Applied Energy 288 (2021) 116650

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Applied Energy
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/apenergy

Carnot battery: Simulation and design of a reversible heat pump-organic

Rankine cycle pilot plant
Bernd Eppinger a, 1, Daniel Steger b, 1, *, Christoph Regensburger b, Jürgen Karl c,
Eberhard Schlücker b, Stefan Will a
a
Institute of Engineering Thermodynamics (LTT), Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), Am Weichselgarten 8, 91058 Erlangen, Germany
b
Institute of Process Machinery and Systems Engineering, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), Cauerstraße 4, 91058 Erlangen, Germany
c
Chair of Energy Process Engineering, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), Fürther Straße 244f, 90429 Nürnberg, Germany

H I G H L I G H T S

• The process of simulation and design of a Carnot Battery pilot plant is shown.
• The concept of reversible heat pump - organic Rankine cycle is studied.
• A Matlab model is developed to simulate and optimize the process.
• A suitable working fluid and apparatuses for the pilot plant are selected.
• The pilot plant was engineered using P&ID and CAD-model.

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: The steady growing demand of further storage capacity for the compensation of the daily fluctuations of
Carnot battery renewable energies in national energy grids requires the development of new scalable energy storages. Pumped
PTES Thermal Energy Storages (PTES) like reversible heat pump - organic Rankine cycle systems are a possible
Process simulation
candidate for this. In this work, the complete process from initial cycle design and fluid selection to the
CAD
component selection and CAD work of the demonstrator is shown. For the simulation of the cycles, a stationary
Reversible heat pump – organic Rankine cycle
Matlab model was used. A screening of various suitable fluids was performed and four promising fluids were
selected for further investigation. Out of these four fluids, R1233zd(E) was selected as final candidate for the
demonstrator. The simulated power-to-power efficiency (ηP2P ) of the system reaches up to 59% for the design
case. With the simulated data, the apparatus selection was performed and a CAD model was developed to build
the demonstrator as a laboratory scale plant with 14.7 kW electrical compressor power.

1. Introduction temperature heat pump to increase the temperature of a storage medium

The increasing ratio of renewable energy is as challenging as it is
pleasing [1]. Especially the fluctuating character of the production of
wind and PV requires research and development in storage systems and
networks [2]. To match the wide spread requirements of energy storages
regarding flexibility, location, cycle stability, storage duration or scal­
ability, a technological mix is required [3]. A mid-term storage concept
for huge amounts of energy is the Pumped Thermal Energy Storage, as
well known as Carnot Battery [4–5]. The concept combines a high
(water, molten salt, etc.) using surplus electrical energy and waste heat
[6–7]. The thermal energy can be stored over several hours up to a few
days without generating considerable losses or losing the required
temperature levels [8–9]. In case of need, an organic Rankine cycle
converts the stored high temperature heat back to electrical energy with
a power-to-power efficiencies of around 50–70% for average scenarios
[4] and up to 120% with optimal boundary conditions [10].(See
Table 1)
With a high variety of boundary conditions available, many different

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: Daniel.Steger@fau.de (D. Steger).
1
Equal contribution.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2021.116650
Received 13 November 2020; Received in revised form 9 February 2021; Accepted 10 February 2021
Available online 18 February 2021
0306-2619/© 2021 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
B. Eppinger et al. Applied Energy 288 (2021) 116650

