Artificial Underground Water Heat Accumulator

Abstract

Disclosed is a device of a water heat accumulator or storage medium that is composed of water and at least one solid construction material which has a structure with hollow spaces and is specifically designed to absorb the entire amount of water and autonomously retain as much thereof as possible, has a statically load-bearing structure and can thus accommodate a superstructure, and can have water-permeable and / or hygroscopic properties. All additional equipment required for operating and utilizing the heat accumulator is assigned to said water heat accumulator or storage medium. The inventive device is characterized in that the construction material is a foam product or a construction material which is composed of several identical and / or different solid construction materials that are fixedly interconnected.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD[0001]The present invention generally relates to a water heat accumulator, and more particularly, to a water heat accumulator comprising a water-absorbing and load-bearing material.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]Artificial water accumulators are water collection units that may be built aboveground or underground. Depending on need and specific purpose they may take the form of small or large containers or collecting tanks. Because water is a liquid medium it must be collected in a sealed container. Depending upon the selected structural form, such water accumulators must be constructed in a way that is statically load-bearing, and are accordingly very expensive to manufacture, either in a factory or on-site. Water accumulators are generally built either as containers made of steel, of fiberglass-reinforced composite material, or as a reinforced concrete structure.[0003]Water containers have been used as heat accumulators, because water is known to have very good hea...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0015]In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention a water heat accumulator is disclosed that retains water in at least one storage medium. The storage medium is made of a solid construction material which comprises cavities specifically designed to absorb and retain a large amount of water. The storage medium may form a statically load-bearing structure, which may accommodate a superstructure. The storage medium material may have water-permeable or hygroscopic properties or both. Equipment required for operating and utilizing the heat accumulator may be mounted to the storage medium. The storage medium does not necessarily require a statically stable surrounding structure for its manufacture and operation. Due to its simplicity and cost-effective manufacturing and installation, the new construction material can be used to cost effectively build very small heat accumulators with sufficient output.

Problems solved by technology

This presents a technological challenge, because once superstructures have been built over a water heat accumulator, it is no longer accessible.

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