Moving bed heat storage and recovery system

A heat storage and recovery system for storing excess over demand energy generated by a steam cycle electrical generating plant during slack electricity demand periods and for recovering the stored energy to provide supplemental electricity during peak electricity demand periods comprising:

• moving bed heat exchanger means for exchanging heat between said system and the generating plant wherein said moving bed heat exchanger means comprises:
• an inlet header having an inlet tube sheet;
• an outlet header having an outlet tube sheet;
• said inlet header having at least one inlet for admitting fluid to said heat exchanger;
• said outlet header having at least one outlet for discharging fluid from said heat exchanger;
• a plurality of tube banks each extending generally horizontally from said inlet tube sheet to said outlet tube sheet to establish fluid communication therethrough between said inlet header and said outlet header;
• a shell encasing said plurality of tubes and being open at the top and the bottom;
• said inlet header and said outlet header each having a plurality of diaphrams dividing said headers into a plurality of compartments;
• said plurality of diaphrams including a number of section diaphrams being positioned in said headers between a corresponding number of same pairs of tube banks to divide the heat exchanger into a corresponding number of sections, and further including a number of subsection diaphrams being positioned in said headers between every other pair of tube banks and staggered as between headers such that each of said compartments is in fluid communication with the inlet and the outlet of its section;
• said tube banks having a plurality of tubes being on a triangular pitched array and spread by a number of rings circumscribing said tubes;
• and
• a plurality of orifaced plates extending below each of said tube banks to support said tube banks and to retard the flow of sand therethrough over said tubes to provide an even sand flow velocity through the shell side of said heat exchanger and to provide a high sand bed density in contact with the entire periphery of each tube;
• conduit means for establishing fluid communication between the steam cycle and said moving bed heat exchanger means;
• valve means for selectively opening and closing said conduit means to selectively admit fluid from different points in the steam cycle to said moving bed heat exchanger means;
• a bed of refractory particles of suitable size for flowing through said moving bed heat exchanger means;
• storage means for storing said bed of refractory particles;
• and,
• transport means for transporting said refractory particles between said storage means and said moving bed heat exchanger means.