Table 1 the requirements. As shown in Fig. 1 the basic principle of the heat pump
Overview of the boundary conditions. process is upgrading the low temperature heat from the heat source
Parameter Abbreviation Value Unit (Heatsource) by using excess electricity from renewable energies (Input
Power). The upgraded heat is then stored in the thermal energy storage
heat pump evaporation temperature t1 75 ◦
C
(Thermal Storage). Later when it is required the stored thermal energy is
ORC condensation temperature t16 30 ◦
C
discharged via the ORC and a part of the initially used excess electricity
sensible storage maximum temperature tsensible,max 120 ◦
C
can be converted back to power (Output Power). The low temperature
sensible storage minimum temperature tsensible,min 90 ◦
C
heat, which is also generated by condensing the working fluid of the
temperature losses in tubes ΔTtube 0 K
ORC, is released to the environment. Ongoing from this first definition of
heat pump evaporator superheating temperature ΔTHP,sup 0 K
boundaries the further details of the processes could be developed in the
heat pump sub-cooling temperature ΔTHP,sub 0 K
Matlab model.
ORC evaporator superheating temperature ΔTORC,sup 0 K
ORC sub-cooling temperature ΔTORC,sub 0 K
pinch point HP evaporator ΔTHP,evap 5 K 2.1. Matlab model
pinch point HP condenser ΔTHP,cond 5 K
pinch point ORC evaporator ΔTORC,evap 5 K The stationary model used is based on Matlab® code with integration
pinch point ORC condenser ΔTORC,cond 5 K of the fluid data from REFPROP 10.0. Additionally, a second model was
pinch point internal heat exchanger ΔTIHX 5 K
built in Dymola® to provide verification of the accuracy of the Matlab
pressure loss heat exchangers ΔpHTX 0 bar
model, due to its non-commercial nature, for singular points of interest
pressure loss tubes Δptube 0 bar
in static state. Both models use the fluid data from REFPROP 10.0 and
isentropic compressor efficiency ηs,comp 70 %
deliver identical values for the processes. A schematic of the PTES is
isentropic expander efficiency ηs,exp 70 %
provided in Fig. 2 and Fig. 3. Both sub-cycles, the heat pump and the
isentropic pump efficiency ηs,pump 80 %
ORC, are parameterized separately with boundary conditions and linked
electrical efficiency motor ηel,m 95 %
via the storage temperature profile. The matching of these three sub-
electrical efficiency generator ηel,gen 95 %
processes, is achieved in the Matlab model in the following order: the
first step is an iteration to optimize the pinch-points of the heat pump
storage efficiency ηst 100 %
condenser to the fixed storage temperature curve, which includes
consideration of the internal heat exchanger. In the next step, the ORC
concepts of Carnot batteries have been developed by now [11]. One evaporator is matched - with its singular pinch-point - to the storage
version of the concept combines both the processes in one reversible, temperature curve.
using suitable parts reversibly (Reversible Heat-Pump organic Rankine
cycle), while other versions implement Brayton cycles for the charging 2.2. Modelling the heat pump
and discharging process [7]. Those Brayton based systems mostly focus
on a much higher storage temperature (>300 ◦ C) [12] and often have a The heat pump cycle is the first step in the complete system. It
hot and a cold storage [13–14]. This paper focusses on low temperature consists of a heat exchanger for evaporation (8 → 1) of the working fluid
and simple storage systems, and therefore, the Rankine versions of by means of the heat source. After evaporation, the working fluid is
Carnot Batteries are analyzed. Several approaches for this concept are superheated in the internal heat exchanger (1 → 2) before being com­
studied and published containing reviews [11,15–16], simulations pressed to the target pressure in the compressor (2 → 3). The compressor
[5–6,17] and test setups for (reversible) machines [18]. Still the authors is assumed with an isentropic efficiency ηs,comp of 0.7 and an electrical
are not aware of the existence of a publication showing the whole pro­ power consumption of PHP,el . At the compression endpoint, the working
cess from setting the boundary conditions and performing simulations fluid is in a superheated state and gets de-superheated, condensed and
over planning a pilot plant and doing the apparatus selection up to subcooled in the storage heat exchanger (3 → 6). The already subcooled
running test campaigns and evaluating the system. This work wants to fluid is further cooled in the internal heat exchanger (6 → 7) before it is
close this gap starting with this paper focusing on the boundary condi­ brought back to the lower pressure state by the isenthalpic throttle (7 →
tions, simulations, apparatus selection and pilot plant design. 8). The efficiency of the heat pump COP can be determined by:

2. Material and methods COP =

ṁ*(h3 − h2 )
(1)
PHP,el
The first steps in the process of planning and building the plant is the
visualization of the basic process to generate a simulation according to 2.3. Modelling the ORC

The organic Rankine cycle uses heat from the heat storage to evap

Fig. 2. Schematic of the heat pump process (a) and the ORC (b) for a dry fluid
Fig. 1. Schematic energy flow of the Carnot battery. with a visualization of the storage temperature curve.

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B. Eppinger et al. Applied Energy 288 (2021) 116650

exchanger to prevent a compression-end inside the two-phase region.

This is especially important for a compressor with a high isentropic ef­
ficiency or is for dry fluids an issue. The chosen fluid R1233zd(E) is
slightly dry and the compressor with an assumed isentropic efficiency of
0.7 reduces this risk. Without this restraint the design choice is a tradeoff
between ORC and HP efficiency, with a higher storage temperature
leading to a higher ORC efficiency and a lower storage temperature
leading to a higher COP. An optimization problem in this case is the
influence of the storage temperature combined with the offset temper­
ature of the supporting heat source. This can be seen in Fig. 4 for an
idealistic cycle with a waste heat temperature of 80 ◦ C, an ORC
condensation temperature t16 of 30 ◦ C, different exergetic efficiencies
for the sub processes of 100%, 75% and 50% and a varying storage
temperature Tst .

