Buoyancy Piston Pumped Storage for Compact Reliable Energy Storage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing pumped storage systems require large underground spaces and are prone to failure due to the need for powerful pumps to lift pistons against their weight, limiting their scalability and reliability for high energy storage capacities.
Innovation Solution
A pumped-storage power plant design utilizing a working cylinder partially immersed in a water reservoir with a buoyancy piston that separates fluid compartments, converting electrical energy into kinetic and potential energy efficiently, allowing for scalable and less prone to failure energy storage by using buoyancy forces and minimizing installation space.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If a piston is lifted against gravity using powerful pumps to store energy, then energy storage capacity is achieved, but the system becomes prone to failure and requires large underground spaces
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a buoyancy piston that utilizes buoyant force to counteract gravity, eliminating the need for powerful pumps to lift the piston. The buoyancy piston is filled with a gas or liquid that provides an upward force equal to the weight of the piston, allowing it to move freely up and down without requiring high-power pumping equipment, thus improving reliability and reducing the risk of failure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from traditional vertical underground pumped storage to a horizontal or partially submerged configuration where the working cylinder is positioned in a body of water. This dimensional change allows the system to utilize water pressure and buoyancy forces more effectively, reducing the need for deep underground spaces while maintaining energy storage capacity.
2Quantity of substance
If powerful pumps are used to lift pistons against their weight, then energy can be stored, but the device complexity and energy input requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The buoyancy piston provides a counterbalancing force that eliminates the need for powerful pumps. During energy storage, a relatively small pump只需要 needs to push water into the closed fluid compartment to increase pressure and move the buoyancy piston slightly, rather than lifting the entire piston weight. This dramatically reduces pump power requirements and simplifies the device.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs hydraulic principles by using water pressure to move the buoyancy piston. The working fluid (water) is pressurized and directed into the closed fluid compartment, utilizing hydraulic pressure to drive the piston movement. This hydraulic approach is more efficient and less complex than mechanical pump-lifting systems.
3Quantity of substance
If traditional pumped storage systems are implemented, then energy storage is achieved, but geographical possibilities are severely limited and large underground spaces are required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent positions the working cylinder partially in a body of water (lake, reservoir, or ocean), utilizing the water environment directly rather than requiring deep underground cavities. This allows the system to be installed in various geographical locations with water access, expanding site options beyond traditional mountainous regions with suitable underground geology.
Solution Approach 2:
The buoyancy piston design allows the system to operate with reduced structural support requirements. The buoyant force counteracts the weight of the piston and column, enabling the use of lighter, more compact structural components and reducing the overall space and material requirements for installation.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The design enables efficient energy storage and retrieval with reduced space requirements and lower energy input, facilitating easy scalability and enhanced reliability by leveraging buoyancy forces and minimizing friction and wear, thus optimizing energy conversion efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
a buoyancy piston that is guided to move relative to the working cylinder in the direction of gravity and seals the upper fluid compartment from the lower fluid compartment
Implementation Method 2
the upstream water, now carrying increased energy, is released back into the downstream reservoir via power-generating turbines to produce electricity
Implementation Method 3
a turbine-pump arrangement allows water to be pumped in the shaft in such a way that the piston can be raised and lowered
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a pump storage power plant with a working cylinder which is partly immersed into a working fluid reservoir, such as a water reservoir, comprising an upper fluid compartment substantially above the fluid level of the working fluid reservoir and a lower fluid compartment substantially below the fluid level; a lifting piston which is guided in a movable manner in the gravitational direction relative to the working cylinder and seals the upper fluid compartment from the lower fluid compartment such that a fluid exchange between the upper fluid compartment and the lower fluid compartment under the influence of gravity is prevented; an energy charging operation, in which working fluid is allowed into the upper fluid compartment such that the lifting piston is immersed into the lower fluid compartment with respect to the fluid level under the influence of the gravitational force and/or the hydrodynamic pressure of the upper fluid allowed into the upper fluid compartment; and an energy release operation, in which upper fluid is pushed out of the upper fluid compartment under the influence of the lifting force of the lifting piston and/or in which a fluid column of the upper fluid that is built up during the energy charging operation flows out of the upper fluid compartment in a preferably constant manner.