Any Depth Ground Thermal Battery
OwnerRichard A. Clemenzi, Judith A. Siglininventors
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A highly flexible vertical ground tank system that can be installed to any depth. The principal focus is a hermetically sealed ground thermally conducting tank that can serve as a Ground Coupled Thermal Battery. The intention of this invention is to reduce the cost and/or impact of a Ground Heat Exchanger (GHEX) installation as well as to provide other benefits of building connected Thermal Batteries with heat pumps such as the time shifting of power drawn from the grid for powering the heat pumps, and for utilization of grid energy when cost are reduced to store thermal energy for future use. The same any depth ground installed tank can be used for many purposes.
Claims13
An apparatus being a multi-segment, hermetically sealed, vertically installed ground tank (the tank) that can be installed to any depth without risk of ground or tank contamination, said apparatus comprising:
- rigid tubular segments;
- couplings to hermetically connect the rigid tubular segments;
- a hermetically sealing top;
- and
- an optional hermetically sealing bottom;
- where
- the rigid tubular segments provide protection from collapse and a hermetical seal from the ground and can be hermetically sealed to adjoining segments;
- the couplings form a hermetic seal between the rigid tubular segments;
- the rigid tubular segments and couplings are installed in alternating sequence to form the walls of the tank;
- the optional hermetically sealing bottom can be used to seal the bottom of the tank;
- and
- the hermetically sealing top allows for fluid pipe and sensor connections to the tank.
An apparatus and supporting elements for installation of a multi-segment, large diameter, hermetically sealed, vertically installed ground tank (the tank), said apparatus comprising:
- a next segment supply element;
- an alignment element;
- a feeding element;
- a power supply element;
- a control element;
- a non-mechanically connected cutting head;
- a control element;
- a cutting head removal element;
- and
- an optional bottom installation element;
- where
- the next segment supply element can lift and position large diameter tank segments;
- the alignment element can align, hold, and lower a next segment for coupling onto already installed segments;
- the a non-mechanically connected cutting head is powered by the power supply element via an umbilical;
- and
- the feeding element can allow the controlled descent of the assembled segments into the ground.
An apparatus being a split electrofusion coupling for hermetically sealing segmented large diameter elements into a continuous hermetically sealed unit;
- where
- the large diameter elements are at least 1 foot in diameter.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.