Abstract
This paper studies the influence of material thermal properties on the charging dynamics in a low temperature Thermal Energy Storage, which combines sensible and latent heat. The analysis is based on a small scale packed bed with encapsulated PCMs, numerically solved using COMSOL Multiphysics. The PCMs studied are materials constructed based on typical thermal properties (melting temperature, density, specific heat capacity (solid and liquid), thermal conductivity (solid and liquid) and the latent heat) of storage mediums in literature. The range of values are: 25–65°C for the melting temperature, 10–500 kJ/kg for the latent heat, 600–1,000 kg/m3 for the density, 0.1–0.4 W/mK (solid and liquid) for the thermal conductivity and 1,000–2,200 J/kgK (solid and liquid) for the specific heat capacity. The temperature change is monitored at three different positions along the tank. The system consists of a 2D tank with L/D ratio of 1 at a starting temperature of 20°C. Water, as the heat transfer fluid, enters the tank at 90°C. Results indicate that latent heat is a leading parameter in the performance of the system, and that the thermal properties of the PCM in liquid phase influence the overall heat absorption more than its solid counterpart.
Highlights
In recent years, where the world is straying away from harmful and environmentally damaging methods of harvesting energy such as fossil fuels, there has been a lot of development on renewable technologies
The system consists of a packed bed containing phase change materials (PCMs) in encapsulated spheres and the analysis focuses on the charging aspect and influence of specific material parameters on the system performance
The model validation was carried out based on the results reported by Tay et al (2015) that focus on a single symmetrical tank latent heat 2D system of dimensions 0.15 m × 1 m, with an inner pipe carrying the heat transfer fluid (HTF) (Therminol VP1) of diameter 12.70 mm and length of 1 m
Summary
In recent years, where the world is straying away from harmful and environmentally damaging methods of harvesting energy such as fossil fuels, there has been a lot of development on renewable technologies. In order to exploit the true potential of these energy collection methods, it is necessary to pair them with other existing technologies that enable their further usage and availability, while mitigating the gap that exists between the consumers and the providers. Out of all the available storage solutions, this paper discusses the use of Thermal Energy Storage (TES) to balance the disarray. Sensible heat is the amount of heat absorbed that results in temperature increase. It can be expressed as the following:
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