"Material Degradation in High Temperature Solar Thermal"
COE Seminar: Friday, Oct. 28, 3PM, Roberts 101
Abstract:
Using Phase Change Materials (PCMs) for solar thermal energy storage will require containers made from compatible materials. Corrosion of the container material will not only limit the lifetime of the containers but may affect the thermophysical properties of the PCM. This presents a materials challenge such as maintaining mechanical performance at high temperature >600 C, resistance to cyclic stresses and corrosion and having properties which will allow heat to be transferred. (Heat exchanger) Most previous materials work for solar thermal storage has been undertaken with lower temperature salts - i.e. Nitrates or from nuclear industry and fuel cells. The use of salts with higher melting temperatures and thermal cycling will magnify corrosion issues and an understanding of the mechanisms and factors which effect corrosion are needed for a proper engineering solution.
Prof. Geoffrey Will from Queensland University of Technology (QUT), here on a short sabbatical through the end of November, working with Paul Gannon
QUT has had a long history of corrosion research specifically related to industry problems. QUT has 6 research staff in the area of electrochemistry looking at a wide range of applications but with focus on battery technology and corrosion research. This work is supported by numerous advanced electrochemical systems and a new scanning electrochemical system providing the ability to measure electrochemical and corrosion events on the micron scale.
The corrosion work is supported through government and private industry funding and is targeted at the understanding and prevention corrosion related issues. We study basic corrosion mechanisms using both electrochemistry and analytical techniques coupled to theoretical models to understand and predict corrosion behaviours. Symadec and other models have been developed to teach students and model corrosion systems for a better understanding of the observed electrochemistry. This system can generate Pourbaix and Evans diagrams and fit the theoretically derived results to real data. Assoc. Prof. Will has spent many years designing solutions for industry in the area of corrosion prediction and monitoring and have a number of unique options for monitor coating breakdown and predicting time to maintenance. These solutions have been employed for under insulation in the oil and gas, atmospheric, pile wrap applications, aircraft and military infrastructure, bridges and civil infrastructure and other areas where inspection can be difficult if not prohibited. More recently our group has investigated the corrosion in solar thermal power plants in particular molten salt corrosion.
Contact: Associate Professor Geoffrey Will
Science & Engineering Faculty | Queensland University of Technology
2 George St Brisbane | GPO Box 2434 Brisbane, Queensland, Australia 4001
phone: 07 3138 2297 | fax: 07 3138 1804 |
email: | www.corconres.qut.edu.au