IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/renene/v132y2019icp694-708.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

An improved, generalized effective thermal conductivity method for rapid design of high temperature shell-and-tube latent heat thermal energy storage systems

Author

Listed:
  • Mostafavi Tehrani, S. Saeed
  • Shoraka, Yashar
  • Diarce, Gonzalo
  • Taylor, Robert A.

Abstract

To avoid full — expensive — computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulations, latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES) systems are often modelled by incorporating natural convection Nusselt correlations. This enables fast, coarse optimizations for phase change materials (PCMs) selection and geometrical design. While this approach is very convenient and often works well, it is frequently invoked in an ad-hoc manner — outside of known limits. To broaden the limits of applicability for this approach, this study develops natural convection Nusselt correlations for high temperature shell-and-tube LHTES systems, which are under development for concentrated solar power (CSP) plants. In these systems there is a large gap between PCM melting point and heat transfer fluid, up to 280 °C, which drives melting process. To date, many correlations that have been developed (for low temperature PCMs) in the literature are only suitable for a specific geometry and/or PCM. Therefore, this study also expands on the literature by providing correlations that are appropriate for a wide range of realistic geometric parameters and high temperature PCMs. These new natural convection Nusselt correlations were obtained by comparing the heat transfer rates in conduction only and combined conduction/convection CFD models for several PCMs and geometries in the melting process. In order to correlate the results, various sets of non-dimensional groups were subjected to a multi-variant regression analyses. The results reveal that the best fitting general Nusselt correlation can be characterized by the Rayleigh number, the Biot number, the Stefan number and the ratio of tube radius to length. The final proposed correlation has a similar shape to literature, NuNC=CRan – however, instead of relying on empirical experimental curve fitting for C and n, this study quantifies C and n for a range of geometries/PCM properties to facilitate early design stage optimizations in the absence of experimental results.

