US-12617171-B2 - System and method for making a block for gravity energy storage

Abstract

A system for making blocks for gravity energy storage includes an extrusion press machine with a receiving chamber for receiving raw material, a compaction chamber and a pressing wall driven by a piston to push the raw material into the compaction chamber to compact the material to form a block. One or more of a top wall, opposite side walls and the pressing wall are moved away from the a center of the compaction chamber to allow the block to elastically expand prior to exiting the compaction chamber.

Inventors

• Andrea Pedretti

Assignees

• Energy Vault, Inc.

Dates

Publication Date

20260505

Application Date

20240912

Claims (20)

1. 1 . A method of making a block for gravity energy storage, comprising: at least partially filling a receiving chamber of an extrusion press machine with material comprising dirt and one or more additives or binding agents; moving the material from the receiving chamber with a pressing wall into a compaction chamber of the extrusion press machine, the compaction chamber including a gate, a pair of opposite sidewalls, a top wall, and the pressing wall; actuating one or more pistons to move a pair of movable walls slidably engaging the pair of opposite sidewalls in a first direction, the pair of movable walls operable to move the pair of opposite sidewalls in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction and towards a center of the compaction chamber to compact the material within the compaction chamber to form the block; moving the pair of opposite sidewalls, the top wall and the pressing wall away from the center of the compaction chamber to allow the formed block to elastically expand in size in three dimensions, wherein moving the pair of opposite sidewalls away from the center of the compaction chamber includes actuating the one or more pistons to move the pair of movable walls in a third direction opposite to the first direction, the pair of movable walls operable to move the pair of opposite sidewalls in a fourth direction orthogonal the third direction and away from the center of the compaction chamber; and moving the gate to open a distal end of the compaction chamber to allow the expanded block to exit the extrusion press machine.
2. 2 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising moving the pair of opposite sidewalls and the top wall toward the center of the compaction chamber prior to moving the material with the pressing wall into the compaction chamber.
3. 3 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising moving the pressing wall away from the gate of the compaction chamber simultaneously with moving the pair of opposite side walls and the top wall away from the center to allow the formed block to expand in size.
4. 4 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising conveying the expanded block along a conveyor in communication with the distal end of the compaction chamber to a distal end of the conveyor to allow the expanded block to cure.
5. 5 . The method of claim 4 , further comprising moving the expanded block from a first orientation to a second orientation orthogonal to the first orientation proximate the distal end of the conveyor.
6. 6 . The method of claim 4 , further comprising moving a plate on which the expanded block is conveyed to a proximal end of the conveyor to reuse the plate in the compaction chamber.
7. 7 . The method of claim 5 , further comprising moving the expanded block from the first orientation to the second orientation with a tilting machine.
8. 8 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising actuating a second set of pistons to move a second set of movable walls slidably engaging the top wall in a fifth direction, the second set of movable walls operable to move the top wall in a sixth direction orthogonal to the fifth direction and towards the center of the compaction chamber.
9. 9 . The method of claim 8 , wherein moving the top wall away from the center comprises actuating the second set of pistons to move the second set of movable walls in a seventh direction, the second set of movable walls operable to move the top wall in an eighth direction orthogonal to the seventh direction and away from the center of the compaction chamber.
10. 10 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising covering the block that has exited the extrusion press machine to protect the block from sunlight and to provide a controlled environment to facilitate a curing of the block.
11. 11 . The method of claim 10 , further comprising placing the block that has exited the extrusion press machine in a temperature controlled environment or humidity controlled environment.
12. 12 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising closing the gate before moving the material from the receiving chamber into the compaction chamber.
13. 13 . A method of making a block for gravity energy storage, comprising: at least partially filling a receiving chamber of an extrusion press machine with material comprising dirt and one or more additives or binding agents; moving the material from the receiving chamber with a pressing wall into a compaction chamber of the extrusion press machine, the compaction chamber including a gate, a pair of opposite sidewalls, a top wall, and the pressing wall; actuating one or more pistons to move a pair of movable walls slidably engaging the pair of opposite sidewalls in a first direction, the pair of movable walls operable to move the pair of opposite sidewalls in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction and towards a center of the compaction chamber to compact the material within the compaction chamber to form the block; moving the pair of opposite sidewalls, the top wall and the pressing wall away from the center of the compaction chamber to allow the formed block to elastically expand in size in three dimensions; and moving the gate to open a distal end of the compaction chamber to allow the expanded block to exit the extrusion press machine.
14. 14 . The method of claim 13 , further comprising moving the pair of opposite sidewalls and the top wall toward the center of the compaction chamber prior to moving the material with the pressing wall into the compaction chamber.
15. 15 . The method of claim 13 , further comprising moving the pressing wall away from the gate of the compaction chamber simultaneously with moving the pair of opposite side walls and the top wall away from the center to allow the formed block to expand in size.
16. 16 . The method of claim 13 , further comprising conveying the expanded block along a conveyor in communication with the distal end of the compaction chamber to a distal end of the conveyor to allow the expanded block to cure.
17. 17 . A method of making a block for gravity energy storage, comprising: at least partially filling a receiving chamber of an extrusion press machine with material comprising dirt and one or more additives or binding agents; moving the material with a pressing wall into a compaction chamber of the extrusion press machine; compacting the material within the compaction chamber between a gate, a pair of opposite sidewalls, a top wall and the pressing wall to form the block; moving the pair of opposite sidewalls, the top wall and the pressing wall away from a center of the compaction chamber to allow the formed block to elastically expand in size in three dimensions; and moving the gate to open a distal end of the compaction chamber to allow the expanded block to exit the extrusion press machine.
18. 18 . The method of claim 17 , further comprising moving the pair of opposite sidewalls and the top wall toward the center of the compaction chamber prior to moving the material with the pressing wall into the compaction chamber.
19. 19 . The method of claim 17 , further comprising moving the pressing wall away from the gate of the compaction chamber simultaneously with moving the pair of opposite side walls and the top wall away from the center to allow the formed block to expand in size.
20. 20 . The method of claim 17 , further comprising conveying the expanded block along a conveyor in communication with the distal end of the compaction chamber to a distal portion of the conveyor to allow the expanded block to cure.

