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Thermal Performance Analysis of the Charging/Discharging Process of a Shell and Horizontally Oriented Multi-Tube Latent Heat Storage System

Author

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  • Mohamed Fadl

    (Thermal Energy Storage Group, CREST, Loughborough University, Loughborough LE11 3TU, UK)

  • Philip Eames

    (Thermal Energy Storage Group, CREST, Loughborough University, Loughborough LE11 3TU, UK)

Abstract

In this study, the thermal performance of latent heat thermal energy storage system (LHTESS) prototype to be used in a range of thermal systems (e.g., solar water heating systems, space heating/domestic hot water applications) is designed, fabricated, and experimentally investigated. The thermal store comprised a novel horizontally oriented multitube heat exchanger in a rectangular tank (forming the shell) filled with 37.8 kg of phase change material (PCM) RT62HC with water as the working fluid. The assessment of thermal performance during charging (melting) and discharging (solidification) was conducted under controlled several operational conditions comprising the heat transfer fluid (HTF) volume flow rates and inlet temperatures. The experimental investigations reported are focused on evaluating the transient PCM average temperature distribution at different heights within the storage unit, charging/discharging time, instantaneous transient charging/discharging power, and the total cumulative thermal energy stored/released. From the experimental results, it is noticed that both melting/solidification time significantly decreased with increase HTF volume flow rate and that changing the HTF inlet temperature shows large impacts on charging time compared to changing the HTF volume flow rate. During the discharging process, the maximum power output was initially 4.48 kW for HTF volume flow rate of 1.7 L/min, decreasing to 1.0 kW after 52.3 min with 2.67 kWh of heat delivered. Based on application heat demand characteristics, required power levels and heat demand can be fulfilled by employing several stores in parallel or series.

Suggested Citation

  • Mohamed Fadl & Philip Eames, 2020. "Thermal Performance Analysis of the Charging/Discharging Process of a Shell and Horizontally Oriented Multi-Tube Latent Heat Storage System," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-23, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:13:y:2020:i:23:p:6193-:d:450828
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Saulius Pakalka & Kęstutis Valančius & Giedrė Streckienė, 2021. "Experimental and Theoretical Investigation of the Natural Convection Heat Transfer Coefficient in Phase Change Material (PCM) Based Fin-and-Tube Heat Exchanger," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(3), pages 1-14, January.

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