Suggested Citation

  • Mostafavi Tehrani, S. Saeed & Shoraka, Yashar & Diarce, Gonzalo & Taylor, Robert A., 2019. "An improved, generalized effective thermal conductivity method for rapid design of high temperature shell-and-tube latent heat thermal energy storage systems," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 694-708.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:132:y:2019:i:c:p:694-708
    DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2018.08.038
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960148118309881
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.renene.2018.08.038?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. Medrano, Marc & Gil, Antoni & Martorell, Ingrid & Potau, Xavi & Cabeza, Luisa F., 2010. "State of the art on high-temperature thermal energy storage for power generation. Part 2--Case studies," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 14(1), pages 56-72, January.
    2. Nithyanandam, K. & Pitchumani, R., 2014. "Cost and performance analysis of concentrating solar power systems with integrated latent thermal energy storage," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 793-810.
    3. Li, Qiyuan & Tehrani, S. Saeed Mostafavi & Taylor, Robert A., 2017. "Techno-economic analysis of a concentrating solar collector with built-in shell and tube latent heat thermal energy storage," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 220-237.
    4. Nithyanandam, K. & Pitchumani, R., 2014. "Design of a latent thermal energy storage system with embedded heat pipes," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 126(C), pages 266-280.
    5. Silva, Pedro D. & Gonçalves, L. C. & Pires, L., 2002. "Transient behaviour of a latent-heat thermal-energy store: numerical and experimental studies," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 73(1), pages 83-98, September.
    6. Yang, Zhen & Garimella, Suresh V., 2013. "Cyclic operation of molten-salt thermal energy storage in thermoclines for solar power plants," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 256-265.
    7. Xiao, X. & Zhang, P., 2015. "Numerical and experimental study of heat transfer characteristics of a shell-tube latent heat storage system: Part II – Discharging process," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 177-189.
    8. Tao, Y.B. & Carey, V.P., 2016. "Effects of PCM thermophysical properties on thermal storage performance of a shell-and-tube latent heat storage unit," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 203-210.
    9. Liu, Ming & Steven Tay, N.H. & Bell, Stuart & Belusko, Martin & Jacob, Rhys & Will, Geoffrey & Saman, Wasim & Bruno, Frank, 2016. "Review on concentrating solar power plants and new developments in high temperature thermal energy storage technologies," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 1411-1432.
    10. Al-abidi, Abduljalil A. & Bin Mat, Sohif & Sopian, K. & Sulaiman, M.Y. & Mohammed, Abdulrahman Th., 2013. "CFD applications for latent heat thermal energy storage: a review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 20(C), pages 353-363.
    11. Fornarelli, F. & Camporeale, S.M. & Fortunato, B. & Torresi, M. & Oresta, P. & Magliocchetti, L. & Miliozzi, A. & Santo, G., 2016. "CFD analysis of melting process in a shell-and-tube latent heat storage for concentrated solar power plants," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 164(C), pages 711-722.
    12. Tao, Y.B. & He, Y.L., 2011. "Numerical study on thermal energy storage performance of phase change material under non-steady-state inlet boundary," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 88(11), pages 4172-4179.
    13. Liu, Zhenyu & Yao, Yuanpeng & Wu, Huiying, 2013. "Numerical modeling for solid–liquid phase change phenomena in porous media: Shell-and-tube type latent heat thermal energy storage," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 1222-1232.
    14. Seddegh, Saeid & Wang, Xiaolin & Henderson, Alan D. & Xing, Ziwen, 2015. "Solar domestic hot water systems using latent heat energy storage medium: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 517-533.
    15. Longeon, Martin & Soupart, Adèle & Fourmigué, Jean-François & Bruch, Arnaud & Marty, Philippe, 2013. "Experimental and numerical study of annular PCM storage in the presence of natural convection," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 175-184.
    16. Wang, Wei-Wei & Wang, Liang-Bi & He, Ya-Ling, 2015. "The energy efficiency ratio of heat storage in one shell-and-one tube phase change thermal energy storage unit," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 138(C), pages 169-182.
    17. Xiao, X. & Zhang, P., 2015. "Numerical and experimental study of heat transfer characteristics of a shell-tube latent heat storage system: Part I – Charging process," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 337-350.
    18. Mostafavi Tehrani, S. Saeed & Taylor, Robert A., 2016. "Off-design simulation and performance of molten salt cavity receivers in solar tower plants under realistic operational modes and control strategies," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 698-715.
