Optimal discharging of solar driven sorption thermal battery for building cooling applications

Abstract

In this study, optimal discharge conditions of sorption thermal battery (STB) are determined for stable supply of the building cooling load based on different load patterns. Parametric analysis is conducted to ascertain the influence of heat source temperature and the mass flow rate ratio between the solution and the heat transfer fluid on the performance of the STB. The maximum values of energy storage density (ESD) and coefficient of performance (COP) are estimated as 207.73 kWh/m3 and 0.74, respectively. The daily transient behaviors of STB are examined in detail, and the optimal solution charge and the solution flow rate are quantified based on the building types (residential, hospital, hotel, and office). For a building with an air conditioning floor area of 181.63 m2, the most suitable cooling load response is observed in the hotel scenario. The minimum deviated cooling output from the building load is 8.69%. Concurrently, COP and ESD are estimated of 0.69 and 101.99 kWh/m3. This paper demonstrates the cooling load responsiveness and optimal operating point of STB based on building load pattern. Additionally, a dimensionless number is defined to generate the discharge trend and enable to predict COP and ESD.