Heat transfer in molten salts for alternative thermal energy technologies

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In our carbon-constrained world, developing efficient, safe, reliable, and inexpensive carbon-free energy technologies is the most pressing engineering challenge of our time. Major economies are increasingly investing in developing breakthrough clean energy technologies in order to increase the probability of mitigating catastrophic events resulting from greenhouse gas emissions. Carbon-free thermal energy sources using conversion technologies with high temperature heat transfer fluids (>400°C) are potential alternatives that could achieve high heat engine efficiencies. Molten salt energy technologies, in particular, are promising options that have recently demonstrated competitive levelized costs of electricity (LCOE). Molten salts have attracted significant interest in both the solar and nuclear communities for their high operating temperatures and heat capacities, low costs, and neutronics. Example applications include solar-thermal energy technologies with thermal energy storage, Generation IV nuclear reactors, and salt-cooled fusion reactors. My research group is committed to overcoming the remaining technical challenges in these alternative energy technologies that will enable their commercialization. The research program proposed for this Discovery Grant (DG) builds on my expertise in molten salts and recent breakthroughs in molten salt energy technologies. I have recently collaborated on commissioning the world's first direct absorption molten-salt volumetric solar receiver/storage system, which has attracted major potential investors. My thermal analyses and scientific discoveries have led to significant design modifications and performance enhancements. This research program will build on this recent progress and will focus on advancing our understanding of the mechanisms governing volumetric heat absorption and heat transfer in molten salts. Within this DG, we will carry out rigorous experimental research and develop innovative diagnostic techniques in molten salts. Discovering the underlying mechanisms will facilitate better predictions and improved analytical models for rapid and reliable design calculations. Optimized designs will improve decay heat removal in accident scenarios, enhance solar absorption, and will remove the need for auxiliary mixing mechanisms by relying solely on passive mixing for new groundbreaking solar-thermal and nuclear reactor technologies. This in turn will facilitate the licensing of Canada's next generation of advanced alternative energy technologies. This program will also offer exciting opportunities to train a diverse group of highly qualified and creative researchers. The four PhD, three MEng, and five UG students participating in this DG program will become experts in state-of-the-art experimental and computational heat transfer methods, will develop new cutting edge techniques, and will collaborate with other research groups. Through this program, these pioneers will become leaders in their fields.