Inflow region for a technical device, in particular for a heat accumulator, and heat accumulator

Abstract

The invention relates to an inflow region (14) for a technical device (10), in particular for a heat accumulator, wherein flow-deflection elements (16) are located in the inflow region (14) for deflecting a gaseous medium flowing through the inflow region (14) into a region of the technical device through which the medium is supposed to flow. The inflow region (14) is designed in such a way that the medium flowing into the inflow region (14) in an inflow direction (18) is deflected in the inflow region (14), by means of the flow-deflection elements (16), in the direction of the region (12) through which the medium is supposed to flow.

Description

[0001] Inflow area for a technical device, in particular for a heat storage and heat storage

[0002] Description

[0003] The invention relates to an inflow area for a technical device, in particular for a heat accumulator, and a heat accumulator.

[0004] Inflow zones of the type in question serve to guide a gaseous medium into a zone through which the medium is to flow. The inflow zone and the zone through which the medium is to flow are components of a technical facility, in particular a technical facility from the field of chemical process engineering and / or thermal process engineering.

[0005] The task of the inflow area is not only to guide the medium to the area through which the medium is to flow, but often also to ensure, in particular by means of suitable flow guidance, that flow conditions are established before the medium enters the area through which the medium is to flow, which, according to the respective purpose of the technical device, are suitable for the flow through the area through which the medium is to flow.

[0006] In particular, the technical device is a heat storage device. Heat storage devices of the type in question serve to store heat. This occurs when a gaseous medium, which in the case of a heat storage device is a heat transfer medium, transfers heat to a heat storage material when the heat storage device is charged. When the heat storage device is discharged, the heat storage material in turn transfers heat energy to the gaseous heat transfer medium. The heat transfer medium can thus remove heat energy from the heat storage device or supply it to the heat storage device, depending on whether the heat transfer medium has a higher or lower temperature than the heat storage material.

[0007] To enable heat transfer between the heat transfer medium and the heat storage material in practice, a heat storage device has a heat storage area through which the gaseous heat transfer medium can flow. The heat storage material, through which the heat transfer medium can flow, is arranged in this heat storage area. Heat transfer therefore occurs as the heat storage material flows through it.

[0008] In practice, the heat storage material exhibits significant flow resistance with respect to the flow of the heat transfer medium. The heat transfer medium is typically supplied to the heat storage unit via pipes. In these pipes, the heat transfer medium exhibits a comparatively high flow velocity. Ending such a supply line directly in or at the heat storage material would result in the heat transfer medium flowing into the heat storage material at a high velocity through a comparatively small cross-section. The heat transfer medium flow would then directly encounter the high flow resistance of the heat storage material at a comparatively high flow velocity. This would lead to unfavorable flow conditions.In addition, the comparatively punctual introduction of the heat transfer medium would lead to an uneven distribution and spread of the heat transfer medium in the heat storage material and thus to an inefficient flow through the heat storage material.

[0009] In practice, heat storage units have therefore been developed that have an inflow area that, like a diffuser, dams up the heat transfer medium flow fed to the heat storage unit. Such an inflow area has a cross-section that widens in the direction of flow. This cross-sectional widening reduces the velocity of the flowing heat medium and increases its static pressure. At the end of the inflow area, the heat transfer medium can also flow into the heat storage area and thus into the heat storage material via a comparatively large cross-section. The cross-section of the transition between the inflow area and the heat storage area corresponds in particular to the cross-section that the heat storage area then maintains constant in the direction of flow. This enables a very uniform flow through the heat storage area.

[0010] However, the inflow areas known from the prior art are disadvantageous in several respects, particularly as components of heat storage systems. The typical widening of such an inflow area, required for effective damming of the flow, is approximately 8-10°, which means that such an inflow area has a considerable length in the flow direction. However, the inflow area itself does not contain any heat storage material, which is why the resulting high space requirement of the inflow area in the flow direction disadvantageously enlarges the entire heat storage system.

