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Numerical Modeling of Thermal Storage Performance of Encapsulated PCM Particles in an Unstructured Packed Bed

Author

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  • Jeroen Mol

    (Laboratory of Thermal Engineering, University of Twente, P.O. Box 217, 7500AE Enschede, The Netherlands)

  • Mina Shahi

    (Laboratory of Thermal Engineering, University of Twente, P.O. Box 217, 7500AE Enschede, The Netherlands)

  • Amirhoushang Mahmoudi

    (Laboratory of Thermal Engineering, University of Twente, P.O. Box 217, 7500AE Enschede, The Netherlands)

Abstract

In this work, a numerical model to study phase transition in unstructured packed beds of phase change particles for latent heat thermal energy storage is presented and implemented into the open-source CFDEM ® coupling program. The governing equations for both fluid and solid particles are discussed. The presented model is validated using experimental data. The validated model is used to study the effect of bed structure (e.g., using multiple sizes of particles and mixing of multiple configurations of particles) on the charging and discharging of PCM bed. It is found that using smaller particles leads to faster charging and discharging of the bed. A decrease of 26% was achieved by changing half the bed into particles with half the diameter. Furthermore, it is observed that placing small particles downstream has more effect on increased charging speed than placing them upstream when charging the bed fully. A decrease of 20% in charging time and a decrease of 13% in discharging time were observed in the configurations that were tested.

Suggested Citation

  • Jeroen Mol & Mina Shahi & Amirhoushang Mahmoudi, 2020. "Numerical Modeling of Thermal Storage Performance of Encapsulated PCM Particles in an Unstructured Packed Bed," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-16, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:13:y:2020:i:23:p:6413-:d:456920
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Džiugys, Algis & Mahmoudi, Amir Houshang & Misiulis, Edgaras & Navakas, Robertas & Skarbalius, Gediminas, 2022. "Fractal dependence of the packed bed porosity on the particles size distribution," Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    3. Grabo, Matti & Acar, Emre & Kenig, Eugeny Y., 2021. "Modeling and improvement of a packed bed latent heat storage filled with non-spherical encapsulated PCM-Elements," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 173(C), pages 1087-1097.
    4. Wang, Wei & Shuai, Yong & He, Xibo & Hou, Yicheng & Qiu, Jun & Huang, Yudong, 2023. "Influence of tank-to-particle diameter ratio on thermal storage performance of random packed-bed with spherical macro-encapsulated phase change materials," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 282(C).
    5. Wang, Wei & Shuai, Yong & Qiu, Jun & He, Xibo & Hou, Yicheng, 2022. "Effect of steady-state and unstable-state inlet boundary on the thermal performance of packed-bed latent heat storage system integrated with concentrating solar collectors," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 183(C), pages 251-266.

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