34 cents more expensive at R0,714/kWh than it would be to generate the same energy with a normal supercritical coal-fired power station. If one considers that a typical conventional linear Fresnel CSP plant (without storage) has an LCOE of R3,08, the conclusion can be drawn that it is much more attractive to generate electricity from thermal power supplied by a solar field, by utilising the highly efficient large-scale components of a supercritical coal-fired power station, rather than to generate electricity from a conventional linear Fresnel CSP plant. / MIng (Mechanical Engineering), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Thesis (MScEng)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Concentrating solar power technology is a modern power generation technology in which central receiver systems play a significant role. For this technology a field of heliostats is used to reflect solar irradiation to the receiver located on top of the tower. An extensive review has shown that contemporary receiver designs face geometric complexities, lack of thermal efficiency as well as issues with durability and cost. The purpose of this study is to develop a new receiver concept that can potentially reduce these issues. A parametric analysis was used to identify potential means of improvement based on an energy balance approach including sensitivities involved with convection and radiation heat transfer. Design criteria such as the use of headers to minimize pressure drop was also investigated. Based on these findings the hybrid pressurized air receiver was developed which is a combination of tubular and volumetric receiver technologies. The fundamental idea of the receiver was investigated by simulating the ray-tracing and coupled natural convection and radiation heat transfer. The ray-tracing results have shown that the use of quartz glass is a prospective solution to higher allowable flux densities, but with reflection losses in the order of 7 %. The coupled natural convection heat transfer simulation further revealed that the receiver concept effectively eliminates the escape of buoyant plumes and radiative heat losses are minimized. Empirical data was gathered from a medium flux concentrator and good agreement with the numerical results was obtained. The thesis therefore concludes that the research outcomes were met. Ongoing research aims to optimise the receiver concept for a 5MW pilot plant. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Gekonsentreerde sonkrag tegnologie is ’n moderne kragopwekkingstegnologie waar sentrale ontvangersisteme ’n beduidende rol speel. Vir hierdie tegnologie word ’n veld heliostate gebruik om sonstraling na die ontvanger wat aan die bopunt van die toring geleë is te reflekteer. ’n Omvattende hersiening het daarop gewys dat kontemporêre ontwerpe van die ontvangers ’n aantal geometriese kompleksiteite, ’n tekort aan termiese doeltreffendheid sowel as probleme in terme van duursaamheid en koste in die gesig staar. Die doel van die studie is om ’n nuwe ontvangerskonsep te ontwikkel wat moontlik hierdie probleme kan verminder. ’n Parametriese analise is gebruik om potensiële maniere van verbetering aan te dui wat gebaseer is op ’n energiebalans benadering; insluitend sensitiwiteite betrokke by konvektiewe en stralingswarmteoordrag. Ontwerpkriteria soos die gebruik van spruitstukke om drukverliese te minimaliseer is ook ondersoek. Gebaseer op hierdie bevindinge is die hibriede saamgepersde-lug ontvanger ontwikkel. Laasgenoemde is ’n kombinasie van buis- en volumetriese ontvangertegnologie. Die fundamentele idee van die ontvanger is ondersoek deur straalberekening asook die gelyktydige natuurlike konveksie en stralingswarmteoordrag te simuleer. Die straalberekeningsresultate het getoon dat die gebruik van kwarts glas ’n moontlike oplossing is om hoër stralingsintensiteit te bereik, maar met refleksieverliese in die orde van 7 %. Die gelyktydige natuurlike konveksie en stralingswarmteoordrag simulasie het verder aan die lig gebring dat die ontvangerkonsep die ontsnapping

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Concentrating solar power plants are a promising means of generating electricity. However, they are dependent on the sun as a source of energy, and require thermal storage to supply power on demand. At present thermal storage – usually molten salt – although functional, is expensive, and a cheaper solution is desired. It is proposed that sensible heat storage in a packed bed of rock, with air as heat transfer medium, is suitable at temperatures of 500 – 600 °C. To determine if this concept is technically feasible and economically competitive with existing storage, rock properties, packed bed pressure drop and thermal characteristics must be understood. This work addresses these topics. No previously published data is available on thermal cycling resistance of South African rock, and there is limited data from other countries in the proposed temperature range for long-term thermal cycling, so samples were thermally cycled. There is rock which is suitable for thermal storage applications at temperatures of 500 – 600 °C. New maps of South Africa showing where potentially suitable rock is