[0011] Heat storage devices with corresponding inflow areas are known from the prior art, for example in WO 2015 / 106815 A1, EP 2 902 740 A1 or WO 2016 / 156054 A1. However, these all either have the considerable lengths resulting from the small expansion angle, or they have much larger expansion angles and accordingly a significantly smaller space requirement, which, however, has a very negative effect on the flow conditions inside. In the worst case, the heat transfer medium flowing in through a line is merely distributed over a correspondingly larger inlet cross-section of the heat storage material, but the desired diffuser effect is lost. The disadvantages of the inflow areas known from the prior art, described above with reference to heat storage devices, can also be applied to known inflow areas of other technical devices.

[0012] The invention is therefore based on the object of providing an inflow area for a technical device, in particular for a heat accumulator, and a heat accumulator with an inflow area, wherein the inflow area has only a short length with respect to the flow direction of the area to be flowed through and nevertheless enables favorable flow conditions for the inflow.

[0013] The problem is solved by an inflow area and a heat accumulator having the features of the independent claims. The features of the dependent claims relate to advantageous embodiments.

[0014] The inflow area is, in particular, a component of a technical facility. The technical facility may be a technical facility in chemical process engineering and / or thermal process engineering. In particular, the technical facility is a heat storage facility, but it may also be, for example, a chemical reactor.

[0015] The technical device has a region through which a gaseous medium flows. This region through which the medium flows can be enclosed, for example, by a housing. A material through which the medium can flow can be accommodated in the region through which the medium flows. The material through which the medium can flow is, in particular, a heat storage material, but it can also be, for example, a catalyst for the chemical conversion of the medium.

[0016] The technical device further comprises an inflow area. The medium supplied to the technical device can flow through the inflow area into the area through which the medium is to flow. This object is achieved, in particular, by arranging flow deflection elements in the inflow area for deflecting the gaseous medium flowing through the inflow area. The inflow area is designed such that the medium flowing into the inflow area along an inflow direction is deflected in the inflow area by means of the flow deflection elements in the direction of the area through which the medium is to flow.

[0017] It has been shown in connection with the present invention that it is possible, by using flow deflection elements in the inflow area, to design the inflow area in such a way that it has only a small length in the flow direction of the medium through the area to be flowed through, but nevertheless enables the setting of advantageous flow conditions for the inflow of the medium into the area to be flowed through.

[0018] The flow deflection elements are particularly designed to be flat. A flat design of the flow deflection elements makes it possible to achieve a strong influence on the flow with comparatively little additional flow resistance from the flow deflection elements themselves. The flow deflection elements can be arranged one behind the other in the inflow direction. Such an arrangement makes it possible for the flow deflection elements to be successively exposed to the medium flowing into the inflow area, thus each deflecting a partial flow of the inflowing medium towards the area through which the flow is to pass. In this way, an even distribution of the inflowing medium can be achieved across a transition cross-section through which the medium flows from the inflow area into the area through which the flow is to pass.

[0019] The flow deflection elements can be designed and arranged in such a way that they form a lamellar structure. Such a design and arrangement of the flow deflection elements has the advantage that the flow deflection elements can enable flow deflection with a simultaneous expansion of the flow cross-section by directing partial flows of the medium flowing into the inflow area in the inflow direction between the adjacent lamellae of the lamellar structure formed by the flow deflection elements.

[0020] The inflow cross-section through which the medium flows into the inflow area is, in particular, smaller than the transition cross-section through which the medium flows at the transition from the inflow area to the area to be flowed through. This allows the inflow area, with its flow deflection elements, to exert the effect of a diffuser, but does not have the large length in the flow direction required for an effective diffuser effect in conventionally designed inflow areas.

