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Experimental analysis and comprehensive performance improvement research on composite phase change materials packed bed thermal storage systems

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  • Cui, Jie
  • Yang, Xueming
  • Chen, Jianzhi
  • Wang, Peize
  • Xie, Jianfei

Abstract

Packed bed latent thermal energy storage (PBLTES) system faces the challenges of limited heat transfer caused by the low thermal conductivity of phase change materials (PCM). This work develops expanded graphite/sodium nitrite (EG/SN) composite PCM (CPCM) capsules and experimentally compare the thermal performance of the PBLTES system constructed with EG/SN capsules against the other one filled with pure SN under different operating parameters. Experimentally, composite PCM capsules were innovatively combined with cascaded configurations to systematically explore the effects of particle size and different PCMs volume arrangements on the comprehensive thermal storage performance. In numerical simulations, the comprehensive performance of the PBLTES system with different configurations is analyzed using a comprehensive objective evaluation method. The results show that average discharging power of the EG/SN-PBLTES system has been enhanced by up to 34.9 % compared to the SN-PBLTES system. When the capsules particle size is 40 mm, the minimum average charging and discharging power of the cascaded CPCM PBLTES system with different volume distributions is 1602.7W, and the maximum is 1957.6W, which are respectively 16.78 % and 42.63 % higher than that of the non-cascaded pure PCM PBLTES system. Based on the CRITIC and Grey Relation Analysis (CITIC-GRA), the top-heavy layer with a particle size of 20 mm showcases the best comprehensive thermal storage performance. This paper provides experimental support and numerical insights for the design and optimization of advanced PBLTES system.

Suggested Citation

  • Cui, Jie & Yang, Xueming & Chen, Jianzhi & Wang, Peize & Xie, Jianfei, 2025. "Experimental analysis and comprehensive performance improvement research on composite phase change materials packed bed thermal storage systems," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 337(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:337:y:2025:i:c:s0360544225043701
    DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2025.138728
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