Abstract

This research proposes the use of the mixture composed by 30%LiNO3+57%KNO3+13%NaNO3 as thermal energy storage material in concentrated solar power plants due to its excellent thermal properties having a melting point of 127°C. The cooling process of the proposed ternary molten salt has been analyzed in a molten salt pilot plant built at the University of Antofagasta, which consists of a tank with a capacity of one ton, the controlled cooling tests were carried out from 400°C to 190°C. A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model has been developed to analyze the transient cooling process of the molten salt tank, results were validated with the experimental data. The evolution of the temperature over time at all points in the tank has been obtained, the results show that the lowest temperatures are located near the free surface of the salts.