[0021] The inflow area can be designed such that the medium is deflected by an angle of at least approximately 90° and / or the angle between the inflow direction and the flow direction of the medium in the area to be flowed through is at least approximately 90°. If a flow deflection of at least approximately 90° occurs through the inflow area, this enables advantageous arrangements of the technical device, in particular the heat accumulator. For example, a plurality of technical devices, such as heat accumulators, can be arranged next to and / or above one another and the medium can flow through them one after the other by means of a "meandering" flow pattern.The medium flows through the individual flow-through areas of the individual heat storage units, in particular in a straight flow direction, whereby the changes in flow direction that lead to the meandering course of the flow through the plurality of technical devices are brought about in particular by the inflow areas and in particular by any existing outflow areas of the technical devices through which the medium leaves the individual technical devices after flowing through the respective flow-through area. In this case, the inflow areas can contribute to realizing the meandering flow and the necessary flow deflection by implementing part of the U-shaped flow deflection between adjacent technical devices through the inflow area of ​​one of these technical devices.The medium can then conveniently be introduced into this inflow area from the direction of the adjacent technical facility.

[0022] The flow deflection elements can have a profile to generate and / or support a Bernoulli effect during the deflection of the medium. In particular, the profile can be a wing-like profile, i.e., a profile that results in the flow path along one surface side of the respective flow deflection element being longer than on the other surface side facing away from this surface side.

[0023] The flow deflection elements can each have an edge against which the medium flows. The edges of the flow deflection elements against which the medium flows can be rounded. Such a rounded design creates favorable flow conditions, which in particular reduce the flow resistance of the flow deflection elements.

[0024] The flow deflection elements can be designed to be adjustable to control the deflection of the medium. Such an adjustable design of the flow deflection elements allows the flow conditions in the inflow area to be influenced, taking into account the current flow conditions, in order to ensure the most favorable flow conditions possible in the inflow area even under fluctuating operating conditions. For example, fluctuations in the flow rate of the medium and the inevitably associated fluctuations in pressure and flow velocity and / or temperature of the medium can be taken into account by adjusting the flow deflection elements to account for the changes in the flow conditions.

[0025] The adjustable design of the flow deflection elements can be achieved by adjusting a portion of the respective flow deflection element that encompasses the edge of the respective flow deflection element. It has been shown that effective influencing of the flow conditions can be achieved simply by adjusting a portion of the respective deflection element that encompasses the edge of the respective flow deflection element. The flow at the leading edge is particularly important because the position and design of the leading edge also determines the proportion of the total medium flow deflected by a respective deflection element.

[0026] Furthermore, the adjustability of a partial area encompassing the edge of the respective flow deflection element facing the flow direction offers the advantage that the edges or partial areas of the flow deflection elements facing in the flow direction, which encompass the edges of the flow deflection elements facing in the flow direction, can be rigidly implemented—in other words, in particular, non-adjustable—while still allowing the respective flow deflection element to be adjusted. This can be particularly advantageous if the flow deflection elements are intended to exert a supporting function on the medium. This possibility will be discussed further below.

[0027] A plurality of flow deflection elements can be arranged one behind the other in the direction perpendicular to the inflow direction and the flow direction of the medium in the area to be flowed through. This shortens the extension that the individual flow deflection elements must have in this direction in order to enable effective flow deflection over as large a part of the width of the transition cross-section as possible, in particular over the full width of the transition cross-section. In other words, this can mean that within a lamella of the lamellar structure formed by the flow deflection elements, a plurality of flow deflection elements are arranged one behind the other in the direction oriented perpendicular to the inflow direction and the flow direction in the area to be flowed through. This results in a type of subdivision of the lamellae, which reduces the "span" of the individual lamellae.

[0028] In particular, support structures for mechanically supporting the flow deflection elements can be arranged between adjacent flow deflection elements, especially between adjacent flow deflection elements within a lamella. These support structures make it possible to absorb the forces acting on the flow deflection elements due to the flow deflection. The distances that must be spanned by the flow deflection elements are thereby significantly reduced, which is accompanied by a correspondingly lower mechanical stress on the material of the flow deflection elements.

