FRACTAL STORE

Abstract

Thermal store, wherein the thermal store includes a basic framework (14) of the thermal store, wherein the basic framework (14) has the form of a three-dimensional grid having a plurality of cells, wherein boundary surfaces between adjacent cells are surrounded by grid lines of the grid, wherein at least one, preferably a plurality, of the boundary surfaces between adjacent cells is permeable to a fluid in order to form a flow path from cell to cell for the fluid.

Claims

1. A thermal store, wherein the thermal store includes a basic framework (14) of the thermal store, wherein the basic framework (14) has the form of a three-dimensional grid having a plurality of cells, wherein boundary surfaces between adjacent cells are surrounded by grid lines of the grid, wherein at least one, preferably a plurality, of the boundary surfaces between adjacent cells is permeable to a fluid in order to form a flow path from cell to cell for the fluid.

2. The thermal store as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that at least one, preferably a plurality, of the boundary surfaces between adjacent cells is impermeable to the fluid.

3. The thermal store as claimed in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the thermal store includes structural elements (12), which form supports and/or girders in the basic framework (14) of the thermal store, which are arranged in the area of the grid lines of the grid and are connected to one another in the area of the grid points of the grid.

4. The thermal store as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the thermal store includes a plurality of modules (10), wherein the modules (10) each form a cell of the grid, wherein the modules (10) are arranged adjacent to one another and/or one over another and are connected to one another in such a way that they form the basic framework and/or parts of the basic framework (14) of the thermal store.

5. The thermal store as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the thermal store includes a filling with a thermal storage material, which is designed as a bulk material and/or lining through which the fluid can flow.

6. The thermal store as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the boundary surfaces permeable to the fluid and abutting one another are open, in particular wherein the filling forms a continuous bulk material and/or lining uninterrupted by the open boundary surfaces.

7. The thermal store as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a part of the abutting boundary surfaces is not permeable to the fluid in order to preset a flow path through the thermal store for the fluid.

8. The thermal store as claimed in claim 7, characterized in that the boundary surfaces not permeable to the fluid include intermediate walls and/or intermediate floors.

9. The thermal store as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the boundary surfaces are rectangular, in particular wherein the cells are cuboid.

10. The thermal store as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the cells have identical dimensions.

11. The thermal store as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the individual modules (10) include structural elements (12) in the area of their edges, which structural elements form supports and/or girders in the basic framework (14) of the thermal store and are arranged in the area of the grid lines of the grid.

12. A method for providing a thermal store, in particular a thermal store as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein initially a plurality of modules (10) and/or structural elements (12) of the basic framework (14), in particular supports and/or girders, are prefinished and then transported to the installation location of the thermal store and arranged adjacent to one another and/or one over another and connected to one another there, so that they form a basic framework (14) of the thermal store.

13. The method as claimed in claim 12, characterized in that the thermal store is filled with a thermal storage medium after connecting the modules (10).

14. The method as claimed in one of claim 12 or 13, characterized in that modules (10), structural elements (12), floors, ceilings (20), outer walls, intermediate walls, and/or intermediate floors compatible with one another are prefinished in dimensions already defined before the planning of the specific thermal store to be provided and in particular are stocked already before the planning of the specific thermal store to be provided, wherein to provide the thermal store, modules (10), structural elements (12), floors, ceilings, outer walls, intermediate walls, and/or intermediate floors are selected from the modules (10), structural elements (12), floors, ceilings, outer walls, intermediate walls, and/or intermediate floors which are prefinished and in particular already stocked before the planning of the specific thermal store to be provided and are used to construct the thermal store.

Description

[0037] FIG. 1 shows a basic framework of a thermal store of the type under discussion in the form of a three-dimensional grid

[0038] FIG. 2 shows an exemplary module and further exemplary parts of an exemplary thermal store

[0039] FIG. 3 shows a schematic illustration of exemplary variants of different flow paths which are implementable in thermal stores having identical basic frameworks.

[0040] The thermal store schematically shown in FIG. 1 includes a basic framework 14. The basic framework 14 has the form of a three-dimensional grid. The grid lines surround boundary surfaces between adjacent cells here. The basic framework is formed by structural elements 12, which define the grid lines of the grid as supports and/or girders in the basic framework 14.

[0041] The structural elements 12 of the basic framework and/or the modules 10 can be supplemented by intermediate walls, floors, intermediate floors, walls, and ceilings of the thermal store. These can be arranged on the boundary surfaces between the cells of the grid structure of the thermal store. The boundary surfaces between the cells can, as in the example shown, be defined by the open surface sides, framed by the structural elements 12, of the cells, which surface sides form the six sides of the cuboids, the basic shape of the exemplary cells of the grid. The cuboid cells thus formed form an expandable cell structure of the thermal store in this way.

