Heat transfer enhancement in water when used as PCM in thermal energy storage

Efficient and reliable storage systems for thermal energy are an important requirement in many applications where heat demand and supply or availability do not coincide. Heat and cold stores can basically be divided in two groups. In sensible heat stores the temperature of the storage material is increased significantly. Latent heat stores, on the contrary, use a storage material that undergoes a phase change (PCM) and a small temperature rise is sufficient to store heat or cold. The major advantages of the phase change stores are their large heat storage capacity and their isothermal behavior during the charging and discharging process. However, while unloading a latent heat storage, the solid–liquid interface moves away from the heat transfer surface and the heat flux decreases due to the increasing thermal resistance of the growing layer of the molten/solidified medium. This effect can be reduced using techniques to increase heat transfer. In this paper, three methods to enhance the heat transfer in a cold storage working with water/ice as PCM are compared: addition of stainless steel pieces, copper pieces (both have been proposed before) and a new PCM-graphite composite material. The PCM-graphite composite material showed an increase in heat flux bigger than with any of the other techniques.     

Experimental study on the selection of phase change materials for low temperature applications

Storage and transport of temperature sensitive products have become an important issue worldwide. The enhancement of thermal performance of cold application is under investigation and implementing thermal energy storage (TES) systems by using phase change materials (PCM) is one of the solutions to better storage. Hence, the selection of the suitable PCM for each specific application is an important matter. In this paper, a TES system using PCM for low temperature applications such as commercial freezers is studied. A set of PCM formulations based on ammonium chloride – water binary system were tested and analyzed to provide information useful for the selection of PCM with regards to their melting range, latent heat, stability under cycling, and cost. Thermal cycling was conducted to determine the thermal reliability of the PCM and the thermal properties were determined using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis.     

Experimental and numerical study on charging processes of an ice‐on‐coil thermal energy storage system

In this study, an external melt ice‐on‐coil thermal storage was studied and tested over various inlet conditions of secondary fluid—glycol solution—flow rate and temperature in charging process. Experiments were conducted to investigate the effect of inlet conditions of secondary fluid and validate the numerical model predictions on ice‐on‐coil thermal energy storage system. The total thermal storage energy and the heat transfer rate in the system were investigated in the range of 10 l min ^?1?V??60 l min ^?1. A new numerical model based on temperature transforming method for phase change material (PCM) described by Faghri was developed to solve the problem of the system consisting of governing equations for the heat transfer fluid, pipe wall and PCM. Numerical simulations were performed to investigate the effect of working conditions of secondary fluid and these were compared with the experimental results. The numerical results verified with experimental investigation show that the stored energy rises with increasing flow rate a decreasing tendency. It is also observed that the inlet temperature of the fluid has more influence on energy storage quantity than flow rate. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

冷水相变能热泵系统的性能系数与经济性分析

冷水相变能热泵系统是一种清洁能源供热供冷系统,性能系数和经济性是冷水相变能热泵系统的主要问题。根据冷水相变能热泵系统的运行原理,采用控制变量法实验分析了冰层厚度、冷水流量以及蒸发冷凝温度对系统能效比的影响,提出了一种冷水相变能热泵系统的运行调控方案并计算其经济性。研究表明：结冰厚度为8 mm时,系统有效能效比最大;系统制热量为744 kW时,相变机结冰期冷水流量应控制在70 t/h,排冰期冷水流量应控制在80 t/h;根据不同时间段的冷热负荷进行系统运行调控,与传统运行方式相比,冬季运行成本降低了4.72%,夏季运行成本降低了29.96%,系统能效比提高了5.6%;系统投资回报率为15.27%,投资回收期为7.67年,具有良好的经济性与节能性。     

Three—Dimensional Heat Transfer Analysis for A Thermal Energy Storage Canister

IlltroductionSolar dynamic power modules (SDPM) with phasechange material (PCM) is a vital solution to ensureuninterrupted power supply for low-earth orbitapplication. The advantage of SDPM is its longerlifehme and higher efficiency. Longer lifetime results insubstanhal savings in hardware replacement, launch, andon-orbit installation costs. Because of SDPM's higherefficiency, its solar collection area is only about 25percent of that for a PV system. This would allowspacecraft operatin…     

冰源热泵系统在设施水产养殖中的技术经济性研究

针对目前刺参养殖的水温调控系统能耗大及适用性差等问题,提出基于冰源热泵的高效清洁供热及结合跨季节蓄冷实现全年冷热管理的技术思路,采用冰源热泵系统和跨季节蓄冷型冰源热泵系统对养殖水体温度进行调控,建立模型定量对比分析系统的运行能效及技术经济性。结果表明:（1）冰源热泵系统供热和供冷时的性能系数分别为3.33和3.39,全年一次能源利用率为1.05,比燃煤锅炉+冷水机组系统高出34.6%;费用年值最低,投资回收期为3 ~ 5年,具有良好的经济效益和应用前景。（2）跨季节蓄冷型冰源热泵系统全年一次能源利用率为1.46,比冰源热泵系统高39.1%,全年运行费用最低;跨季节蓄冷技术的应用有效提升了系统能效,大幅减少供冷运行费用,具有较大发展潜力。     