Fig. 3. Setup of the heat pump process (a) and the ORC (b) with matching state 2.5. Modelling the heat storage
points to Fig. 2.
The storage visualized above is a sensible heat storage. Since the
orate the working fluid in the evaporator (11 → 13); the evaporation storage medium is in a liquid state, in this case water, the medium can be
temperature is therefore below the upper storage temperature and, directly used as heat transfer medium without additional exergy losses
depending on the fluid, in most cases above the lower storage temper­ caused by heat transfer induced temperature gradients.
ature. In this study superheating is not considered in the simulation due The capacity of a fixed volume of fluid is defined by its heat capacity
to the decrease in the efficiency of the ORC and ηP2P . The saturated vapor and the temperature difference of the charged and discharged state. This
is then expanded in a working machine (13 → 14) with an assumed is expressed in the simple equation
isentropic efficiency ηs,exp of 0.7. The superheated vapor is then cooled in
Q = ρ*V*cp *(Thot − Tcold ) (4)
the internal heat exchanger (14 → 15) before it is condensed in the
condenser (15 → 9). By increasing the pressure in the feed pump (9 → While the heat capacity is increasing with higher temperatures, the
10) the fluid is then preheated in the internal heat exchanger (10 → 11) reduction in density is slightly overpowering the effect leading to a
before it enters the storage heat exchanger. For the efficiency of the ORC slight decrease of the storage capacity at higher temperatures for water.
ηORC the following formula is used: This effect is displayed in table 2. Other fluids can have different
properties.
PORC,el − PFP,el
ηORC = (2) The far superior effect is the difference of the hot and cold state of the
ṁ*(h13 − h11 )
storage. The lower storage temperature should be above the tempera­
With formula 1 and 2 it is possible to calculate the ηP2P efficiency ηP2P ture of the waste heat source. Otherwise, the direct use of the heat source
by multiplying both efficiencies with the storage efficiency ηst , which is seems obvious. In situations like a fluctuating heat source or after
in this case assumed with a value of 1 and can be neglected. maintenance, the storage temperature drops below the heat source
temperature. The recovery of the lower storage temperature is achieved
ηP2P = ηORC *ηst *COP (3)
by simply preheating the storage through the heat source.
An optimization process to find the optimal conditions is described in
2.4. Boundary conditions depth in [19]. As a general assumption, it is easier to vary the upper
storage limit, to increase the capacity of a sensible heat storage. While an
For the simulation a set of boundary conditions has to be assumed. As increase of the upper storage temperature increases the storage capacity,
already stated both working machines are assumed with an isentropic it also lowers the process efficiency. The optimization of this compro­
efficiency of 0.7, due to the fact that in the HP and the ORC different mise between efficiency and capacity is complex. Independently, the
pressure ratios occur it is challenging to use the same working machine
for both cases, even when the kind of machine allows it in general.
With a heat source in a low temperature range under 100 ◦ C it is
possible to achieve an improvement regarding both COP and ηP2P . The
heat source temperature in this case is indirectly determined by the
evaporation temperature t1 of the HP, this is set to 75 ◦ C and, depending
on the heat exchanger, requires an entry temperature of the heat source
of 80–85 ◦ C. Higher temperatures are also possible with lower mass
flows or smaller required heat exchangers. The ambient temperature for
the condenser of the ORC is the second relevant temperature. In this case
the condensation temperature of the ORC t16 is assumed to be 30 ◦ C. The
ambient temperature has to be below that value with a pinch point
depending on the exact heat exchanger chosen as condenser for the ORC.
In regard to the chosen working fluid, it is possible to optimize the cycle.
With two parameters fixed, the heat source temperature and the heat
sink temperature, the point with the biggest impact on the cycle layout is
the storage temperature. With a lower and an upper storage tempera­
ture, tsensible,min and tsensible,max , this not only defines the storage capacity
but also the condensation respectively evaporation temperature of both
cycles. In general, the sub cooling of the HP-process in the storage heat Fig. 4. Influence of storage temperature Tst on the ηP2P efficiency of an idealized
exchanger is limited by the required super heating in the internal heat system with different exergetic efficiencies of the sub-processes.

