Comprehensive Molten Salt Storage Shell and Support Design and Analysis IV:A Complete 700°C Thermal-Structural Interaction Finite Element Analysis of an 80 Foot Diameter and 46 Foot High MS Storage Shell Including Structural, Conductive and Convective Thermal Stress Analysis

In this paper a finite element structural analysis model—using COMSOL—of a large molten salt container, 80 foot in diameter and 46 feet high that includes a four-foot elliptic shell roof, is presented for a futuristic 700°C design, which uses a highly stable chloride salt called SS700 (SaltStream 700) that improves the efficiency of the tank when compared to the traditional 565°C.The resulting FEA (finite element analysis) computed the stresses induced in the tank, which includes the stresses that are due to the loading and due to the thermal expansion of the tank.A stress FEA model was developed using COMSOL Version 5.4 in order to determine the full thermal stress and total stress distribution of the 700°C Cylindrical MS Storage Tank, as well as corresponding temperature distributions, which can be used to compare with the theoretical analysis and verify the final design.