A reciprocating column for a vertical cylinder film-coated super-pressure hydraulic weight lifting energy storage device

Abstract

This utility model relates to a reciprocating column used in a vertical cylinder membrane-coated high-pressure hydraulic lifting energy storage device, comprising three parts: a reciprocating column side wall (1), a reciprocating column base plate (2), and a waste counterweight (4). The waste counterweight (4) is a component composed of waste materials that increases the pressure at the bottom of the reciprocating column. The reciprocating column side wall (1) is connected to the reciprocating column base plate (2). The waste counterweight (4) is placed in the hollow part of the reciprocating column. A sealing layer (7) can be set around the waste counterweight. A telescopic roller (8) can also be set at the bottom of the reciprocating column. The planar position of the bottom of the reciprocating column is controlled by constraining the telescopic roller (8) with the inner wall of the vertical cylinder. This utility model can use waste materials as the counterweight of the reciprocating column to realize the resource utilization of waste materials.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to a reciprocating column used in a vertical cylindrical membrane-coated high-pressure hydraulic weightlifting energy storage device. Background Technology

[0002] With the development and large-scale application of new energy technologies such as wind and solar power, energy storage has gradually become one of the bottlenecks in the development of new energy due to the discrepancy between the power generation of new energy sources and the timing of social electricity consumption. Existing energy storage methods mainly include gravity storage, compressed air storage, water electrolysis for hydrogen production storage, and electrochemical storage. Electrochemical storage suffers from problems such as high cost, small storage capacity, short lifespan, and high costs for disposing of used batteries. It also poses safety hazards such as explosions and fires. To address these energy storage issues, domestic and international experts, scholars, and research institutions have begun researching compressed air storage and water electrolysis for hydrogen production storage technologies. Currently, water electrolysis for hydrogen production storage technology has been piloted and has the capability to produce hydrogen through seawater electrolysis. However, the cost of hydrogen production is high, as are the costs of storing and transporting the produced hydrogen, and it also faces the safety hazard of high-pressure gas explosions and high costs. Compressed air storage technology has also been applied, but its energy conversion rate is significantly lower than that of pumped hydro storage, and it also suffers from high costs. Solving the energy storage problem has become a major scientific and technological challenge urgently needing to be addressed for social development, and it is also a key link in promoting green and low-carbon development and solving the problem of energy self-sufficiency.