[0042] The partition walls 18 and ceilings 20 shown by way of example in FIG. 2 can be used to implement intermediate floors, intermediate walls, outer walls, ceilings, and floors of the thermal store. Where corresponding partition walls 18 are provided as intermediate walls or corresponding ceilings 20 are provided as intermediate floors in the area of the boundary surfaces between adjacent cells, since they are not permeable to the fluid, these form boundaries of the flow path of the fluid through the thermal store. In this way, the through flow path through the thermal store may be defined by the positioning or by the addition or omission of the partition walls 18 at individual boundary surfaces.

[0043] The exemplary thermal store can include a plurality of exemplary modules 10, which each define individual cells of the grid or are constructed therefrom. An exemplary module 10 is depicted in FIG. 2. The exemplary module 10 includes structural elements 12, which are arranged along the edges of the module 10. The structural elements 12 of the module 10 can form a basic framework 14 of the thermal store in the form of a three-dimensional grid, as can be seen in FIG. 1, for example. Such a basic framework 14 of the thermal store can be formed in particular from a plurality of modules 10.

[0044] As in the example shown, the store can include additional girder elements 16 in the area of the ceilings, floors, and/or intermediate floors. For the purposes of the exemplary illustration of these girder elements, a part of the ceiling 20 used as a floor or intermediate floor is cut away in the illustration. Loads, for example exerted by a heat transfer medium which forms a filler of the thermal store, can be absorbed by the girder elements 16. However, the lower sides of the modules 10, which are only reinforced by the girder elements 16, preferably initially remain permeable to a fluid which flows through the thermal store, as long as, for example as shown, a ceiling 20 is not arranged to form a floor and/or intermediate floor in the area of the lower side of the module.

[0045] Different flow paths are shown by way of example in FIG. 3, which may be implemented by means of the basic framework 14 schematically shown in FIG. 1, which may be implemented, for example, with a total of 18 of the modules 10. In the case shown in FIG. 3A, there is flow through adjacent cells in the direction Z in each case. No partition walls 18 are provided at the boundary surfaces orthogonal to the direction Z between these cells. In this way, these boundary surfaces are permeable to the fluid. All other boundary surfaces between cells include partition walls 18 or ceilings 20. In this way, nine “channels” result, which are oriented in the Z direction and are independent from one another, through which flow can take place through the thermal store formed from its surface sides oriented in the direction Z. For this purpose, corresponding distributor devices for the fluid or collecting devices for the fluid can be provided at the entry or exit surfaces for the fluid facing in or counter to the direction Z.

[0046] In the case of the through-flow pattern shown in FIG. 3B, the boundary surfaces orthogonal to the direction X between cells are also permeable to the fluid. In comparison to FIG. 3A, only three “channels”, which are separate from one another and can each have flow through them, are thus formed, which each extend over one complete level of the thermal store shown by way of example.

[0047] In FIG. 3C, a flow path is shown by way of example, in which the fluid can flow through a part of the boundary surfaces orthogonal to the direction Z between adjacent cells. In this case, it is thus made possible for the flow to be guided in an S-shape initially through the lowermost level, then in the opposite direction through the middle level, and finally in the same flow direction as in the lowermost level through the uppermost level of the cell structure, schematically shown in FIG. 1, of the thermal store.

[0048] In FIG. 3D, the cells of the thermal store form by way of example nine individual channels which can have flow through them in the direction Z, thus vertically. In this case, all boundary surfaces orthogonal to the direction X or Y between adjacent cells of the grid are impermeable to the fluid. Only the boundary surfaces orthogonal to the direction Z between adjacent cells are permeable to the fluid.

[0049] In the schematic through-flow shown in FIG. 3E, in comparison to the flow pattern in FIG. 3D, the boundary surfaces orthogonal to the horizontal direction Y between adjacent cells of the grid are additionally permeable to the fluid. Such a cell structure can have flow through it in three channels through which flow can take place independently of one another, which have the form of vertically oriented “disks”, for example in the manner shown in FIG. 3B, namely in the direction Y.

[0050] A further example of an S-shaped flow through the basic framework 14 shown by way of example in FIG. 1 is shown in FIG. 3F. This may be implemented if in the case of the grid shown in FIG. 1, a part of the boundary surfaces orthogonal to the direction X between adjacent cells of the grid is permeable to the fluid. The other part of the boundary surfaces orthogonal to the direction X can then be made impermeable to the fluid by means of partition walls 18, for example, so that the S-shaped course of the flow is preset or forced.

[0051] The features of the invention disclosed in the present description, in the drawings, and in the claims can be essential both individually and also in any combinations for the implementation of the invention in its various embodiments. The invention is not restricted to the described embodiments. It can be varied in the scope of the claims and in consideration of the knowledge of the relevant person skilled in the art.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

[0052] 10 module [0053] 12 structural elements [0054] 14 basic framework [0055] 16 girder element [0056] 18 partition walls [0057] 20 ceilings [0058] 22 cell structure [0059] X horizontal direction [0060] Y vertical direction [0061] Z horizontal direction