    19. Dutil, Yvan & Rousse, Daniel R. & Salah, Nizar Ben & Lassue, Stéphane & Zalewski, Laurent, 2011. "A review on phase-change materials: Mathematical modeling and simulations," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 15(1), pages 112-130, January.
    20. Tao, Y.B. & He, Y.L., 2015. "Effects of natural convection on latent heat storage performance of salt in a horizontal concentric tube," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 143(C), pages 38-46.
    21. Bechiri, Mohammed & Mansouri, Kacem, 2015. "Analytical solution of heat transfer in a shell-and-tube latent thermal energy storage system," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 825-838.
    22. Zhao, Dongliang & Tan, Gang, 2015. "Numerical analysis of a shell-and-tube latent heat storage unit with fins for air-conditioning application," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 138(C), pages 381-392.
    23. Agyenim, Francis & Eames, Philip & Smyth, Mervyn, 2010. "Heat transfer enhancement in medium temperature thermal energy storage system using a multitube heat transfer array," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 35(1), pages 198-207.
    24. Tehrani, S. Saeed Mostafavi & Taylor, Robert A. & Saberi, Pouya & Diarce, Gonzalo, 2016. "Design and feasibility of high temperature shell and tube latent heat thermal energy storage system for solar thermal power plants," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 96(PA), pages 120-136.
    25. Mostafavi Tehrani, S. Saeed & Shoraka, Yashar & Nithyanandam, Karthik & Taylor, Robert A., 2018. "Cyclic performance of cascaded and multi-layered solid-PCM shell-and-tube thermal energy storage systems: A case study of the 19.9 MWe Gemasolar CSP plant," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 228(C), pages 240-253.
    26. Agyenim, Francis & Hewitt, Neil & Eames, Philip & Smyth, Mervyn, 2010. "A review of materials, heat transfer and phase change problem formulation for latent heat thermal energy storage systems (LHTESS)," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 14(2), pages 615-628, February.
    27. Nithyanandam, K. & Pitchumani, R. & Mathur, A., 2014. "Analysis of a latent thermocline storage system with encapsulated phase change materials for concentrating solar power," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 1446-1460.
    28. Peng, Qiang & Yang, Xiaoxi & Ding, Jing & Wei, Xiaolan & Yang, Jianping, 2013. "Design of new molten salt thermal energy storage material for solar thermal power plant," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 682-689.
    29. Gil, Antoni & Medrano, Marc & Martorell, Ingrid & Lázaro, Ana & Dolado, Pablo & Zalba, Belén & Cabeza, Luisa F., 2010. "State of the art on high temperature thermal energy storage for power generation. Part 1--Concepts, materials and modellization," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 14(1), pages 31-55, January.
    30. Jacob, Rhys & Belusko, Martin & Inés Fernández, A. & Cabeza, Luisa F. & Saman, Wasim & Bruno, Frank, 2016. "Embodied energy and cost of high temperature thermal energy storage systems for use with concentrated solar power plants," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 180(C), pages 586-597.
    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. Rhys Jacob & Ming Liu, 2022. "Design and Evaluation of a High Temperature Phase Change Material Carnot Battery," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(1), pages 1-15, December.
    2. Zhu, Ming & Nan, Wenguang & Wang, Yueshe, 2023. "Analysis on the thermal behaviour of the latent heat storage system using S-CO2 and H-PCM," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 208(C), pages 240-250.
    3. Beust, Clément & Franquet, Erwin & Bédécarrats, Jean-Pierre & Garcia, Pierre, 2020. "Predictive approach of heat transfer for the modelling of large-scale latent heat storages," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 157(C), pages 502-514.
    4. Mostafavi Tehrani, S. Saeed & Shoraka, Yashar & Nithyanandam, Karthik & Taylor, Robert A., 2019. "Shell-and-tube or packed bed thermal energy storage systems integrated with a concentrated solar power: A techno-economic comparison of sensible and latent heat systems," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 238(C), pages 887-910.
    5. Liu, Ming & Riahi, Soheila & Jacob, Rhys & Belusko, Martin & Bruno, Frank, 2020. "Design of sensible and latent heat thermal energy storage systems for concentrated solar power plants: Thermal performance analysis," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 151(C), pages 1286-1297.
    6. Huang, Xinyu & Yao, Shouguang & Yang, Xiaohu & Zhou, Rui, 2022. "Melting performance assessments on a triplex-tube thermal energy storage system: Optimization based on response surface method with natural convection," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 188(C), pages 890-910.