[0029] The flow deflection elements arranged one behind the other in adjacent lamellae of the lamella-like structure in the direction perpendicular to the inflow direction and the flow direction of the medium in the area to be flowed through can be offset from one another. This allows for an advantageous influence on the flow through the area to be flowed through, particularly if the area to be flowed through has correspondingly offset, discrete flow paths. For example, in the area to be flowed through, the cross-section through which the medium flows can be divided into hexagonal and correspondingly offset sub-cross-sections.

[0030] A subdivision of the area to be flowed through, which leads to a plurality of separate flow paths through the area to be flowed through, can be realized by a corresponding subdivision of the area to be flowed through, which is filled in particular with a granular flow-through material, for example with a granular heat storage material; alternatively and / or additionally, a geometrically defined flow-through material, in particular a geometrically defined heat storage material, for example in the manner of a brick lining, can predetermine correspondingly subdivided flow paths for the medium.

[0031] The flow deflection elements, which are particularly offset from one another, are arranged in such a way that the flow deflection elements are each assigned to one of the flow paths specified by the design of the technical device in such a way that this flow path is at least predominantly traversed by a partial flow of the total flow of the medium, which has been deflected by the flow deflection element assigned to this flow path. In this way, the flow through the individual flow paths can be specifically influenced.

[0032] The flow deflection elements can, in particular, comprise heating elements for heating the medium. These can be electrical heating elements, for example. Such heating elements can, for example, raise a heat flow fed into a heat storage device to a higher temperature level. This can be useful, for example, when considering overall efficiency, where electrical and thermal aspects are relevant.

[0033] Alternatively and / or additionally, the flow deflection elements can be designed as heat exchangers. This allows the flow deflection elements to be used to exchange thermal energy between the medium and another heat transfer medium. This can be useful, for example, to divert a heat flow from the medium before it reaches a permeable material arranged in the flow-through region, in particular a heat storage material, and / or to supply it to the medium, for example, to "preheat" it with residual heat generated elsewhere when discharging the heat storage device. Due to their function, the flow deflection elements have an interface with the medium flowing around the flow deflection elements that is designed to be favorable for heat transfer, which is why they can be advantageously used for the integration of heating elements and / or designed as heat exchangers.

[0034] The material through which the fluid flows can be, in particular, granular and / or free-flowing. Granular and / or free-flowing materials offer the advantage of making good use of the area through which the fluid flows, especially in the form of a bed.

[0035] The flow deflection elements can exert a mechanical retention function on the flow-through material, particularly granular and / or free-flowing material. This is particularly advantageous because this function of the flow deflection elements eliminates the need for an additional retention element for a flow-through material, particularly granular and / or free-flowing material, that is contained in the area to be flowed through. According to the prior art, separate retention elements are used for this purpose. However, these offer additional flow resistance.

[0036] In particular, when the flow deflection elements form a lamella-like arrangement, such a retaining element can advantageously be dispensed with by supporting the bed of the particularly granular and / or free-flowing material on the flow deflection elements.

[0037] The mechanical retention function of the flow deflection elements is particularly advantageous in combination with a design of the flow deflection elements that provides adjustability of a portion encompassing the edge of the respective flow deflection element exposed to the flow. In these cases, the portion of the respective flow deflection elements used to support the flowable material, particularly granular and / or free-flowing material, can be rigidly constructed. In this way, the flow deflection elements can perform the mechanical retention function while still being adjustable.

[0038] The technical device can comprise a pressure vessel. Such a pressure vessel advantageously offers the possibility of creating a positive or negative pressure within the technical device, in particular within the heat storage unit. This is particularly advantageous with regard to the use of an inflow area acting as a diffuser, since this naturally causes an increase in the static pressure in the flowing medium.

[0039] Advantageously, the inflow area and the flow-through area can be arranged within a common pressure vessel. This allows for an overall compact design.