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B. Eppinger et al. Applied Energy 288 (2021) 116650

Table 2
Energy storage density for varying temperatures and constant pressure and
volume.
Temperature Density heat capacity cp Specific energy density Q /
V∙ΔT

80 ◦ C 972,03 kg/ 4,1944 kJ/ 4077,1 kJ/m3K

m3 (kgK)
110 ◦ C 951,17 kg/ 4,2293 kJ/ 4022,8 kJ/m3K
m3 (kgK)
140 ◦ C 926,26 kg/ 4,2853 kJ/ 3969,3 kJ/m3K
m3 (kgK)

addition of storage volume increases the storage capacity with no hit on

the efficiency but higher investment costs.

3. Results of simulation

3.1. Fluid selection

Fig. 5. Compression end temperature t2 for various fluids over the ORC
The selection of the correct working fluid is next to the goal of
condensation pressure p9 with labeling of the four selected fluids.
maximum performance a question of feasibility. Besides the impact on
the environment, the feasibility is determined by the cycle parameters,
with two of them being the condensation temperature and pressure in
the ORC and the maximum temperature in the HP cycle. Out of the wide
variety of fluids that are available in the REFPROP database and were
investigated, four were selected for a closer look, see Table 3. These four
provide a wide spectrum of different properties like the slope and width
of the two-phase region, normal boiling point and critical temperature.
Other often studied fluids like R245fa, R1234ze(Z), R1336mzz(Z) or
pentane [20] have a similar performance, but did not deliver any overall
benefit. R245fa has an almost identical performance as R1233zd(E) but
with the drawback of a much higher GWP. R1234ze(Z) was not avail­
able, R1336mzz(Z) is very similar to R1233zd(E) but with a higher
normal boiling point and pentane was less often studied in regard to
commercial applications than cyclopentane. A more detailed analysis of
possible working fluids was carried out in an earlier publication [6].
All of the selected fluids have a close to zero Ozone Depletion Po­
tential (ODP) and except of R365mfc a low GWP of 1 or less. Cyclo­
pentane and R365mfc are flammable which is a drawback compared to
Novec 649 and R1233zd(E). Novec 649 has the lowest evaporation
enthalpy and the steepest slope of its two-phase region.
Fig. 6. Compression end temperature t2 for various fluids over the power-to-
power efficiency ηP2P with labeling of the four selected fluids.
3.1.1. Compression end temperature
A limitation for building the test plant is the maximum allowed
temperature for the compressor and its lubrication. The maximum cyclopentane on the second place followed from R1233zd(E) as third
temperature occurs at the end of the compression with t2 . With an and Novec 649 as least efficient fluid.
increasing upper storage temperature tsensible,max the compression end
temperature rises as well. A maximum temperature of about 140 ◦ C for 3.1.3. Cycle optimization
t2 was chosen to enable a wider variety of working machines and For optimization of the system, it is critical to define a parameter to
lubrication options. The condensation pressure shall be above ambient be optimized. In this case the possible parameters are storage density
pressure to ease the operation. The compression end temperature and and ηP2P . Both are linked with the storage temperatures tsensible,min and
the condensation pressure of a wide variety of fluids is shown in Fig. 5. tsensible,max . Increasing the storage temperatures reduces ηP2P as shown in
Fig. 4, while with a wider spread between tsensible,min and tsensible,max the
3.1.2. Performance storage capacity increases nearly linearly. Without a possibility to weigh
The performance of the different fluids is comparable with a up both parameters directly with each other, it is necessary to choose a
maximum deviation of less than 5 percentage points of ηP2P , see Fig. 6. compromise that neither the storage capacity nor the ηP2P has too much
From the four selected fluids, R365mfc has the highest ηP2P with negative influence. In previous works this multiobjective design has also

Table 3
Fluid selection (main fluids studied) [19,24–26].
GWP ODP Flammability Toxicity Tcrit pcrit

Cyclopentane <0.1 0 Highly flammable no 511.72 K 4.58 MPa

R365mfc 794 0 Flammable no 460 K 3.26 MPa
Novec 649 1 0 No slightly toxic 441.81 K 1.87 MPa
R1233zd(E) 1 0.00034 No slightly toxic 438.75 K 3.57 MPa

