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US 11,953,271 B2Granted
Thermal energy storage apparatus
AssigneeENI S.p.A.
InventorsGabriele Bianchi, Carla Lazzari, Carmen Sama', Tamara Passera
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A thermal energy storage apparatus includes at least one hollow tube having an internal cavity and at least one basic module placed inside the internal cavity. The at least one basic module has at least one slab, at least one pair of spacer bars, and at least one through channel adapted for the passage of a heat transfer fluid.
Claims22
A thermal energy storage apparatus comprising
- at least one hollow tube comprising an inner cavity and two ends, wherein each end provides a through opening, and
- at least one basic module placed inside said inner cavity of said at least one hollow tube,
- wherein said at least one basic module comprises at least one slab and at least one pair of spacer bars, at least one through channel adapted for the passage of a heat transfer fluid from one end to the other of said two ends of said at least one hollow tube,
- wherein said pair of spacer bars are arranged parallel to each other and are arranged parallel with respect to a longitudinal axis passing along a longitudinal direction of said at least one hollow tube,
- wherein at least one couple of slabs of said at least one slab are stacked up one on the other and each slab of said at least one couple of slabs comprises two faces, an upper face and a lower face, wherein each pair of spacer bars is placed between the upper face of a lower slab and the lower face of a higher slab of at least one couple of stacked up slabs, wherein each slab of said at least one couple of slabs comprises two transverse edges and each spacer bar of said at least one pair of spacer bars is placed at one of the two transverse edges of the slab so that said through channel comprises a transverse dimension which is as long as the maximum transverse dimension comprised between said walls of said pair of spacer bars.
2 more elements
A process for manufacturing a thermal energy storage apparatus including the following steps:
- a manufacturing phase of at least one basic module,
- wherein said manufacturing step of said at least one basic module comprising at least one couple of slabs and at least one pair of spacer bars, includes
- a step of stacking up in order at least one first slab of said at least one couple of slabs, said at least one pair of spacer bars and at least one second slab of said at least one couple of slabs so that said at least one first slab and said at least one second slab are stacked up one on the other and are spaced apart along a vertical direction by means of said at least one pair of spacer bars thus forming a through channel adapted for the passage of a heat transfer fluid from one end to the other of two ends of at least one hollow tube, wherein each of said through channel is comprised between inner walls of each pair of spacer bars and inner walls of each couple of stacked up slabs,
- wherein said pair of spacer bars are arranged parallel to each other and are arranged parallel with respect to a longitudinal axis passing along a longitudinal direction of said at least one hollow tube,
- wherein at least one couple of slabs are stacked up one on the other and each slab of said at least one couple of slabs comprises two faces, an upper face and a lower face, wherein each pair of spacer bars is placed between the upper face of a lower slab and the lower face of a higher slab of at least one couple of stacked up slabs, wherein each slab of said at least one couple of slabs comprises two transverse edges and each spacer bar of said at least one pair of spacer bars is placed at one of the two transverse edges of the slab so that said through channel comprises a transverse dimension which is as long as the maximum transverse dimension comprised between said walls of said pair of spacer bars.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.