available were produced. Dolerite, found extensively in the Karoo, is particularly suitable. Friction factors were measured for beds of different particles to determine the importance of roughness, shape, and packing arrangement. Five sets of rock were also tested, giving a combined dataset broader than published in any previous study. Limitations of existing correlations are shown. The friction factor is highly dependent on particle shape and, in the case of asymmetric particles, packing method. The friction factor varied by up to 70 % for crushed rock depending on the direction in which it was poured into the test section, probably caused by the orientation of the asymmetric rock relative to the air flow direction. This has not been reported before for rock beds. New isothermal correlations using the volume equivalent particle diameter are given: they are within 15 % of the measurements. This work will allow a techno-economic evaluation of crushed rock beds using more accurate predictions of pumping power than could previously be made. Thermal tests below 80 °C show that bed heat transfer is insensitive to particle shape or type. A heat transfer correlation for air in terms of the volume equivalent diameter was formulated and combined with the E-NTU method. The predicted bed outlet temperatures are within 5 °C of the measurements for tests at 530 °C, showing that the influence of thermal conduction and radiation can be reasonably negligible for a single charge/discharge cycle at mass fluxes around 0.2 kg/m2s. A novel method for finding the optimum particle size and bed length is given: The Biot number is fixed, and the net income (income less bed cost) from a steam cycle supplied by heat from the bed is calculated. A simplified calculation using the method shows that the optimum particle size is approximately 20 mm for bed lengths of 6 – 7 m. Depending on the containment design and cost, the capital cost could be an order of magnitude lower than a nitrate salt system. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Gekonsentreerde son-energie kragstasies is n belowende manier om elektrisiteit op te wek, maar hulle is afhanklik van die son as n bron van energie. Om drywing op aanvraag te voorsien moet hulle energie stoor. Tans is termiese stoor – gewoonlik gesmelte sout – hoewel funksioneel, duur, en n goedkoper oplossing word gesoek. Daar word voorgestel dat stoor van voelbare warmte-energie in n gepakte rotsbed met lug as warmteoordrag medium geskik is by temperature van 500 – 600 °C. Om te bepaal of dié konsep tegnies gangbaar en ekonomies mededingend met bestaande stoorstelsels is, moet rotseienskappe, gepakte bed drukval en hitteoordrag verstaan word. Hierdie werk spreek hierdie aspekte aan. Geen voorheen gepubliseerde data is beskikbaar oor die termiese siklus weerstand van Suid-Afrikaanse rots nie, en daar is beperkte data van ander lande in die voorgestelde temperatuurbereik, dus is monsters onderwerp aan termiese siklusse. Daar bestaan rots wat geskik is vir termiese stoor toepassings by temperature van 500 – 600 °C. Nuwe kaarte van Suid-Afrika is opgestel om te wys waar potensieel geskikte rots beskikbaar is. Doleriet, wat wyd in die Karoo voor kom, blyk om veral geskik te wees. Wrywingsfaktore is gemeet vir beddens van verskillende partikels om die belangrikheid van grofheid, vorm en pak-rangskikking te bepaal. Vyf rotsstelle is ook getoets, wat n saamgestelde datastel gee wyer as in enige gepubliseerde studie. Beperkings van bestaande korrelasies word aangetoon. Die wrywingsfaktor is hoogs sensitief vir partikelvorm en, in die geval van asimmetriese partikels, pakkings metode. Die wrywingsfaktor het met tot 70 % gevarieer vir gebreekte rots, afhanklik van die rigting waarin dit in die toetsseksie neergelê is. Dit is waarskynlik veroorsaak deur die oriëntasie van die asimmetriese rots relatief tot die lugvloei rigting, en is nie voorheen vir rotsbeddens gerapporteer nie. Nuwe isotermiese korrelasies wat gebruik maak van die volume-ekwivalente partikel deursnee word gegee: hulle voorspel binne 15 % van die gemete waardes. Hierdie werk sal n tegno-ekonomiese studie van rotsbeddens toelaat wat meer akkurate voorspellings van pompdrywing gebruik as voorheen moontlik was. Termiese toetse onder 80 °C wys dat die warmteoordrag nie baie sensitief is vir partikelvorm en -tipe nie. n Warmte-oordragskorrelasie vir lug in terme van die volume-ekwivalente deursnee is ontwikkel en met die E-NTU-metode gekombineer. Die voorspelde lug uitlaat temperatuur is binne 5 °C van die meting vir toetse by 530 °C. Dit wys dat termiese geleiding en straling redelikerwys buite rekening gelaat kan word vir n enkele laai/ontlaai siklus by massa vloeitempos van omtrent 0.2 kg/m2s. n Oorspronklike metode vir die bepaling van die optimum partikelgrootte en bedlengte word gegee: Die Biot-getal is vas, en die netto inkomste (die inkomste minus die bed omkoste) van n stoomsiklus voorsien met warmte van die bed word bereken. n Vereenvoudigde berekening wat die metode gebruik wys dat die optimum grootte en lengte ongeveer 20 mm en 6-7 m is. Afhangende van die behoueringsontwerp en koste, kan die kapitale koste n orde kleiner wees as dié van n gesmelte nitraatsout stelsel