Description

INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE TO ANY PRIORITY APPLICATIONS Any and all applications for which a foreign or domestic priority claim is identified in the Application Data Sheet as filed with the present application are hereby incorporated by reference under 37 CFR 1.57. BACKGROUND Field The present disclosure is directed to a system and method for making a block, and more particularly to a system and method for making a block for gravity energy storage. Description of the Related Art Some gravity energy storage systems consists of moving solid weights between a lower elevation and a higher elevation to store energy based on the potential energy in the block or generate electricity based on the lowering of the weight. Existing systems and methods of forming blocks are inadequate in that the formed blocks fail as soon as they are formed. For example, existing systems for compacting material to form a block in a press and then push the block out of the press as soon as it is formed results in blocks that fail (e.g., crack) as soon as they are pushed out of the press. SUMMARY There is a need for an improved system and method of manufacturing blocks for gravity energy storage that simplifies the process of making the blocks and improves the reliability of the blocks. In accordance with one aspect of the disclosure, a system for making blocks for gravity energy storage includes an extrusion press machine with a receiving chamber for receiving raw material, a compaction chamber, and a pressing wall driven by a piston to push the raw material into the compaction chamber to compact the material to form a block. Following the forming of the block, the block is allowed to expand in three dimensions within the compaction chamber before the block is moved out of the compaction chamber of the extrusion press machine. In accordance with one aspect of the disclosure, a system for making blocks for gravity energy storage includes an extrusion press machine with a receiving chamber for receiving raw material, a compaction chamber and a pressing wall driven by a piston to push the raw material into the compaction chamber to compact the material to form a block. One or more of a top wall of the compaction chamber, opposite side walls of the compaction chamber and the pressing wall (e.g., all three of the top wall, the opposite side walls and the pressing wall), are moved away from a center of the compaction chamber after the block is formed to allow the block to expand in three dimensions prior to exiting the compaction chamber. In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a system for making blocks for gravity energy storage, including: an extrusion press machine including a receiving chamber configured to receive material for forming a block, a compaction chamber in communication with the receiving chamber, the compaction chamber including a base, a pair of opposite sidewalls and a top wall, a gate operable to open or close a distal end of the compaction chamber, and a piston actuatable to slidably move a pressing wall across the receiving chamber and into the compaction chamber with the gate in a closed position to press the material into contact with the gate, the pair of opposite sidewalls, the top wall, the pressing wall and a plate positioned on a base wall of the compaction chamber in order to compact the material within the compaction chamber to form a block, wherein one or more of the pair of opposite sidewalls, the top wall and the pressing wall are operable to move away from a center of the compaction chamber to allow the block to elastically expand to an expanded position while positioned on the plate and prior to exiting from the compaction chamber, and wherein the gate is operable to open the distal end of the compaction chamber to allow the block in the expanded position to exit the compaction chamber. In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a system for making blocks for gravity energy storage, including: an extrusion press machine including a receiving chamber configured to receive material for forming a block, a compaction chamber in communication with the receiving chamber, the compaction chamber including a base, a pair of opposite sidewalls and a top wall, a gate operable to open or close a distal end of the compaction chamber, a piston actuatable to slidably move a pressing wall across the receiving chamber and into the compaction chamber with the gate in a closed position to press the material into contact with the gate, the pair of opposite sidewalls, the top wall and the pressing wall to compact the material within the compaction chamber to form a block, and means for moving the pair of opposite sidewalls and the top wall toward or away from a center of the compaction chamber to allow the formed block to elastically expand prior to exiting the compaction chamber. In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a method of making a block for gravity energy storage