4
B. Eppinger et al.
been discussed [20] As shown in the fluid discussion the efficiency is
also influenced by the fluid choice and is therefore a matter of other fluid
properties. To simplify the demonstration rig requirements as far as
possible, the flammability was regarded with a higher value and the
condensation pressure should be over the ambient pressure. Therefore,
the fluid of choice is R1233zd(E) with a drawback of about 1.3 per­
centage points against R365mfc in efficiency. Limited by the 140 ◦ C
compression end temperature t2 the upper storage temperature was set
to 120 ◦ C and the lower storage temperature to 90 ◦ C. The lower storage
temperature is set close to the heat source temperature; a lower value
would be inefficient because of the possibility to load directly the stor­
age with the heat source. Increasing the upper storage temperature to
130 ◦ C would result in a compression end temperature of 147 ◦ C, a
decrease of 4 percentage points in ηP2P and an increase in the storage
capacity of over 30%. The final cycle can be seen in Fig. 7 and Fig. 8. It is
yet to mention, that besides this process-based optimization another
very important objective must be considered: it was found out, that the
trade-off between efficiency and cost is even more critical than that
between efficiency and energy density [21]. (See Fig. 9)
4. Design of the pilot plant
4.1. Apparatus selection
A main advantage of the combination of heat pump cycle and organic
Rankine cycle is the possibility to use some of the main components
reversibly in both processes and save investment costs. This requires a
carful apparatus selection procedure that takes into account the
different operating points. Finally, an acceptable trade-off between ef­
ficiency and costs should be found. This section describes the approach
of apparatus selection for the regarded pilot plant.
4.1.1. Reversible compressor and expander
Promising as well as challenging is the reversible use of a single
machine to operate as compressor and as expander according to the
mode. As one of the main and expensive components, the potential in
saving investment costs is huge. As stated in [21] the ORC-expander is
often the most expensive single part of a Carnot Battery system. The
combination of a pressure-increasing and a pressure-decreasing device
by change of direction might be obvious. Still the operation conditions,
given in table 4, uncover further challenges. The mass flow (as well as
volume flow) differs substantially, what leads to a difference in the
apparatus’ operating frequency and power. Even though the pressure
levels distinguish, it might not be a huge problem as they do not reach
the upper limit of a typical machine. In contrast the different pressure
Fig. 7. t-q-diagram of the storage heat exchanger with heat pump and ORC.
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Applied Energy 288 (2021) 116650
ratios is an issue, depending on the working principle.
There are several working principles applicable for a reversible use,
many works discussed the pro and cons [22]. In general, volumetric
machines are favorable. There is a fixed built-in volume-ratio, which
will not fit perfectly for both operating modes; still the geometry is
suitable for reversible use.
Being a main challenge in the combination of a heat pump cycle and
an organic Rankine cycle the reversible machine is of special scientific
interest and will be studied further. Hence, two separate machines are
selected for the pilot plant: A piston compressor to adjust the heat pump
operation and a twin-screw machine as ORC-expander,which will be
studied as a HP-compressor in additional test programs to investigate
the reversible use.
4.1.2. Reversible heat exchanger
Besides the machine, the heat exchangers are the most expensive part
of both the heat pump cycle and the organic Rankine cycle. The heat
exchangers’ costs make up one half of the total costs of each cycle (heat
storage excluded) with an increasing ratio for higher efficiency, espe­
cially in the HP-case [21]. A reversible use of a heat exchanger as
evaporator and condenser is possible and offers a huge potential in
saving investment costs. Compared to the challenges selecting a com­
bined compressor-expander-unit, it is much easier to combine the
different tasks of heat exchangers at first glance. Table 5 gives the de­
mands of the reversible heat exchangers.
Looking at the demands, the heat transfer rate is similar, which en­
ables a straightforward selection of the apparatus. Still the difference is
in the details, and some more reflections are necessary. Because of
different temperatures and pressures at condensation and evaporation,
the filling of the apparatus in steady state with fluid is different.
Therefore, the amount of working fluid must be adapted to the mode.
Inlet conditions (especially the liquid–vapor-quality) of condenser and
evaporator potentially make special inlet geometries necessary. Because
these may not fit for the other case, an optimization might not be
possible as in non-reversible use.
Equally to the machine selection, the heat exchangers cannot be
exactly chosen like designed. Still some experimental experience is
necessary to improve the selection of a reversible heat exchanger in
future. For the pilot plant, three plate heat exchangers are selected after
close consultation with the manufacturer.
4.1.3. Pump and valves
Besides compressor, expander and heat exchangers the HP throttle
valve and the ORC pump are the final components to complete the two
cycles. Table 6 gives the design values.
To throttle the working fluid behind the HP-condenser, a needle
valve is suitable. Besides the requirements concerning pressure and
temperature levels, a main design aspect is the change of state into the
liquid–vapor-area. A pneumatic drive adjusts the pressure levels for
several test runs accordingly.
The pump generates the upper pressure level in the organic Rankine
cycle before the liquid is evaporated. Still the fluid in the pump is close
to its evaporation point, so cavitation is an issue during apparatus se­
lection. Therefore, a rotary pump with low-NPSHA impeller design is
used.
4.1.4. Piping configuration
The procedure of piping configuration consists of diameter calcula­
tion according to the different volume flows, wall thickness calculation
according to physical and thermal stresses and the geometrical layout of
the pipes to connect the several apparatuses including fittings, ball
valves and compensators. It follows the specific relevant standards. This
step of plant design works iteratively with the layout plan (e.g. CAD-
model) as the position of the components is crucial.
Subsequently the piping length and the fluid mass can be derived
thereof (see table 7).
B. Eppinger et al. Applied Energy 288 (2021) 116650

Fig. 8. t-s-diagram of R1233zd(E) with heat pump and ORC for a storage between 90 ◦ C and 120 ◦ C.

