THERMAL SCIENCE
International Scientific Journal
Thermal Science - Online First
online first only
Influence of porous media parameters on isothermal piston compression system
ABSTRACT
Compressed air energy storage is considered a promising one to serve as high energy capacity and power rating energy storage systems. As a crucial part, efficient compressors are needed to realize a high compression efficiency. An isothermal piston composed of a solid-piston and porous media is highly effective in achieving efficient near-isothermal compression. The large heat transfer area between the porous media and the air can effectively improve the compression efficiency. Specific surface area and porosity are two key parameters of a porous media and their influence on the performance of isothermal piston compression system is analyzed. Geometric characteristics of porous media is investigated and the flow resistance model is established. The influence of the two key parameters of porous media on resistance is discussed, and a comprehensive energy conservation performance assessment of the isothermal piston is analyzed. The results show that when the porosity is maintained at 0.92 and the specific surface area increases from 860 m-1 to 2980 m-1, the total work of the isothermal piston system decreases by 14.6×103 J/kg and the system efficiency improves by 6.8%, despite the resistance work increasing from 9.4 J/kg to 48.5 J/kg. When the specific surface area is maintained at 2980 m-1 and the porosity increases from 0.6 to 0.92, the resistance work decreases from 17.5×103 J/kg to 57.9 J/kg, the total work of the isothermal piston system reduces by 17.4×103 J/kg, and the system efficiency improves by 8%.
KEYWORDS
PAPER SUBMITTED: 2025-03-15
PAPER REVISED: 2025-05-19
PAPER ACCEPTED: 2025-05-26
PUBLISHED ONLINE: 2025-07-05
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