Abstract
Heat storage efficiency is required to maximize the potential of combined heat and power generation or renewable energy sources for heating. Using a phase change material (PCM) could be an attractive choice in several instances. Commercially available paraffin-based PCM was investigated using T-history method with sufficient agreement with the data from the manufacturer. The introduced LHTES with cylindrical capsules is simple and scalable in capacity, charging/discharging time, and temperature level. The overall stored energy density is 9% higher than the previously proposed design of similar design complexity. The discharging process of the designed latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES) was evaluated for two different flow rates. The PCM inside the capsules and heat transfer fluid (HTF) temperature, as well as the HTF flow rate, were measured. The lumped parameter numerical model was developed and validated successfully. The advantage of the proposed model is its computational simplicity, and thus the possibility to use it in simulations of a whole heat distribution network. The so-called state of charge (SoC), which plays a crucial role in successful heat storage management, is a part of the evaluation of both experimental and computational data.
Highlights
The presented work deals with a complex task of design, testing, numerical modelling, and monitoring of a latent heat storage that can work with heat sources with unstable or irregular heat supply, such as solar collectors or combined-heat-power units
phase change material (PCM) state and specific heat capacity were modelled as temperature dependent with Gumbel distribution function
The specific heat capacity became a crucial part of the latent storage model
Summary
The discharging process of the designed latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES) was evaluated for two different flow rates. The PCM inside the capsules and heat transfer fluid (HTF) temperature, as well as the HTF flow rate, were measured. Two processes of discharge with different heat transfer fluid flow rates were conducted and the data from these experiments were used for validation of the numerical model and for deeper understanding of the solidification process within the cylindrical capsules and discharging the storage.
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