[0003] Gravity energy storage utilizes Earth's gravity. During storage, an electric motor lifts a heavy object to a higher position, converting electrical energy into the object's gravitational potential energy. Upon release, the object falls to a lower position, driving a generator to produce electricity, thus converting the object's potential energy back into electrical energy. Gravity energy storage can be categorized by storage medium into water-based and solid-medium types. Pumped hydro storage is a typical example of water-based gravity storage. Solid-medium gravity storage is not yet widely used in engineering projects. Methods in the research and development stage include pulley-based gravity storage, which uses a combination of pulleys and an electric motor. During storage, a solid object is lifted to a higher position to generate potential energy, storing electrical energy. Upon release, the object falls, simultaneously rotating the pulleys and driving a generator to produce electricity. Pumped hydro storage is currently the world's largest and most economical large-scale energy storage method, boasting high safety, mature technology, and high energy conversion efficiency. Currently, pumped storage hydropower accounts for approximately 94% of the total installed energy storage capacity in China (statistics as of 2020). In recent years, the number of pumped storage projects has increased significantly, with over one hundred pumped storage power stations under construction. The principle of pumped storage is to build an upper reservoir (or upper pool) at a higher elevation and a lower reservoir (or lower pool) at a lower elevation. When energy storage is needed, an electric motor drives a pump to pump water from the lower pool to the upper pool, consuming electrical energy. Simultaneously, the water is pumped to a higher elevation, generating gravitational potential energy, thus storing electrical energy. When energy release is needed, the water in the upper pool flows out through a diversion tunnel to the lower pool, and the water flow drives a turbine to rotate, which in turn drives a generator to produce electricity, releasing the energy. Pumped storage requires a significant elevation difference (400-600 meters or more) between upper and lower reservoirs (also known as upper and lower reservoirs), making suitable geographical conditions very limited. Construction is lengthy, requiring 5-8 years and incurring high costs. Pumped storage power stations often occupy large amounts of land for the upper reservoir, leading to adverse effects such as slope instability and ecological damage. The energy storage and release process in pumped storage is reversible. In terms of electromechanical equipment, most pumped storage power stations combine electric pumping units (composed of motors and pumps) and hydroelectric generator units (composed of generators and turbines) into a single pumped storage unit consisting of an electric generator and a pump-turbine. The pump-turbine's forward and reverse operation controls both pumping and hydroelectric power generation. The pumped storage unit and its auxiliary equipment mainly include pump-turbines, generator-motor systems, speed governors, excitation systems, static frequency converters, electromechanical protection systems, and computer control systems. Through long-term research and application, these systems have reached a high level of efficiency and are technologically mature and stable. The cost of a pumped storage hydroelectric power station includes civil engineering costs such as the construction of the upper and lower reservoirs, the diversion tunnel, and the supporting power grid facilities, as well as the cost of the pumped storage units. Currently, civil engineering costs account for approximately 90% of the total cost of a pumped storage power station.Addressing the site selection constraints of pumped-storage hydroelectric power plants, reducing their land area, minimizing their impact on the natural environment, and lowering construction costs are of significant economic, social, and environmental value to the development of energy storage technology. In theoretical research, M. Berrada et al. published a paper in *Energy* in 2016 entitled "Gravity-based Piston Pumped Hydro Storage: A new concept for large-scale energy storage," introducing the concept of gravity-based piston pumped hydroelectric storage. In this concept, within a sealed circulation channel, the weight of a piston applies pressure to the water, generating electricity through a reversible pump-turbine. During the energy storage phase, the pump pumps water, using the water pressure to lift the piston, converting it into gravitational potential energy. This technology has fewer limitations, allows for repeated operation, and enables long-term power generation, theoretically offering a new possibility for large-scale pumped hydroelectric storage. This pumped-storage method requires large-diameter, high-pressure water storage pipes. When matched with commonly used pumped-storage units, the pipe diameter can be set between 10 and 200 meters, and the water pressure the pipe should withstand should be between 4 and 8 MPa. Taking a 40-meter diameter pipe as an example, with a required water pressure of 8 MPa, using commonly used Q235 steel as the pipe wall material, mechanical calculations show that the pipe wall thickness needs to reach about 1 meter, which is difficult to manufacture, complex in process, and expensive. On the other hand, using 1-meter-thick ordinary steel as the pipe wall will result in a 16mm expansion deformation in the radial direction. At the same time, the piston will undergo significant contraction deformation under the pressure of high-pressure water, creating gaps between the pipe and the piston. Existing sealing technologies are insufficient to achieve a proper seal between the piston and the pipe. Under high pressure, the sealing problem between the large-diameter pipe and the piston, the enormous pressure from the overall seal, the pressure on the pipe material strength, and the construction of large-diameter pipes capable of withstanding high water pressure are key obstacles to the development and application of this technology and require further research.