    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. Mostafavi Tehrani, S. Saeed & Shoraka, Yashar & Nithyanandam, Karthik & Taylor, Robert A., 2019. "Shell-and-tube or packed bed thermal energy storage systems integrated with a concentrated solar power: A techno-economic comparison of sensible and latent heat systems," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 238(C), pages 887-910.
    2. Zauner, Christoph & Hengstberger, Florian & Mörzinger, Benjamin & Hofmann, Rene & Walter, Heimo, 2017. "Experimental characterization and simulation of a hybrid sensible-latent heat storage," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 189(C), pages 506-519.
    3. Seddegh, Saeid & Wang, Xiaolin & Joybari, Mahmood Mastani & Haghighat, Fariborz, 2017. "Investigation of the effect of geometric and operating parameters on thermal behavior of vertical shell-and-tube latent heat energy storage systems," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 69-82.
    4. Tehrani, S. Saeed Mostafavi & Taylor, Robert A. & Saberi, Pouya & Diarce, Gonzalo, 2016. "Design and feasibility of high temperature shell and tube latent heat thermal energy storage system for solar thermal power plants," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 96(PA), pages 120-136.
    5. Jayathunga, D.S. & Karunathilake, H.P. & Narayana, M. & Witharana, S., 2024. "Phase change material (PCM) candidates for latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES) in concentrated solar power (CSP) based thermal applications - A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 189(PB).
    6. Opolot, Michael & Zhao, Chunrong & Liu, Ming & Mancin, Simone & Bruno, Frank & Hooman, Kamel, 2022. "A review of high temperature (≥ 500 °C) latent heat thermal energy storage," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 160(C).
    7. Elfeky, K.E. & Li, Xinyi & Ahmed, N. & Lu, Lin & Wang, Qiuwang, 2019. "Optimization of thermal performance in thermocline tank thermal energy storage system with the multilayered PCM(s) for CSP tower plants," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 243(C), pages 175-190.
    8. Solé, Aran & Falcoz, Quentin & Cabeza, Luisa F. & Neveu, Pierre, 2018. "Geometry optimization of a heat storage system for concentrated solar power plants (CSP)," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 227-235.
    9. Yang, Jialin & Yang, Lijun & Xu, Chao & Du, Xiaoze, 2016. "Experimental study on enhancement of thermal energy storage with phase-change material," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 169(C), pages 164-176.
    10. Liu, Yang & Zheng, Ruowei & Li, Ji, 2022. "High latent heat phase change materials (PCMs) with low melting temperature for thermal management and storage of electronic devices and power batteries: Critical review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    11. Tao, Y.B. & He, Ya-Ling, 2018. "A review of phase change material and performance enhancement method for latent heat storage system," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 245-259.
    12. Kirincic, Mateo & Trp, Anica & Lenic, Kristian, 2021. "Influence of natural convection during melting and solidification of paraffin in a longitudinally finned shell-and-tube latent thermal energy storage on the applicability of developed numerical models," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 1329-1344.
    13. Tiwari, Vivek & Rai, Aakash C. & Srinivasan, P., 2021. "Parametric analysis and optimization of a latent heat thermal energy storage system for concentrated solar power plants under realistic operating conditions," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 174(C), pages 305-319.
    14. Fran Torbarina & Kristian Lenic & Anica Trp, 2022. "Computational Model of Shell and Finned Tube Latent Thermal Energy Storage Developed as a New TRNSYS Type," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-26, March.
    15. Zhao, Bing-chen & Cheng, Mao-song & Liu, Chang & Dai, Zhi-min, 2016. "Thermal performance and cost analysis of a multi-layered solid-PCM thermocline thermal energy storage for CSP tower plants," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 178(C), pages 784-799.
    16. Li, Zhi & Lu, Yiji & Huang, Rui & Chang, Jinwei & Yu, Xiaonan & Jiang, Ruicheng & Yu, Xiaoli & Roskilly, Anthony Paul, 2021. "Applications and technological challenges for heat recovery, storage and utilisation with latent thermal energy storage," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 283(C).
    17. Xu, Ben & Li, Peiwen & Chan, Cholik, 2015. "Application of phase change materials for thermal energy storage in concentrated solar thermal power plants: A review to recent developments," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 160(C), pages 286-307.
    18. Zhang, P. & Xiao, X. & Ma, Z.W., 2016. "A review of the composite phase change materials: Fabrication, characterization, mathematical modeling and application to performance enhancement," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 165(C), pages 472-510.
    19. Xun Yang & Teng Xiong & Jing Liang Dong & Wen Xin Li & Yong Wang, 2017. "Investigation of the Dynamic Melting Process in a Thermal Energy Storage Unit Using a Helical Coil Heat Exchanger," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-18, August.
    20. Zhao, Bing-chen & Cheng, Mao-song & Liu, Chang & Dai, Zhi-min, 2018. "System-level performance optimization of molten-salt packed-bed thermal energy storage for concentrating solar power," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 226(C), pages 225-239.

    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:renene:v:132:y:2019:i:c:p:694-708. 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/renewable-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.