[0040] The pressure vessel can have a cuboid basic shape, for example that of a container. Alternatively and / or additionally, the pressure vessel can be a pressure vessel that has a circular cross-section in the direction of flow through the area to be flowed through. Such a circular cross-section leads to a very favorable ratio of enclosed volume to surface area of ​​the pressure vessel, which is particularly useful with regard to reducing the area allowing heat transfer, but also from a mechanical point of view, especially in the case of high pressure differences. On the other hand, cuboid-shaped technical equipment, such as heat storage units, can often be advantageously arranged in a space-saving manner; for example, they can be stacked next to or on top of one another and take up a relatively small amount of space.

[0041] The technical device is designed in particular in such a way that the medium flowing into the area through which the flow is to be passed through is flowed through in a straight flow direction. After flowing through the area through which the flow is to be passed through in a straight flow direction, the flow can be further deflected by an appropriately designed outlet area. In this context, a straight flow direction is understood to mean the predominant flow direction. This means in particular that, at individual points in the area through which the flow is to be passed through, different local flow directions from the predominant flow direction can occur, but an integral consideration of the local flow directions as an average flow direction results in a straight flow through the area through which the flow is to be passed through.This can be the case in particular if a permeable material is accommodated in the area to be flowed through, if the flow of the medium is locally influenced by the material.

[0042] The object is further achieved in particular by a heat accumulator having an inflow region as described above. In the case of the heat accumulator, the medium flowing through the inflow region into the region through which the heat is to flow is a heat transfer medium. In the case of the heat accumulator, the region through which the heat is to flow is a heat storage region. A material in the form of a heat storage material through which the heat transfer medium can flow is accommodated in the heat storage region.

[0043] Further practical embodiments and advantages of the invention are described below in conjunction with the drawings. They show:

[0044] Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an exemplary technical device in the form of a heat storage device,

[0045] Fig. 2 is a simplified schematic sectional view of part of the technical device from Figure 1, Fig. 3-5 are schematic embodiments for the design of the flow deflection elements,

[0046] Fig. 6 is a simplified cross-sectional view of an alternative embodiment of a technical device.

[0047] The technical device 10 shown as an example in Figure 1 can be a heat storage device, as shown by way of example. The technical device 10 has a region 12 through which a gaseous medium s flows. As in the example shown, the medium can be a heat transfer medium and the region 12 through which the medium flows can be a heat storage region. The region 12 through which the medium flows can accommodate a material (not shown in the figures for illustrative reasons) through which the medium can flow. The material through which the medium can flow can be a heat storage material.

[0048] The technical device 10 shown as an example in Figure 1 further comprises an inflow area 14. Medium supplied to the technical device 10 can flow through the inflow area 14 into the area 12 through which the fluid is to flow.

[0049] In the inflow area 14, flow deflection elements 16 are arranged to deflect the medium flowing through the inflow area 14.

[0050] The technical device 10 is designed such that the medium flowing into the inflow region 14 along the inflow direction 18 is deflected in the inflow region 14 by means of the flow deflection elements 16 in the direction of the region 12 through which the medium is to flow. Due in particular to the deflection by the flow deflection elements 16, the medium is given a flow direction 20 that corresponds to the flow direction of the medium in the region 12 through which the medium is to flow.

[0051] As in the example shown in Figure 1, the flow deflection elements

[0052] 16 can be designed to be flat. Furthermore, the flow deflection elements 16 can be arranged one behind the other in the inflow direction 18. This arrangement of the flow deflection elements 16 is particularly evident from the simplified sectional view in Figure 2.

[0053] As in the example shown, the flow deflection elements 16 can be designed to form a lamellar structure. In this way, the flow deflection elements 16 shown as examples are particularly suitable for mechanically supporting a granular and / or free-flowing material that is accommodated as a bed in the flow-through region 12, or for exerting a mechanical retention function on this heat storage material.