Fig. 9. Simplified P&ID of the reversible HP-ORC pilot plant (1) with heat supply (2) and heat storage cycle (3) (K: compressor, E: expander, P: ORC-pump, V: HP-
throttle valve, HEX: heat exchanger, BC: collector, BS: oil separator, H: electric heater).

This shows again the difference in details of both the processes:

Table 4
concerning the pipes the most important issues are the different tem­
Reversible compressor and expander.
peratures and pressures and thus different fluid densities. It leads to a
Value HP-compressor ORC-expander misalignment of fluid mass that sums up for all pipes resulting in a
Mass flow 0.503 kg/s 0.386 kg/s difference that must be considered. An additional fluid vessel allows
Pressure inlet 0.581 MPa 0.913 MPa adjusting the right amount of fluid mass to the system for both operation
Pressure outlet 1.638 MPa 0.155 MPa
modes.
Pressure ratio 2.82 5.91
Temperature inlet 90 ◦ C 94 ◦ C
Temperature outlet 137.05 ◦ C 51.02 ◦ C 4.1.5. Sensible thermal water storage
Power 14.67 kW 9.2 kW The operation point of the sensible thermal storage system is defined
in cooperation with the HP-ORC process simulations. Considering the
process efficiency, the impact on the machinery and the thermal storage

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B. Eppinger et al. Applied Energy 288 (2021) 116650

Table 5 geometrical footprint in the laboratory. The two thermal storage system
Reversible Heat Exchangers HEX 1 and HEX 3. enables measurements of additional effects, considering the load shift
Value HEX 3 (HP) HEX 3 (ORC) HEX 1 (HP) HEX 1 (ORC) from one thermal storage to the next in multi-storage systems.
Furthermore, different thermal storage designs can be explored.
Type Evaporator Condenser Condenser Evaporator
Mass flow 0.503 kg/s 0.386 kg/s 0.503 kg/s 0.386 kg/s
Pressure 0.581 MPa 0.155 MPa 1.638 MPa 0.913 MPa 4.1.6. Metrology, automatisation and safety
Temperature inlet 78.9 ◦ C 35.7 ◦ C 137.5 ◦ C 41.6 ◦ C The pilot plant is equipped with a programmable logic controller
Temperature 79.3 ◦ C 28 ◦ C 95 ◦ C 97.5 ◦ C (PLC) containing different sensors and actors. This enables an autono­
outlet
Fluid mass 8.4 kg 9.5 kg 12.1 kg 11.9 kg
mous change of operating modes as well as a manual graphical user
Area 9.09 m2 9.09 m2 9.42 m2 9.42 m2 interface to study special set points. Furthermore, it ensures a safe
Heat transfer rate 73.55 kW 75.92 kW 89.55 kW 84.11 kW operation and an emergency shutdown if necessary.
Heat flux 8.1 kW/m2 8.4 kW/m2 9.5 kW/m2 8.92 kW/m2 The pneumatic ball valves are controlled via solenoid valves to set
the right path. Frequency converters are attached to the motors of the
pumps and the compressor to vary the rotational speed. A special
Table 6 regenerative frequency converter is attached to the expander to change
HP throttle valve and ORC pump. between motor and generator mode.
Value Throttle valve ORC pump Several temperature sensors (PT100 and thermocouples), pressure
transmitters and volume flow meters indicate the fluid properties at
Type Needle valve Centrifugal pump
Mass flow 0.503 kg/s 0.386 kg/s essential points in the processes.
Pressure inlet 1.638 MPa 0.155 MPa For redundant safety purposes, a housing covers the pilot plant,
Pressure outlet 0.581 MPa 0.913 MPa which prevents the environment from noise, leaking vapor, heat and
Temperature inlet 84.3 ◦ C 30 ◦ C other physical harms.
Temperature outlet 75 ◦ C 31 ◦ C
Power Isenthalpic 0.3 kW

