Experimental and numerical investigation of a latent heat thermal energy storage unit with ellipsoidal macro-encapsulation

• This paper investigates ellipsoid-shaped macro-encapsulated phase change material (PCM) on a component scale. The selected PCM is a paraffin-based commercial material, namely ATP60; differential scanning calorimetry and transient plane source method are used to measure ATP60's thermo-physical properties. A 0.382 m(3) latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES) component has been built and experimentally characterized. The temperature measurement results indicate that a thermocline was retained in the packed bed region during charging/discharging processes. The experimental characterization shows that increasing the temperature difference between the heat transfer fluid (HTF) inlet temperature and phase-change temperature by 20 K can shorten the completion time of discharge by 65%, and increasing HTF inlet flowrate from 0.15 m(3)/h (Re = 77) to 0.5 m(3)/h (Re = 256) can shorten the completion time of charge by 51%. Furthermore, a one-dimensional packed bed model using source-based enthalpy method was developed and validated by comparison to experimental results, showing discrepancies in the accumulated storage capacity within 6.6% between simulation and experiment when the Reynolds number of the HTF inlet flow ranges between 90 and 922. Compared with a conventional capsule shaped in 69-mm-diameter and 750-mm-long cylinders, the ellipsoidal capsule shows 60% less completion time of discharge but 23% lower storage capacity. Overall, this work demonstrates a combined experimental and numerical characterization approach for applying novel macro-encapsulated PCM geometries for heating-oriented LHTES.

Ämnesord

TEKNIK OCH TEKNOLOGIER  -- Maskinteknik -- Energiteknik (hsv//swe)

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY  -- Mechanical Engineering -- Energy Engineering (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Phase-change material

Latent heat storage

Experimental investigation

Heat transfer simulation

Ellipsoidal macro-encapsulation

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