[0004] In April 2024, the inventor of this utility model proposed a vertical cylinder membrane-coated high-pressure hydraulic lifting energy storage device (patent number: CN202420801377.6). This device is low in cost, fast in construction, safe and reliable, and durable. The device consists of a vertical cylinder and a reciprocating column located inside the vertical cylinder. The reciprocating column has the function of moving up and down inside the vertical cylinder. The gap between the vertical cylinder and the reciprocating column is sealed by a folded flexible sealing membrane to form a sealed space with variable volume. High-pressure water is generated in the sealed space. During energy storage, a water pump and turbine pump water into the sealed space. The high-pressure water lifts the reciprocating column and its counterweight, converting electrical energy into gravitational potential energy of the reciprocating column and its counterweight. When releasing energy, the high-pressure water is discharged, and the high-pressure water drives the water pump and turbine to generate electricity. At the same time, the reciprocating column and its counterweight move downward, converting gravitational potential energy into electrical energy, thereby achieving the purpose of energy storage. This device solves the sealing problem between the large-diameter water storage pipe and the piston in gravity piston energy storage by using a folded flexible sealing membrane. It also proposes using a rubber-coated steel structure to construct the vertical cylinder, addressing the enormous pressure caused by the overall sealing and the challenges of building large-diameter pipes to withstand high water pressure. This device requires a massive counterweight; a medium-sized energy storage power station requires a counterweight of 100,000 to 1 million tons, while large energy storage power stations require even more. Reducing the cost of the counterweight and thus saving on the construction cost of this type of energy storage device is one of the main factors influencing its widespread application. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The purpose of this invention is to provide a reciprocating column for a vertical cylindrical membrane-coated high-pressure hydraulic lifting energy storage device, which reduces the cost of the energy storage device through the resource utilization of waste materials.

[0006] The reciprocating column consists of three parts: a reciprocating column sidewall, a reciprocating column base plate, and a waste counterweight. The reciprocating column sidewall is a cylindrical component that bears external and vertical pressure. The reciprocating column base plate is a component that bears vertical pressure and seals the bottom of the reciprocating column. The waste counterweight is a component made of waste materials that increases the pressure at the bottom of the reciprocating column. The reciprocating column sidewall is connected to the reciprocating column base plate, and the waste counterweight is placed in the hollow part of the reciprocating column.

[0007] In the reciprocating column used in the aforementioned vertical membrane-coated high-pressure hydraulic lifting energy storage device, a sealing layer is provided around the aforementioned waste counterweight.

[0008] In the reciprocating column used in the aforementioned vertical membrane-coated high-pressure hydraulic lifting energy storage device, an additional counterweight cylinder is provided on the side wall of the reciprocating column.

[0009] In the reciprocating column used in the aforementioned vertical membrane-coated high-pressure hydraulic lifting energy storage device, an outward-cantilevered component is provided between the side wall of the reciprocating column and the additional counterweight cylinder.

[0010] In the reciprocating column used in the aforementioned vertical membrane-coated high-pressure hydraulic lifting energy storage device, a telescopic roller with elastic telescopic function is installed at the lower part of the reciprocating column. The telescopic roller has the function of controlling the position of the bottom of the reciprocating column. The telescopic roller consists of six parts: a spring, a spring support, a guide, a roller, a roller shaft, and a roller shaft bracket. The spring support is connected to the reciprocating column, one end of the spring is connected to the spring support, and the other end of the spring is connected to the roller shaft bracket. The roller shaft is mounted on the roller shaft bracket, and the roller is mounted on the roller shaft. The roller is a wheel-shaped component with the function of rotating around the roller shaft. The guide is connected to the reciprocating column and is a device with the function of controlling the movement direction of the roller shaft bracket.

[0011] The reciprocating column used in the vertical cylindrical membrane-coated high-pressure hydraulic lifting energy storage device of this utility model can utilize waste materials as additional counterweights, achieving large-scale energy storage while realizing the resource utilization of a large amount of waste materials, further reducing engineering costs. Attached Figure Description

[0012] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the cross-sectional structure of the reciprocating column used in the vertical cylindrical membrane-coated high-pressure hydraulic weightlifting energy storage device in one embodiment of the present invention.

