Performance evaluation of ultrasonic-assisted dynamic ice melting in ice storage systems: An experimental study

Abstract

This study presents the construction of an ice storage tank equipped with an internal ice-on-coil system. The cooling performance of the ice storage system is enhanced by utilizing the cavitation phenomenon induced by ultrasonic vibration in water. Active water circulation and spraying within the tank enhance cooling efficiency by promoting uniform temperature distribution. An analysis is conducted on the impact of various operating parameters, such as output powers of 200 W, 400 W, and 584 W, frequencies of 40 kHz, 80 kHz, and 120 kHz, and three different placements of the oscillator, on the cooling performance of ultrasonic-assisted static ice melting, dynamic ice melting, and ultrasonic-assisted dynamic ice melting systems. Ultrasonic-assisted static ice melting refers to ice melting with stationary water, while ultrasonic-assisted dynamic ice melting involves water circulation, enhancing heat transfer. The study examines performance indicators like instantaneous cooling rate, cumulative cooling capacity, average cooling rate, melting time, and heat gain by the system. The findings indicate that higher ultrasonic power levels enhance the average cooling rate and reduce the melting time by approximately 50 % and 32.2 %, respectively. However, the frequency does not have a significant effect on the cooling performance. In addition, the ice storage system had a significant increase in cooling rate of 294.87 % when utilizing the ultrasonic-assisted dynamic ice melting system. Furthermore, the melting time was lowered by 71 % in comparison to the static ice melting method. Of all the parameters, the power parameter has the greatest impact. The impact of the ultrasonic oscillator placement parameter is secondary, while the influence of the frequency parameter on the cooling performance is not significant.