Heat storage apparatus

Storage apparatus for thermal energy comprising

• a housing,
• inlet and outlet means in said housing directing a flow of fluid, for use in performing a heat transfer operation, along a path through said housing,
• a plurality of thermal storage assemblies disposed in a series adjacent to each other and generally parallel to each other and positioned so that fluid flows from said inlet means to said outlet means between and along said storage assemblies, said storage assemblies being adapted to take part in a transfer of thermal energy with said fluid,
• each storage assembly comprising a sheet-like member formed with a plurality of parallel, elongated, generally tubular pockets containing a chemical substance which can store and give up thermal energy, said pockets forming a plurality of parallel curved corrugations spaced apart along the length of and in the outer surfaces of said sheet-like member, said pockets being disposed generally transverse to said path of fluid flow through said housing,
• said storage assemblies being positioned, with respect to each other, so that the pockets of one sheet-like member are aligned generally with the space in the adjacent sheet-like member which is present between the pockets thereof so that a serpentine path is formed by the tubular pockets of one member and the spaces between the pockets of the adjacent member,
• said pockets and spaces causing said fluid to flow along said serpentine path between said sheet-like members, the tubular pockets of one member directing the fluid into the spaces between the tubular pockets of the adjacent member, so that static layers of fluid cannot form along said sheet-like members and cannot reduce the efficiency of the heat transfer process between the fluid and the material in said pockets,
• said fluid flowing continually in the same direction along said serpentine path from said inlet means to said outlet means and thus facilitating said heat transfer process.