IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v12y2019i19p3652-d270341.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Modeling of a PCM TES Tank Used as an Alternative Heat Sink for a Water Chiller. Analysis of Performance and Energy Savings

Author

Listed:
  • Antonio Real-Fernández

    (Department of Mathematics, Universidad Cardenal Herrera-CEU, CEU Universities, Physics and Technological Sciences. C/San Bartolomé, 55, 46115 Alfara del Patriarca, Valencia, Spain)

  • Joaquín Navarro-Esbrí

    (ISTENER Research Group, Department of Mechanical Engineering and Construction, Universitat Jaume I, Campus de Riu Sec s/n, E12071 Castelló de la Plana, Spain)

  • Adrián Mota-Babiloni

    (ISTENER Research Group, Department of Mechanical Engineering and Construction, Universitat Jaume I, Campus de Riu Sec s/n, E12071 Castelló de la Plana, Spain)

  • Ángel Barragán-Cervera

    (ISTENER Research Group, Department of Mechanical Engineering and Construction, Universitat Jaume I, Campus de Riu Sec s/n, E12071 Castelló de la Plana, Spain)

  • Luis Domenech

    (Department of Mathematics, Universidad Cardenal Herrera-CEU, CEU Universities, Physics and Technological Sciences. C/San Bartolomé, 55, 46115 Alfara del Patriarca, Valencia, Spain)

  • Fernando Sánchez

    (Department of Mathematics, Universidad Cardenal Herrera-CEU, CEU Universities, Physics and Technological Sciences. C/San Bartolomé, 55, 46115 Alfara del Patriarca, Valencia, Spain)

  • Angelo Maiorino

    (Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Salerno, Via Giovanni Paolo II 132, 84084 Fisciano (SA), Italy)

  • Ciro Aprea

    (Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Salerno, Via Giovanni Paolo II 132, 84084 Fisciano (SA), Italy)

Abstract

Phase change materials (PCMs) can be used in refrigeration systems to redistribute the thermal load. The main advantages of the overall system are a more stable energy performance, energy savings, and the use of the off-peak electric tariff. This paper proposes, models, tests, and analyzes an experimental water vapor compression chiller connected to a PCM thermal energy storage (TES) tank that acts as an alternative heat sink. First, the transient model of the chiller-PCM system is proposed and validated through experimental data directly measured from a test bench where the PCM TES tank is connected to a vapor compression-based chiller. A maximum deviation of 1.2 °C has been obtained between the numerical and experimental values of the PCM tank water outlet temperature. Then, the validated chiller-PCM system model is used to quantify (using the coefficient of performance, COP) and to analyze its energy performance and its dependence on the ambient temperature. Moreover, electrical energy saving curves are calculated for different ambient temperature profiles, reaching values between 5% and 15% taking the experimental system without PCM as a baseline. Finally, the COP of the chiller-PCM system is calculated for different temperatures and use scenarios, and it is compared with the COP of a conventional aerothermal chiller to determine the switch ambient temperature values for which the former provides energy savings over the latter.

