Liquid Piston Based on Molecular Springs for Energy Storage Applications

Published

May 10, 2023

Author(s)

Mehdi Hashemi-Tilehnoee, Nikolay Tsirin, Victor Stoudenets, Yuriy Bushuev, Miroslaw Chorazewski, Mian Li, Dan Li, Juscelino Leao, Markus Bleuel, Pawel Zajdel, Elena Palomo Del Barrio, Yaroslav Grosu

Abstract

Liquid piston is a method for pressure transmission used in a wide range of technologies. Currently, liquid piston is a passive element solely used to apply pressure to a working body. In this work, the concept of liquid piston based on molecular springs - an active element, which can store a considerable amount of mechanical energy, apart from its main function, which is pressure transmission is proposed. To demonstrate the concept, the Cu2(tebpz) MOF + H2O} molecular spring was characterized by employing high-pressure intrusion-extrusion cycling, atomistic simulations, in situ neutrons scattering, scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. Using compressed air energy storage (CAES) as a case study, it is demonstrated that energy density for this technology can be enhanced 5 times by replacing water with a water-based molecular spring. Apart from increased energy density, liquid piston based on molecular spring improves thermal management of CAES systems, enables narrow operational pressure ranges and provides an anti-vibration feature to mitigate undesired vibrations or impacts. The liquid piston on molecular spring concept can be useful for a broad range of technologies, where pressure is implemented through fluids.

Citation

Journal of Energy Storage

Pub Type

Journals

Keywords

Mechanical energy storage, Liquid piston, Molecular spring, Compressed air energy storage, Intrusion-extrusion

Citation

Hashemi-Tilehnoee, M. , Tsirin, N. , Stoudenets, V. , Bushuev, Y. , Chorazewski, M. , Li, M. , Li, D. , Leao, J. , Bleuel, M. , Zajdel, P. , Palomo Del Barrio, E. and Grosu, Y. (2023), Liquid Piston Based on Molecular Springs for Energy Storage Applications, Journal of Energy Storage (Accessed April 26, 2024)