4.2. P&ID development

Table 7
A major step in the plant design is the development of a detailed
Piping examples.
piping and instrumentation diagram (P&ID). Based on the simulation
Value Pipe 1 (HP) Pipe 1 (ORC)
results and the data from the apparatus selection it shows an overview of
Max. pressure 1.638 MPa 0.913 MPa the process and works as blueprint for the pilot plant. Fig. 8 gives a
Max. volume flow 0.006 m3/s 0.008 m3/s slightly simplified P&ID. Three areas may be distinguished: the revers­
Max. temperature 137 ◦ C 94 ◦ C
Nominal diameter DN 20 DN 20
ible heat pump – organic Rankine cycle (1), the heat supply part (2) and
Wall thickness 1.6 mm 1.6 mm the heat storage cycle (3). They are connected via a heat and cold dis­
Pipe length 0.75 m 0.75 m tribution piping system.
Mass fluid 0.0230 kg 0.0134 kg The main cycle (1) consist of the compressor (K) and the expander
(E), three heat exchangers (HEX1: reversible condenser/expander,
HEX2, HEX3: reversible condenser/expander) and the ORC pump (P) as
capacity the temperature lift was defined as 30 K. Since the waste heat
well as the HP throttle valve (V). Ball valves are installed at certain
temperature is assumed to be 90 ◦ C the lower storage temperature has
positions to adapt to the different working modes. A bypass to the ma­
been defined as 90 ◦ C while the upper storage temperature results in
chines (K/E) is used for startup and emergency stop. There is a fluid
120 ◦ C.
vessel (BC) upstream of the throttle valve to balance the amount of fluid
The Carnot battery is designed to shift load from day to night.
at different operation points. As required, the pump fills or empties the
Therefore, the capacity should be high enough to operate eight to ten
vessel. The oil separator is placed downstream of the compressor and it
hours in order to meet the base load during the night. To simplify the
can be used for the expander as well, what is discussed already [23].
handling the pilot plant thermal storage was downsized. The thermal
Temperature sensors are installed before and after every crucial change
storage capacity is divided in two vessels. Data of the installed thermal
of state. Two pressure sensors measure downstream of the throttle valve
storage unit is displayed in table 8. The thermal storage capacity of 2x 4
and downstream of the compressor. A Coriolis mass flow meter is
m3 result in a short experiment time of 1,3h to 2,7h at 100 kW load. The
located downstream the pump respectively upstream the throttle valve,
higher maximum temperature and pressure of the system enable the
as here the volume flow and temperature are comparatively low with
testing of additional configurations up to 160 ◦ C.
nearly zero vapor quality. At two crucial points, safety valves limit the
This short duration of loading or unloading enables the testing of the
upper pressures, namely at the high-pressure side of the compressor
start-up and shutdown procedure, while the continuous load measure­
(pmax. = 20bar), because there is the highest pressure in the cycle, and
ments are cut short, but still provide enough data for evaluation. An
downstream of the heat pump evaporator (pmax. = 10bar) because here
additional benefit of the downscale is the smaller installation size and
the pressure must be limited due to the piping configuration (DN 50).
The second side of both the reversible heat exchangers is supplied
with heating or cooling respectively. To present the heat source, a heat
Table 8
Thermal storage system data. supply cycle is provided (2). The main apparatus here is the electric
water flow heater (H) with about 100 kW. In HP mode, it supplies the
Value Data
low temperature waste heat via heat exchanger HEX 3, and in ORC
Storage medium Water mode, it represents the hot thermal storage via heat exchanger HEX 1.
Max. system pressure 0.6 MPa
To realize the loading of the thermal water storage, the heat storage
Max. volume flow 0.0008 m3/s
Lower storage temperature 90 ◦ C cycle (3) is required to lift the cold side (heat storage side) of heat
Upper storage temperature 120 ◦ C exchanger HEX 1 up to the proper value (90 ◦ C) as the cooling water is
Max system temperature 160 ◦ C too cold. Cycle 3 works as an independent and responsive compensation
Storage volume 2x 4 m3 of a storage system, but it can be replaced by a hot water storage to
Storage capacity (ΔT = 30 K) 270 kWh
evaluate the interaction more in detail.