[0013] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the cross-sectional structure of the reciprocating column used in the vertical cylindrical membrane-coated superpressure hydraulic lifting energy storage device used in an embodiment of this utility model;

[0014] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the cross-sectional structure of the reciprocating column with additional counterweight cylinder used in a vertical cylinder membrane-coated high-pressure hydraulic lifting energy storage device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0015] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the vertical cross-sectional structure of the reciprocating column telescopic roller used in the vertical cylinder membrane-coated high-pressure hydraulic weightlifting energy storage device used in one embodiment of this utility model;

[0016] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of the horizontal cross-sectional structure of the reciprocating column telescopic roller used in the vertical cylinder membrane-coated high-pressure hydraulic lifting energy storage device used in one embodiment of this utility model;

[0017] Figure 6 This is a side view of the reciprocating column telescopic roller used in a vertical cylinder membrane-coated high-pressure hydraulic lifting energy storage device according to an embodiment of this utility model. Detailed Implementation

[0018] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached drawings: 1-Side wall of reciprocating column; 2-Base plate of reciprocating column; 3-Additional counterweight cylinder; 4-Waste counterweight; 5-Guide hole; 6-Cantilever component; 7-Sealing layer; 8-Telescopic roller; 9-Roller; 10-Roller shaft; 11-Roller shaft bracket; 12-Spring; 13-Guide; 14-Spring support; 15-Support anchor bar.

