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

Author

Listed:
  • Xu, Tianhao
  • Humire, Emma Nyholm
  • Trevisan, Silvia
  • Ignatowicz, Monika
  • Sawalha, Samer
  • Chiu, Justin NW.

Abstract

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 m3 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 m3/h (Re = 77) to 0.5 m3/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.

Suggested Citation

  • Xu, Tianhao & Humire, Emma Nyholm & Trevisan, Silvia & Ignatowicz, Monika & Sawalha, Samer & Chiu, Justin NW., 2022. "Experimental and numerical investigation of a latent heat thermal energy storage unit with ellipsoidal macro-encapsulation," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 238(PB).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:238:y:2022:i:pb:s0360544221020764
    DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2021.121828
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    3. 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).
    4. Sathishkumar, A. & Cheralathan, M., 2023. "Charging and discharging processes of low capacity nano-PCM based cool thermal energy storage system: An experimental study," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 263(PB).
    5. Cheng, Jiaji & Kang, Moyun & Liu, Yuqi & Niu, Shaoshuai & Guan, Yu & Qu, Wenjuan & Li, Shaoxiang, 2022. "The preparation and characterization of thermal expansion capric acid microcapsules for controlling temperature," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 261(PB).
    6. Fan, Man & Suo, Hanxiao & Yang, Hua & Zhang, Xuemei & Li, Xiaofei & Guo, Leihong & Kong, Xiangfei, 2022. "Experimental study on thermophysical parameters of a solar assisted cascaded latent heat thermal energy storage (CLHTES) system," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 256(C).

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