[0054] For this purpose, as can be seen in Figure 2, the flow deflection elements 16 can, in particular, be designed and arranged such that flow deflection elements 16 forming adjacent lamellae of the lamella structure overlap in the vertical direction Z. The overlap is advantageously twice to three times the diameter of the individual particles of the flow-through material. In this way, it can be effectively prevented that, even upon thermal expansion of the flow-through material, this material overcomes the mechanical barrier formed by the lamella structure and trickles into the inflow area 14.

[0055] As in the example shown, the inflow cross-section 22 through which the medium flows into the inflow area 14 can be smaller than the transition cross-section 24 through which the medium flows at the transition from the inflow area 14 to the area 12 to be flowed through. As a result, a diffuser effect can be generated by means of the inflow area 14.

[0056] As can be seen in the example shown, in particular from Figure 2, the technical device 10 can be designed such that the medium is deflected by an angle of 90° or the angle between the inflow direction 18 and the flow direction 20 of the medium in the area 12 to be flowed through is 90°. The technical device 10 is designed, in particular as in the example shown, such that the area 12 to be flowed through is flowed through by the medium flowing through the inflow area 14 into the area 12 to be flowed through in a rectilinear flow direction 20. After flowing through the area 12 to be flowed through in a rectilinear flow direction, the flow can be further deflected through an appropriately designed outlet area (not shown in the figures). The rectilinear flow direction 20 can be a predominant flow direction 20, as in the example shown.

[0057] As in the example shown, a plurality of flow deflection elements 16 can be arranged one behind the other in the direction Y perpendicular to the inflow direction 18 and the flow direction 20 of the medium in the region 12 through which the medium is to flow. This can mean, in particular, as shown, that within a lamella 26 of the lamella-like structure, a plurality of flow deflection elements 16 are arranged one behind the other in the direction Y perpendicular to the inflow direction 18 and the flow direction 20 of the medium in the region 12 through which the medium is to flow.

[0058] Support structures 28 can be arranged between the adjacent flow deflection elements 16 for mechanically supporting the flow deflection elements 16. The support structures 28 shorten the distance to be spanned by the respective flow deflection element 16 and thus significantly reduce the material stress, which increases disproportionately to this distance.

[0059] The flow deflection elements 16 arranged one behind the other in adjacent lamellae 26 of the lamellar structure in the direction Y perpendicular to the inflow direction 18 and the flow direction 20 of the medium in the region 12 through which the medium is to flow can be arranged offset from one another. This is illustrated in Figures 3 to 5. Figure 3 shows an embodiment in which the individual lamellae 26 of the lamellar structure are each formed by a single flow deflection element.

[0060] Figure 4 shows an embodiment in which the individual lamellae 26 are each formed from a plurality of flow deflection elements 16 arranged one behind the other in the direction Y perpendicular to the inflow direction 18 and the flow direction 20 of the medium in the region 12 through which the medium is to flow. In the embodiment in Figure 5, these successively arranged flow deflection elements 16 are offset from one another in adjacent lamellae 26. Such an offset arrangement can be useful, for example, if the region 12 through which the medium is to flow is divided into a plurality of separate flow paths 28 for the medium. As in the example shown in Figure 6, these flow paths 28 can have a hexagonal cross-section and can be realized by a corresponding subdivision of the technical device, for example with corresponding gas-impermeable subdivision elements 30.

[0061] Such a hexagonal subdivision, as realized in the example shown in Figure 6, is particularly suitable when the technical device has a pressure vessel 32 with a circular cross-section. Alternatively, a pressure vessel 32 of such a technical device can also be cuboid-shaped, for example in the manner of a container, as is the case in the exemplary embodiment shown in Figure 1. As in the case of the example shown in Figure 1, the technical device in the exemplary embodiments shown in Figures 2 to 6 can also be a heat accumulator.

[0062] The features of the invention disclosed in the present description, the drawings, and the claims may be essential, both individually and in any combination, for the realization of the invention in its various embodiments. The invention is not limited to the described embodiments. It may be varied within the scope of the claims and taking into account the knowledge of the person skilled in the art.