Suggested Citation

  • Antonio Real-Fernández & Joaquín Navarro-Esbrí & Adrián Mota-Babiloni & Ángel Barragán-Cervera & Luis Domenech & Fernando Sánchez & Angelo Maiorino & Ciro Aprea, 2019. "Modeling of a PCM TES Tank Used as an Alternative Heat Sink for a Water Chiller. Analysis of Performance and Energy Savings," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(19), pages 1-18, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:12:y:2019:i:19:p:3652-:d:270341
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/12/19/3652/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/12/19/3652/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sanghoon Baek & Sangchul Kim, 2019. "Analysis of Thermal Performance and Energy Saving Potential by PCM Radiant Floor Heating System based on Wet Construction Method and Hot Water," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-17, March.
    2. Roman, Kibria K. & O'Brien, Timothy & Alvey, Jedediah B. & Woo, OhJin, 2016. "Simulating the effects of cool roof and PCM (phase change materials) based roof to mitigate UHI (urban heat island) in prominent US cities," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 103-117.
    3. Zhao, Dongliang & Tan, Gang, 2014. "Experimental evaluation of a prototype thermoelectric system integrated with PCM (phase change material) for space cooling," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 658-666.
    4. Chen, Xiaoming & Zhang, Quan & Zhai, Zhiqiang John & Ma, Xiaowei, 2019. "Potential of ventilation systems with thermal energy storage using PCMs applied to air conditioned buildings," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 138(C), pages 39-53.
    5. Pavel Charvát & Lubomír Klimeš & Martin Zálešák, 2019. "Utilization of an Air-PCM Heat Exchanger in Passive Cooling of Buildings: A Simulation Study on the Energy Saving Potential in Different European Climates," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-17, March.
    6. 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.
    7. Yoon-Bok Seong & Jae-Han Lim, 2013. "Energy Saving Potentials of Phase Change Materials Applied to Lightweight Building Envelopes," Energies, MDPI, vol. 6(10), pages 1-12, October.
    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. Wangqi Xiong & Jiandong Wang, 2020. "Minimizing Power Consumption of an Experimental HVAC System Based on Parallel Grid Searching," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-18, April.
    2. Artur Nemś & Antonio M. Puertas, 2020. "Model for the Discharging of a Dual PCM Heat Storage Tank and Its Experimental Validation," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-16, October.
    3. Valeria Palomba & Antonino Bonanno & Giovanni Brunaccini & Davide Aloisio & Francesco Sergi & Giuseppe E. Dino & Efstratios Varvaggiannis & Sotirios Karellas & Birgo Nitsch & Andreas Strehlow & André , 2021. "Hybrid Cascade Heat Pump and Thermal-Electric Energy Storage System for Residential Buildings: Experimental Testing and Performance Analysis," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-28, April.
    4. R. Andrzejczyk & P. Kozak & T. Muszyński, 2020. "Experimental Investigations on the Influence of Coil Arrangement on Melting/Solidification Processes," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-19, December.
    5. Mohammad Javad Zarei & Hassan Bazai & Mohsen Sharifpur & Omid Mahian & Bahman Shabani, 2020. "The Effects of Fin Parameters on the Solidification of PCMs in a Fin-Enhanced Thermal Energy Storage System," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(1), pages 1-20, 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. Saffari, Mohammad & de Gracia, Alvaro & Ushak, Svetlana & Cabeza, Luisa F., 2017. "Passive cooling of buildings with phase change materials using whole-building energy simulation tools: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 1239-1255.
    2. Yuan, Yanping & Gao, Xiangkui & Wu, Hongwei & Zhang, Zujin & Cao, Xiaoling & Sun, Liangliang & Yu, Nanyang, 2017. "Coupled cooling method and application of latent heat thermal energy storage combined with pre-cooling of envelope: Method and model development," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 817-833.
    3. Nie, Binjian & Palacios, Anabel & Zou, Boyang & Liu, Jiaxu & Zhang, Tongtong & Li, Yunren, 2020. "Review on phase change materials for cold thermal energy storage applications," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    4. Mingli Li & Guoqing Gui & Zhibin Lin & Long Jiang & Hong Pan & Xingyu Wang, 2018. "Numerical Thermal Characterization and Performance Metrics of Building Envelopes Containing Phase Change Materials for Energy-Efficient Buildings," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-23, July.
    5. Nie, Binjian & She, Xiaohui & Du, Zheng & Xie, Chunping & Li, Yongliang & He, Zhubing & Ding, Yulong, 2019. "System performance and economic assessment of a thermal energy storage based air-conditioning unit for transport applications," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 251(C), pages 1-1.
    6. Meng, Fankai & Chen, Lingen & Feng, Yuanli & Xiong, Bing, 2017. "Thermoelectric generator for industrial gas phase waste heat recovery," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 83-90.
    7. 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.
    8. Zhu, Xiaochen & Fuli, Wang, 2023. "Energy savings bottleneck diagnosis and optimization decision method for industrial auxiliary system based on energy efficiency gap analysis," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 263(PE).
    9. Li, Peisheng & Li, Zhihao & Zhang, Ying & Li, Wenbin & Chen, Yue & Lei, Jie, 2020. "Numerical research on performance comparison of multi-layer high temperature latent heat storage under different structure parameter," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 156(C), pages 131-141.
    10. Saafi, Khawla & Daouas, Naouel, 2019. "Energy and cost efficiency of phase change materials integrated in building envelopes under Tunisia Mediterranean climate," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 187(C).
    11. Zhao, Dongliang & Yin, Xiaobo & Xu, Jingtao & Tan, Gang & Yang, Ronggui, 2020. "Radiative sky cooling-assisted thermoelectric cooling system for building applications," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 190(C).
    12. Kirim Lee & Jihoon Seong & Youkyung Han & Won Hee Lee, 2020. "Evaluation of Applicability of Various Color Space Techniques of UAV Images for Evaluating Cool Roof Performance," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-12, August.
    13. K. S. Reddy & Vijay Mudgal & Tapas K. Mallick, 2017. "Thermal Performance Analysis of Multi-Phase Change Material Layer-Integrated Building Roofs for Energy Efficiency in Built-Environment," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-15, September.
    14. Jiří Jaromír Klemeš & Petar Sabev Varbanov & Paweł Ocłoń & Hon Huin Chin, 2019. "Towards Efficient and Clean Process Integration: Utilisation of Renewable Resources and Energy-Saving Technologies," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-32, October.
    15. Atefeh Tamaskani Esfehankalateh & Jack Ngarambe & Geun Young Yun, 2021. "Influence of Tree Canopy Coverage and Leaf Area Density on Urban Heat Island Mitigation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1-14, July.
    16. Monika Gandhi & Ashok Kumar & Rajasekar Elangovan & Chandan Swaroop Meena & Kishor S. Kulkarni & Anuj Kumar & Garima Bhanot & Nishant R. Kapoor, 2020. "A Review on Shape-Stabilized Phase Change Materials for Latent Energy Storage in Buildings," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-17, November.
    17. Ljungdahl, V. & Taha, K. & Dallaire, J. & Kieseritzky, E. & Pawelz, F. & Jradi, M. & Veje, C., 2021. "Phase change material based ventilation module - Numerical study and experimental validation of serial design," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 234(C).
    18. Yu, Jinghua & Leng, Kangxin & Ye, Hong & Xu, Xinhua & Luo, Yongqiang & Wang, Jinbo & Yang, Xie & Yang, Qingchen & Gang, Wenjie, 2020. "Study on thermal insulation characteristics and optimized design of pipe-embedded ventilation roof with outer-layer shape-stabilized PCM in different climate zones," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 147(P1), pages 1609-1622.
    19. Zhengjing Li & Yishun Sha & Xuelai Zhang, 2024. "Research on Phase Change Cold Storage Materials and Innovative Applications in Air Conditioning Systems," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(17), pages 1-24, August.
    20. Liu, Di & Zhao, Fu-Yun & Yang, Hongxing & Tang, Guang-Fa, 2015. "Theoretical and experimental investigations of thermoelectric heating system with multiple ventilation channels," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 458-468.

    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:gam:jeners:v:12:y:2019:i:19:p:3652-:d:270341. 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    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.