IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/energy/v178y2019icp1-20.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Effect of varying extent of PCM capsule filling on thermal stratification performance of a storage tank

Author

Listed:
  • Majumdar, Rudrodip
  • Saha, Sandip K.

Abstract

Among the different pathways of improving the energy storage and energy utilization in a thermal energy storage system, the formation of thermal stratification in hot water tanks is a promising technology. In this study, we developed a novel numerical model to assess the thermal stratification performance in a hot water tank due to addition of encapsulated phase change material (PCM) by varying the bed height, bed porosity and the encapsulation diameter. The formulation of the present numerical model is devoid of complicated momentum and energy equations. A set of simplified energy balance equations is developed to account for heat transfer between the heat transfer fluid (HTF) and the PCM considering local thermal non-equilibrium. The temperature profile at the outlet of the storage tank during charging process demonstrates an enhancement in the Richardson number by 58.3%, at the end of the charging process, upon doubling the PCM bed height, and the corresponding improvement in the charging efficiency is found to be 54.6%. The melting point of PCM plays a pivotal role on the extent of stratification and storage efficiency, as it dictates the amount of heat diffusion towards the bottom section of TES. During discharge phase, if the HTF flow rate is doubled from the nominal value of 2 L/min, the extraction efficiency is enhanced by ∼16.7%.

