IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/renene/v89y2016icp371-379.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Validation of a CFD model for the simulation of heat transfer in a tubes-in-tank PCM storage unit

Author

Listed:
  • Allouche, Yosr
  • Varga, Szabolcs
  • Bouden, Chiheb
  • Oliveira, Armando C.

Abstract

A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model was developed for the simulation of a phase change thermal energy storage process in a 100 l cylindrical tank, horizontally placed. The model is validated with experimental data obtained for the same configuration. The cold storage unit was charged using water as the heat transfer medium, flowing inside a horizontal tube bundle, and the selected phase change material (PCM) was microencapsulated slurry in 45% w/w concentration. The mathematical model is based on the three-dimensional transient Navier–Stokes equations with nonlinear temperature dependent thermo-physical properties of the PCM during the phase change range. These properties were experimentally determined using analytical methods. The governing equations were solved using the ANSYS/FLUENT commercial software package. The mathematical model is validated with experimental data for three different flow rates of the heat transfer fluid during the charging process. Bulk temperature, heat transfer rate and amount of energy stored were used as performance indicators. It was found that the PCM bulk temperatures were predicted within 5% of the experimental data. The results have also shown that the total accumulated energy was within 10% of the observed value, and thus it can be concluded that the model predicts the heat transfer inside the storage system with good accuracy.

Suggested Citation

  • Allouche, Yosr & Varga, Szabolcs & Bouden, Chiheb & Oliveira, Armando C., 2016. "Validation of a CFD model for the simulation of heat transfer in a tubes-in-tank PCM storage unit," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 371-379.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:89:y:2016:i:c:p:371-379
    DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2015.12.038
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960148115305401
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.renene.2015.12.038?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. Mandilaras, I.D. & Kontogeorgos, D.A. & Founti, M.A., 2015. "A hybrid methodology for the determination of the effective heat capacity of PCM enhanced building components," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 790-804.
    2. 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.
    3. López-Navarro, A. & Biosca-Taronger, J. & Corberán, J.M. & Peñalosa, C. & Lázaro, A. & Dolado, P. & Payá, J., 2014. "Performance characterization of a PCM storage tank," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 151-162.
    4. Tay, N.H.S. & Belusko, M. & Bruno, F., 2012. "Experimental investigation of tubes in a phase change thermal energy storage system," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 90(1), pages 288-297.
    5. Huang, M.J. & Eames, P.C. & McCormack, S. & Griffiths, P. & Hewitt, N.J., 2011. "Microencapsulated phase change slurries for thermal energy storage in a residential solar energy system," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(11), pages 2932-2939.
    6. 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.
    7. 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.
    8. Sciacovelli, A. & Gagliardi, F. & Verda, V., 2015. "Maximization of performance of a PCM latent heat storage system with innovative fins," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 707-715.
    9. 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.
    10. Diaconu, Bogdan M. & Varga, Szabolcs & Oliveira, Armando C., 2010. "Experimental assessment of heat storage properties and heat transfer characteristics of a phase change material slurry for air conditioning applications," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 87(2), pages 620-628, February.
    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. Zhang, Tao & Huo, Dongxin & Wang, Chengyao & Shi, Zhengrong, 2023. "Review of the modeling approaches of phase change processes," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 187(C).
    2. Iten, Muriel & Liu, Shuli & Shukla, Ashish, 2018. "Experimental validation of an air-PCM storage unit comparing the effective heat capacity and enthalpy methods through CFD simulations," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 155(C), pages 495-503.
    3. Mehdaoui, Farah & Hazami, Majdi & Messaouda, Anis & Taghouti, Hichem & Guizani, AmenAllah, 2019. "Thermal testing and numerical simulation of PCM wall integrated inside a test cell on a small scale and subjected to the thermal stresses," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 597-607.
    4. Jie Huang & Fei Xu & Zilong Wang & Hua Zhang, 2023. "An Experimental Investigation on the Performance of a Water Storage Tank with Sodium Acetate Trihydrate," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(2), pages 1-14, January.