[0063] List of reference symbols

[0064] 10 technical equipment, in particular heat storage

[0065] 12 Area to be flowed through, especially heat storage area

[0066] 14 Inflow area

[0067] 16 Flow deflection element

[0068] 18 Inflow direction

[0069] 20 Flow direction

[0070] 22 Inflow cross-section

[0071] 24 Transition cross-section

[0072] 26 slats

[0073] 28 Support structure

[0074] X direction

[0075] Y direction

[0076] Z direction

Claims

Patent claims 1. Inflow region (14) for a technical device (10), in particular for a heat accumulator, wherein flow deflection elements (16) are arranged in the inflow region (14) for deflecting a gaseous medium flowing through the inflow region (14) into a region of the technical device through which the gas is to flow, wherein the inflow region (14) is designed such that the medium flowing into the inflow region (14) along an inflow direction (18) is deflected in the inflow region (14) by means of the flow deflection elements (16) in the direction of the region through which the gas is to flow (12).

2. Inflow area (14) according to claim 1, characterized in that the flow deflection elements (16) are designed flat and are arranged one behind the other in the inflow direction (18).

3. Inflow region (14) according to claim 1 and 2, characterized in that the flow deflection elements (16) are designed and arranged such that they form a lamellar structure.

4. Inflow area (14) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the inflow cross-section (22) through which the medium flows into the inflow area (14) is smaller than the transition cross-section (24) through which the medium flows at the transition from the inflow area (14) to the area to be flowed through (12).

5. Inflow region (14) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the heat accumulator (10) is designed such that the medium is deflected by an angle of at least approximately 90° and / or the angle between the inflow direction (18) and the flow direction (20) of the medium in the region (12) to be flowed through is at least approximately 90°. REVISED SHEET (RULE 91) ISA / EP 6. Inflow area (14) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the flow deflection elements (16) have a profile, in particular a wing-like profile, for generating and / or supporting a Bernoulli effect during the deflection of the medium.

7. Inflow region (14) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the flow deflection elements (16) each have an edge against which the medium flows, and the edges of the flow deflection elements (16) against which the medium flows are rounded.

8. Inflow area (14) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the flow deflection elements (16) are adjustable to control the deflection of the medium.

9. Inflow region (14) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the adjustable design of the flow deflection elements (16) is realized by the adjustability of a respective partial region of the respective flow deflection element (16) comprising the edge of the respective flow deflection element (16) which is subject to flow.

10. Inflow region (14) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that in the direction perpendicular to the inflow direction (18) and the flow direction (20) of the medium in the region (12) to be flowed through, in particular within a lamella (26) of the lamella-like structure, a plurality of flow deflection elements (16) are arranged one behind the other, in particular wherein support structures (28) for mechanically supporting the flow deflection elements (16) are arranged between the adjacent flow deflection elements (16). 11 . Inflow area (14) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the in adjacent lamellae (26) of the lamellar REVISED SHEET (RULE 91) ISA / EP structure in the direction perpendicular to the inflow direction (18) and the flow direction (20) of the medium in the area to be flowed through (12) the flow deflection elements (16) are arranged offset from one another.

12. Inflow region (14) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the flow deflection elements (16) have heating elements for heating the medium and / or are designed as heat exchangers in order to exchange thermal energy between the medium and another heat transfer medium.

13. Inflow region (14) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a granular and / or free-flowing material, in particular a heat storage material, is accommodated in the region through which the fluid is to flow, and the flow deflection elements (16) exert a mechanical retention function on the material.

14. Inflow region (14) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the inflow region (18) and the region to be flowed through (12) are arranged within a common pressure vessel (32).

15. Heat accumulator (10) with an inflow region (14) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the medium flowing through the inflow region (14) into the region to be flowed through (12) is a heat transfer medium, wherein the region to be flowed through (12) is a heat storage region in which a material through which the heat transfer medium can flow is accommodated in the form of a heat storage material. REVISED SHEET (RULE 91) ISA / EP

Images