[0019] As an embodiment of this utility model, the following is combined with Figures 1-6 This invention introduces the structural design of a reciprocating column used in a vertical cylindrical membrane-coated high-pressure hydraulic lifting energy storage device. The reciprocating column comprises three parts: a reciprocating column sidewall, a reciprocating column base plate, and a waste counterweight. The reciprocating column sidewall is a cylindrical component capable of bearing external and vertical pressure. The reciprocating column base plate is a component capable of bearing vertical pressure and sealing the bottom of the reciprocating column. The waste counterweight is a component composed of waste materials that increases the pressure at the bottom of the reciprocating column. The reciprocating column sidewall is connected to the reciprocating column base plate, and the waste counterweight is placed in the hollow part of the reciprocating column. In this embodiment, the reciprocating column can be constructed of reinforced concrete or steel structure, and the reciprocating column can be configured as follows: Figure 1 The lower part shown is a hollow cylinder, but it can also be a solid cylinder with the upper part a cylindrical component forming the hollow portion of the reciprocating column. In this embodiment, a hollow cylindrical structure can be connected to the upper part of the reciprocating column as a container for holding a waste counterweight. In this embodiment, placing the waste counterweight in the hollow portion of the reciprocating column allows for the resource utilization of waste as a counterweight. In this embodiment, the waste can be solid waste, such as industrial waste like slag and steel slag, or liquid waste, such as waste industrial oil. Waste can also include construction waste, domestic waste, etc. In this embodiment, when the waste contains hazardous substances, a sealing layer needs to be installed around the waste counterweight to prevent the diffusion of hazardous substances. In this embodiment, when the lower part of the reciprocating column is as follows... Figure 1 and Figure 2When the cylindrical structure is shown, the lower part of the reciprocating column bears a large water pressure. To prevent water from entering the hollow part of the reciprocating column, a sealing layer can be provided on the outside of the reciprocating column. In this embodiment, the sealing layer can be made of polymer materials, such as epoxy resin coating, or it can be made of steel plate. In this embodiment, if necessary, a cover plate can be provided on the top of the reciprocating column as a sealing layer to seal and isolate the waste from the outside environment, preventing harmful substances in the waste from being released into the atmosphere, and also preventing rainwater from flowing into the waste. In this embodiment, hazardous waste can also be sealed and boxed and placed in the hollow part of the reciprocating column to prevent the diffusion of harmful substances during transportation and stacking. In this embodiment, a sealing layer can be provided on the side wall of the reciprocating column, such as... Figure 1 and Figure 3The additional counterweight cylinder shown is used to increase the counterweight of the reciprocating column and increase the amount of waste that can be collected. In this embodiment, an outward-projecting member can be provided between the side wall of the reciprocating column and the additional counterweight cylinder, thereby increasing the upper dimension of the reciprocating column and increasing the volume of the additional counterweight cylinder. In this embodiment, a steel pipe can be provided in the outward-projecting member as a guide hole for the reciprocating column to control the planar position and verticality of the reciprocating column. In this embodiment, a telescopic roller with elastic telescopic function can be provided at the lower part of the reciprocating motion column to control the planar position of the bottom of the reciprocating motion column. The telescopic roller consists of six parts: a spring, a spring support, a guide, a roller, a roller shaft, and a roller shaft bracket. The spring support is connected to the reciprocating motion column, one end of the spring is connected to the spring support, and the other end of the spring is connected to the roller shaft bracket. The roller shaft is mounted on the roller shaft bracket, and the roller is mounted on the roller shaft. The roller is a wheel-shaped component with the function of rotating around the roller shaft. The direction of the roller shaft can be consistent with the tangent direction of the outer boundary of the cross-section of the reciprocating motion column. The guide is connected to the reciprocating motion column and has the function of controlling the movement direction of the roller shaft bracket. In this embodiment, the movement direction of the roller shaft bracket can be set to extend radially outward or retract radially along the reciprocating motion column. In this embodiment, when the reciprocating column is relatively tall, it is difficult to control its verticality entirely through the guide hole at the top of the column. A telescopic roller can be installed at the bottom of the column, contacting the inner surface of the vertical cylinder located outside the column to control the relative position between the bottom of the column and the cylinder. The structure of the vertical cylinder can be found in the background information (Patent No.: CN202420801377.6). When the vertical cylinder membrane-coated overpressure hydraulic lifting energy storage device is in operation, the sidewall of the cylinder will undergo significant radial expansion deformation under immense water pressure. When the device is under maintenance, there is not much water pressure inside the cylinder, and the sidewall will experience significant radial contraction. If the roller is directly fixed to the reciprocating column, the radial contraction of the cylinder will exert enormous pressure on the roller, potentially damaging the roller assembly. The roller device is configured as a telescopic roller, so that when the vertical cylinder expands radially, the roller moves radially outward under the action of a spring. When the vertical cylinder contracts radially, the spring of the telescopic roller contracts under the contraction pressure of the vertical cylinder sidewall, and the telescopic roller retracts radially along the vertical cylinder, but the roller still maintains close contact with the inner wall of the vertical cylinder, and generates pressure on the sidewall of the vertical cylinder that can be used to control the relative position of the lower part of the reciprocating column and the vertical cylinder on the horizontal plane. In this embodiment, when the reciprocating column is in the working state, the reciprocating column floats on the water surface inside the vertical cylinder. Therefore, the force controlling the relative horizontal position of the reciprocating column and the vertical cylinder is very small relative to the weight of the vertical cylinder, similar to controlling the position of a heavily loaded ship on calm water.In this embodiment, multiple telescopic rollers can be used to control the relative position of the reciprocating column and the vertical cylinder on the horizontal plane. Generally, three or more telescopic rollers can be placed on one horizontal control surface, and two or more horizontal control surfaces can be set at the lower part of the reciprocating column. In this embodiment, the telescopic rollers can be placed below the flexible sealing membrane. The following sections of this embodiment focus on the working principle and detailed structural construction of the telescopic rollers. In this embodiment, the rollers can be made of thick-walled steel pipes, or a large-diameter round steel bar with a hole drilled at the central axis can be used as a roller. The cross-sectional view of the roller along the vertical plane is shown below. Figure 4 As shown, a roller axle is placed in the hollow part of the roller, enabling the roller to rotate around the roller axle, and the roller axle extends outward from the side surface of the roller, as shown. Figure 5 and Figure 6 As shown, the extended portion of the roller shaft is firmly connected to the roller shaft bracket. In this embodiment, one end of the spring is connected to the roller shaft bracket, and the other end of the spring is connected to the spring support. The spring support is fixed to the reciprocating column and can be firmly connected to the reciprocating column through support anchor bars. The support anchor bars can be pre-embedded steel bars embedded in the reciprocating column, and the spring support can be a pre-embedded steel plate embedded in the reciprocating column. The roller shaft bracket can move radially along the reciprocating column relative to the spring support. When the pressure exerted on the roller by the inner wall of the vertical cylinder is greater than the spring force, the roller and the roller support contract radially along the reciprocating column. When the inner wall of the vertical cylinder moves radially outward, the roller, together with the roller shaft bracket, extends radially outward along the reciprocating column under the action of the spring thrust. In this embodiment, the roller shaft bracket can be welded from four steel plates, such as... Figures 4-6 The structure is shown. In this embodiment, to ensure the movement direction of the roller shaft support, a guide can be provided to control the roller shaft support to move radially along the reciprocating column. In this embodiment, a hole matching the shape of the roller shaft support can be provided in the reciprocating column as a guide, so that the roller shaft support can translate radially along the reciprocating column under the constraint of the guide, controlling the roller shaft support to not rotate. In this embodiment, other forms of guides can also be used, such as a pluggable tenon joint, which can control the movement direction of the roller shaft support. Because the gap between the reciprocating column and the inner wall of the vertical cylinder is small, a sufficiently deep hole can be provided on the side wall of the reciprocating column as a guide, such as... Figures 4-6 As shown, this allows the roller and roller shaft support to retract completely into the hole. In this embodiment, the spring can be a jack with pressure control function, that is, a servo system currently used in the field of foundation pit support engineering can be used instead of the spring.