7
B. Eppinger et al.
4.3. CAD-Modelling
Computer-aided design (CAD) gives an opportunity to develop a
plant further, especially in terms of positioning the components and
optimizing spaces and piping. It also works as guideline to manufacture
and assemble parts of the plant.
Fig. 10 shows two virtual views of the reversible HP-ORC pilot plant.
The top view (a) again shows the three regimes of the pilot plant, namely
the reversible cycle itself (1), the heat supply (2) and the heat storage
cycle (3). The reversible HP-ORC is installed inside a cubic frame that
allows easy transport and is equipped with shock-resistant walls serves
as additional safety facility. The compressor and the expander are ar­
ranged at two levels at the front side. The backside contains the three
Fig. 10. CAD-models of the pilot plant as top view (a) and isometric view (b). It is C: compressor, E: expander, P: ORC-pump, V: HP-throttle valve, HEX: heat
exchanger, BC: collector, BS: oil separator, H: electric heater.
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Applied Energy 288 (2021) 116650
main heat exchangers. The ORC-pump and the HP-throttle valve
together with the fluid collector are positioned in between at the left.
The oil separation circuit is at the right. All components are finally
connected via pipes along optimized routes. Two different pipe di­
ameters appear: one larger (DN 50) for the low pressure vapor state and
another (DN 20) for the high-pressure vapor and the liquid states. The
heat supply cycle (2) is on the left, placed on a separate framework.
Besides the electric water flow heater with its control unit, it contains a
circulation pump and expansion tanks. Hot water hoses connect the side
regimes with the reversible cycle. The diameter of the pipes is DN 32. On
the right side there is the heat storage cycle consisting out of a heat
exchanger HEX4, a water pump and several ball valves mounted on a
separate framework as well. Just as before, the cycle is connected via hot
B. Eppinger et al.
water hoses. The supply with heating and cooling water happens via
four pipes located at the back of the reversible cycle. The test setup can
be enhanced easily by replacing cycle 3 by a hot water storage tank.
5. Discussion and conclusions
The development process of the Pumped Thermal Energy Storages
from first cycle simulations to the final CAD design had many challenges
regarding this new technology. The storage temperature had to be
adjusted several times to match the maximum possible compression end
temperature of the fluids and is a crucial element of the complete design.
In general, the choice of the storage temperature and the storage lift is
one of the most important design aspect since it connects both cycles and
affects the design therefore two times. Furthermore, the complexity and
cost of the storage tank itself is linked to the storage temperature and the
involved pressure of the storage medium water. This lead to a design
choice with 90 ◦ C to 120 ◦ C storage temperature, which improves the
power-to-power efficiency ηP2P , but lowers the energy density of the
storage. The electrical storage density is hereby impacted in both ways,
by the lower temperature lift and the lower Organic Rankine Cycle ef­
ficiency ηORC . The choice of the fluid R1233zd(E) enabled a design
without expensive vacuum sealing in the Organic Rankine Cycle process
and reduced the required size of the internal heat exchanger.
During the process design, further aspects result in the considered
case. For the reversible heat exchangers, the condenser mode has a
higher power density, leading to a special regard on this mode at
apparatus selection. There is a difference in mass for the two processes
contained in heat exchangers, pipes and other apparatuses with big
volumes. This requires a fluid vessel to compensate. No reversible
compressor-expander suitable for the considered case was found avail­
able on the market; still in the pilot plant, it is possible to test a setup
with separate compressor and expander units as well as the reversible
use of one (modified) machine. The pilot plant is in the commissioning
phase, the authors will publish further results subsequently.
CRediT authorship contribution statement
Bernd Eppinger: Conceptualization, Methodology, Software, Data
curation, Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing. Daniel
Steger: Conceptualization, Methodology, Formal analysis, Validation,
Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing. Christoph
Regensburger: Conceptualization. Jürgen Karl: Supervision, Project
administration, Funding acquisition. Eberhard Schlücker: Supervision,
Project administration, Funding acquisition. Stefan Will: Supervision,
Project administration, Funding acquisition.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
the work reported in this paper.
Acknowledgement
We would like to offer our special thanks to BITZER SE and SWEP
International AB for the support with products and to the Bayerische
Staatsregierung for financing the project within the Energie Campus
Nürnberg (EnCN) [grant number IX.6-F2421.4.0/22/31].
Appendix
The appendix contains a complete list of all fluids considered (Fig. 5
and Fig. 6).
Butene, Butane, Methylcyclohexane, cis-Butene, Propylcyclohexane,
Cyclohexane, Cyclopentane, D4, Diethyl ether, Dimethyl Carbonate,
Ethylbenzene, Heptane, Hexane, Isobutene, Isopentane, MD2M, MD3M,
9
Applied Energy 288 (2021) 116650
MDM, MM, m-Xylene, Neopentane, Novec 649, o-Xylene, Pentane, p-
Xylene, R113, R114, R123, R1233zd(E), R141b, R245ca, R245fa,
R365mfc, R347mcc, trans-Butene, Toluene
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