    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. Sharif, M.K. Anuar & Al-Abidi, A.A. & Mat, S. & Sopian, K. & Ruslan, M.H. & Sulaiman, M.Y. & Rosli, M.A.M., 2015. "Review of the application of phase change material for heating and domestic hot water systems," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 557-568.
    2. 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.
    3. Mao, Qianjun, 2016. "Recent developments in geometrical configurations of thermal energy storage for concentrating solar power plant," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 320-327.
    4. Yang, Xiaohu & Guo, Junfei & Yang, Bo & Cheng, Haonan & Wei, Pan & He, Ya-Ling, 2020. "Design of non-uniformly distributed annular fins for a shell-and-tube thermal energy storage unit," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 279(C).
    5. Dre Helmns & David H. Blum & Spencer M. Dutton & Van P. Carey, 2021. "Development and Validation of a Latent Thermal Energy Storage Model Using Modelica," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(1), pages 1-22, January.
    6. 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.
    7. 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.
    8. Delgado, M. & Lázaro, A. & Mazo, J. & Peñalosa, C. & Marín, J.M. & Zalba, B., 2017. "Experimental analysis of a coiled stirred tank containing a low cost PCM emulsion as a thermal energy storage system," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 138(C), pages 590-601.
    9. 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.
    10. Soares, N. & Gaspar, A.R. & Santos, P. & Costa, J.J., 2015. "Experimental study of the heat transfer through a vertical stack of rectangular cavities filled with phase change materials," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 192-205.
    11. Janusz T. Cieśliński & Maciej Fabrykiewicz, 2023. "Thermal Energy Storage with PCMs in Shell-and-Tube Units: A Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(2), pages 1-35, January.
    12. Al-Abidi, Abduljalil A. & Bin Mat, Sohif & Sopian, K. & Sulaiman, M.Y. & Lim, C.H. & Th, Abdulrahman, 2012. "Review of thermal energy storage for air conditioning systems," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 16(8), pages 5802-5819.
    13. Du, Kun & Calautit, John & Eames, Philip & Wu, Yupeng, 2021. "A state-of-the-art review of the application of phase change materials (PCM) in Mobilized-Thermal Energy Storage (M-TES) for recovering low-temperature industrial waste heat (IWH) for distributed heat," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 168(C), pages 1040-1057.
    14. 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.
    15. Qiu, Zhongzhu & Zhao, Xudong & Li, Peng & Zhang, Xingxing & Ali, Samira & Tan, Junyi, 2015. "Theoretical investigation of the energy performance of a novel MPCM (Microencapsulated Phase Change Material) slurry based PV/T module," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 686-698.
    16. 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.
    17. Sun, Xiaoqin & Zhang, Quan & Medina, Mario A. & Liao, Shuguang, 2015. "Performance of a free-air cooling system for telecommunications base stations using phase change materials (PCMs): In-situ tests," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 325-334.
    18. Qiu, Zhongzhu & Ma, Xiaoli & Li, Peng & Zhao, Xudong & Wright, Andrew, 2017. "Micro-encapsulated phase change material (MPCM) slurries: Characterization and building applications," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 246-262.
    19. Zhanjun Guo & Wu Zhou & Sen Liu & Zhangyang Kang & Rufei Tan, 2023. "Effects of Geometric Parameters and Heat-Transfer Fluid Injection Direction on Enhanced Phase-Change Energy Storage in Vertical Shell-and-Tube System," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(17), pages 1-21, August.
    20. Wang, Zeyu & Diao, Yanhua & Zhao, Yaohua & Chen, Chuanqi & Wang, Tengyue & Liang, Lin, 2023. "Experimental and numerical studies of thermal transport in a latent heat storage unit with a plate fin and a flat heat pipe," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 275(C).

    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:89:y:2016:i:c:p:371-379. 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.