[0020] This patent includes, but is not limited to, other similar devices that can be used by those skilled in the art.

Claims

1. A reciprocating column used in a vertical cylindrical membrane-coated high-pressure hydraulic lifting energy storage device, characterized in that... The reciprocating column consists of three parts: a reciprocating column sidewall (1), a reciprocating column base plate (2), and a waste counterweight (4). The reciprocating column sidewall (1) is a cylindrical component that bears external and vertical pressure. The reciprocating column base plate (2) bears vertical pressure and seals the bottom of the reciprocating column. The waste counterweight (4) is a component made of waste materials that increases the pressure at the bottom of the reciprocating column. The reciprocating column sidewall (1) is connected to the reciprocating column base plate (2). The waste counterweight (4) is placed in the hollow part of the reciprocating column. A telescopic roller (8) with elastic telescopic function is installed at the bottom of the reciprocating column. The telescopic roller (8) controls the bottom of the reciprocating column. The telescopic roller (8) is a device with a positioning function. It consists of six parts: spring (12), spring support (14), guide (13), roller (9), roller shaft (10) and roller shaft bracket (11). The spring support (14) is connected to the reciprocating column. One end of the spring (12) is connected to the spring support (14), and the other end of the spring (12) is connected to the roller shaft bracket (11). The roller shaft (10) is mounted on the roller shaft bracket (11), and the roller (9) is mounted on the roller shaft (10). The roller (9) is a wheel-shaped component that has the function of rotating around the roller shaft (10). The guide (13) is connected to the reciprocating column and is a device that has the function of controlling the movement direction of the roller shaft bracket (11).

2. The reciprocating column used in the vertical cylindrical membrane-coated high-pressure hydraulic lifting energy storage device according to claim 1, characterized in that... The waste counterweight (4) mentioned above is surrounded by a sealing layer (7).

3. The reciprocating column used in the vertical cylindrical membrane-coated high-pressure hydraulic lifting energy storage device according to claim 1, characterized in that... An additional counterweight cylinder (3) is provided on the side wall (1) of the reciprocating column mentioned above.

4. The reciprocating column used in the vertical cylindrical membrane-coated high-pressure hydraulic lifting energy storage device according to claim 1, characterized in that... An outwardly projecting component (6) is provided between the reciprocating column sidewall (1) and the additional counterweight cylinder (3).

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