Suggested Citation

  • Majumdar, Rudrodip & Saha, Sandip K., 2019. "Effect of varying extent of PCM capsule filling on thermal stratification performance of a storage tank," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 178(C), pages 1-20.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:178:y:2019:i:c:p:1-20
    DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2019.04.101
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360544219307340
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.energy.2019.04.101?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Dickinson, Ryan M. & Cruickshank, Cynthia A. & Harrison, Stephen J., 2013. "Charge and discharge strategies for a multi-tank thermal energy storage," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 366-373.
    2. Majumdar, Rudrodip & Saha, Sandip K. & Singh, Suneet, 2018. "Evaluation of transient characteristics of medium temperature solar thermal systems utilizing thermal stratification," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 224(C), pages 69-85.
    3. Mawire, Ashmore & Taole, Simeon H., 2011. "A comparison of experimental thermal stratification parameters for an oil/pebble-bed thermal energy storage (TES) system during charging," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 88(12), pages 4766-4778.
    4. Kumar, G. Senthil & Nagarajan, D. & Chidambaram, L.A. & Kumaresan, V. & Ding, Y. & Velraj, R., 2016. "Role of PCM addition on stratification behaviour in a thermal storage tank – An experimental study," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 115(P1), pages 1168-1178.
    5. Mondol, Jayanta Deb & Smyth, Mervyn & Zacharopoulos, Aggelos & Hyde, Trevor, 2009. "Experimental performance evaluation of a novel heat exchanger for a solar hot water storage system," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 86(9), pages 1492-1505, September.
    6. Majumdar, Rudrodip & Singh, Suneet & Saha, Sandip K., 2018. "Quasi-steady state moving boundary reduced order model of two-phase flow for ORC refrigerant in solar-thermal heat exchanger," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 126(C), pages 830-843.
    7. Guo, Xiaofeng & Goumba, Alain Pascal, 2018. "Air source heat pump for domestic hot water supply: Performance comparison between individual and building scale installations," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 164(C), pages 794-802.
    8. Guo, Xiaofeng & Hendel, Martin, 2018. "Urban water networks as an alternative source for district heating and emergency heat-wave cooling," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 79-87.
    9. Knudsen, S. & Furbo, S., 2004. "Thermal stratification in vertical mantle heat-exchangers with application to solar domestic hot-water systems," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 78(3), pages 257-272, July.
    10. Shukla, Ruchi & Sumathy, K. & Erickson, Phillip & Gong, Jiawei, 2013. "Recent advances in the solar water heating systems: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 19(C), pages 173-190.
    11. Oró, Eduard & Castell, Albert & Chiu, Justin & Martin, Viktoria & Cabeza, Luisa F., 2013. "Stratification analysis in packed bed thermal energy storage systems," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 476-487.
    12. Kandari, Abdullah M., 1990. "Thermal stratification in hot storage-tanks," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 35(4), pages 299-315.
    13. Jourabian, Mahmoud & Darzi, A. Ali Rabienataj & Toghraie, Davood & Akbari, Omid ali, 2018. "Melting process in porous media around two hot cylinders: Numerical study using the lattice Boltzmann method," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 509(C), pages 316-335.
    14. Han, Y.M. & Wang, R.Z. & Dai, Y.J., 2009. "Thermal stratification within the water tank," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 13(5), pages 1014-1026, June.
    15. Hariharan, K. & Badrinarayana, K. & Srinivasa Murthy, S. & Krishna Murthy, M.V., 1991. "Temperature stratification in hot-water storage tanks," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 16(7), pages 977-982.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ding, Tao & Meng, Zhaoming & Chen, Kailun & Fan, Guangming & Yan, Changqi, 2020. "Experimental study on thermal stratification in water tank and heat transfer characteristics of condenser in water-cooled passive residual heat removal system of molten salt reactor," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 205(C).
    2. Mao, Qianjun & Cao, Wenlong, 2023. "Effect of variable capsule size on energy storage performances in a high-temperature three-layered packed bed system," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 273(C).
    3. Wanruo Lou & Lingai Luo & Yuchao Hua & Yilin Fan & Zhenyu Du, 2021. "A Review on the Performance Indicators and Influencing Factors for the Thermocline Thermal Energy Storage Systems," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(24), pages 1-19, December.
    4. Sarı, Ahmet & Hekimoğlu, Gökhan & Tyagi, V.V., 2020. "Low cost and eco-friendly wood fiber-based composite phase change material: Development, characterization and lab-scale thermoregulation performance for thermal energy storage," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 195(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Majumdar, Rudrodip & Saha, Sandip K. & Singh, Suneet, 2018. "Evaluation of transient characteristics of medium temperature solar thermal systems utilizing thermal stratification," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 224(C), pages 69-85.
    2. Mawire, Ashmore, 2013. "Experimental and simulated thermal stratification evaluation of an oil storage tank subjected to heat losses during charging," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 459-465.
    3. Ding, Tao & Meng, Zhaoming & Chen, Kailun & Fan, Guangming & Yan, Changqi, 2020. "Experimental study on thermal stratification in water tank and heat transfer characteristics of condenser in water-cooled passive residual heat removal system of molten salt reactor," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 205(C).
    4. Osorio, J.D. & Rivera-Alvarez, A. & Swain, M. & Ordonez, J.C., 2015. "Exergy analysis of discharging multi-tank thermal energy storage systems with constant heat extraction," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 154(C), pages 333-343.
    5. Al-Habaibeh, Amin & Shakmak, Bubaker & Fanshawe, Simon, 2018. "Assessment of a novel technology for a stratified hot water energy storage – The water snake," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 222(C), pages 189-198.
    6. Yang, Bei & Bai, Fengwu & Wang, Yan & Wang, Zhifeng, 2019. "Study on standby process of an air-based solid packed bed for flexible high-temperature heat storage: Experimental results and modelling," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 238(C), pages 135-146.
    7. Afshan, Mahboob E. & Selvakumar, A.S & Velraj, R. & Rajaraman, R., 2020. "Effect of aspect ratio and dispersed PCM balls on the charging performance of a latent heat thermal storage unit for solar thermal applications," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 148(C), pages 876-888.
    8. Li, Gang, 2016. "Sensible heat thermal storage energy and exergy performance evaluations," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 897-923.
    9. Saloux, E. & Candanedo, J.A., 2019. "Modelling stratified thermal energy storage tanks using an advanced flowrate distribution of the received flow," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 241(C), pages 34-45.
    10. Porteiro, Jacobo & Míguez, José Luis & Crespo, Bárbara & López González, Luis María & De Lara, José, 2015. "Experimental investigation of the thermal response of a thermal storage tank partially filled with different PCMs (phase change materials) to a steep demand," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 202-214.
    11. Mondol, Jayanta Deb & Smyth, Mervyn & Zacharopoulos, Aggelos, 2011. "Experimental characterisation of a novel heat exchanger for a solar hot water application under indoor and outdoor conditions," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(6), pages 1766-1779.
    12. Zhang, Xingxing & Shen, Jingchun & Lu, Yan & He, Wei & Xu, Peng & Zhao, Xudong & Qiu, Zhongzhu & Zhu, Zishang & Zhou, Jinzhi & Dong, Xiaoqiang, 2015. "Active Solar Thermal Facades (ASTFs): From concept, application to research questions," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 32-63.
    13. Poppi, Stefano & Bales, Chris & Heinz, Andreas & Hengel, Franz & Chèze, David & Mojic, Igor & Cialani, Catia, 2016. "Analysis of system improvements in solar thermal and air source heat pump combisystems," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 173(C), pages 606-623.
    14. Yang, Tianrun & Liu, Wen & Kramer, Gert Jan & Sun, Qie, 2021. "Seasonal thermal energy storage: A techno-economic literature review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).
    15. Jin, Xin & Zhang, Huihui & Huang, Gongsheng & Lai, Alvin CK., 2021. "Experimental investigation on the dynamic thermal performance of the parallel solar-assisted air-source heat pump latent heat thermal energy storage system," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 180(C), pages 637-657.
    16. Xiaofeng Guo & Alain Pascal Goumba & Cheng Wang, 2019. "Comparison of Direct and Indirect Active Thermal Energy Storage Strategies for Large-Scale Solar Heating Systems," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-18, May.
    17. Mao, Chunliu & Li, Muran & Li, Na & Shan, Ming & Yang, Xudong, 2019. "Mathematical model development and optimal design of the horizontal all-glass evacuated tube solar collectors integrated with bottom mirror reflectors for solar energy harvesting," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 238(C), pages 54-68.
    18. Xue, Puning & Jiang, Yi & Zhou, Zhigang & Chen, Xin & Fang, Xiumu & Liu, Jing, 2019. "Multi-step ahead forecasting of heat load in district heating systems using machine learning algorithms," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
    19. Kumar, G. Senthil & Nagarajan, D. & Chidambaram, L.A. & Kumaresan, V. & Ding, Y. & Velraj, R., 2016. "Role of PCM addition on stratification behaviour in a thermal storage tank – An experimental study," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 115(P1), pages 1168-1178.
    20. Wang, Zilong & Zhang, Hua & Huang, Huajie & Dou, Binlin & Huang, Xiuhui & Goula, Maria A., 2019. "The experimental investigation of the thermal stratification in a solar hot water tank," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 862-874.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:178:y:2019:i:c:p:1-20. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/energy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.