直接蒸发式盘管外蓄冰机理的试验研究

直接蒸发式盘管管外蓄冰效率比间接媒的管外蓄冰要高,本文主要针对在蓄冷罐中蒸发式盘管管外蓄冰的机理进行试验研究,得出蓄冰量以及水的初始温度随时间的变化规律。     

Direct contact PCM–water cold storage

Comfort cooling demand continues to increase throughout the world. Conventional cooling production results in high demand for electrical power during peak hours, leading to high emissions for producing cooling, and potential power shortages in electric grids. With a cold storage, the peak power demand is effectively managed and enables free-cooling. This paper examines one concept using phase change materials (PCM) for storing of cold, where the cold carrier (water) is in direct contact with the PCM. This is in order to enable high power for charging and discharging while providing a high storage capacity. A theoretical model highlights important design parameters for reaching large storage and power capacity. The capacity increases with the Packing Factor and temperature difference across the storage. For high power, the flow rate, temperature difference, and drop size is important parameters which is also verified in an experimental evaluation. The obtainable power is between 30 and 80 kW/m³ storage. Practical limitations of this concept are shown to be PCM–water bed expansion and non-uniform channeling due to asymmetric and unstable PCM shells.     

冰蓄冷空调技术应用与经济分析

冰蓄冷中央空调是将实际用电从电网高峰向低谷时段转移，从而提高电网效率和节约能源的有效方法之一。文中主要介绍了冰蓄冷空调负荷计算要点、蓄冰系统的组成及蓄冰系统选择设计计算、冰蓄冷空调系统全年能耗及运行费用；以冰蓄冷空调工程应用实例分析评估了该系统的经济性。     

可用于冷链物流相变材料的研究进展

简述了相变材料(PCM)的分类和特点。根据冷链物流对温度的不同要求,将可用于冷链物流相变材料分为冷藏用和冷冻用相变材料两大类。针对固-液相变材料在液态时易发生泄漏的问题,介绍了相变材料微胶囊、泡沫金属和高吸水性树脂(SAP)等相变材料载体的研究现状。分别阐述并分析了无机相变材料、有机相变材料和无机-有机相变材料的特点及其研究进展,针对不同相变材料存在的相分离、过冷、腐蚀和导热系数小等问题,介绍了相应的解决方案。最后,指出了相变材料在冷链物流领域应用中仍然存在的一些问题,展望了冷链物流用相变材料的发展方向。     

Heat pipe with PCM for electronic cooling

This article experimentally investigates the thermal performances of a heat pipe with phase change material for electronic cooling. The adiabatic section of heat pipe is covered by a storage container with phase change material (PCM), which can store and release thermal energy depending upon the heating powers of evaporator and fan speeds of condenser. Experimental investigations are conducted to obtain the system temperature distributions from the charge, discharge and simultaneous charge/discharge performance tests. The parameters in this study include three kinds of PCMs, different filling PCM volumes, fan speeds, and heating powers in the PCM cooling module. The cooling module with tricosane as PCM can save 46% of the fan power consumption compared with the traditional heat pipe.     

Design and optimization of an air heating solar collector with integrated phase change material energy storage for use in humidification–dehumidification desalination

Compared to solar water heaters, high-temperature solar air heaters have received relatively little investigation and have resulted in few commercial products. However, in the context of a humidification–dehumidification (HD) desalination cycle, air heating offers significant performance gains for the cycle. Heating at a constant temperature and constant heat output is also important for HD cycle performance. The use of built in phase change material (PCM) storage is found to produce consistent air outlet temperatures throughout the day or night. In this study, the PCM has been implemented directly below the absorber plate. Using a two dimensional transient finite element model, it is found that a PCM layer of 8 cm below the absorber plate is sufficient to produce a consistent output temperature close to the PCM melting temperature with a time-averaged collector thermal efficiency of 35%. An experimental energy storage collector with an 8 cm thick PCM layer was built and tested in a variety of weather and operating conditions. Experimental results show strong agreement with model in all cases.     

Novel approach to optimize the dimensions of phase change material thermal storage heat exchanger in refrigeration systems

The present study aims to develop an approach to define the optimal dimensions of a phase change material (PCM) packed bed heat exchanger used as a cold thermal energy storage system in a conventional refrigerator. The heat exchanger is used to extend the daily refrigerator downtime and to ensure effective temperature control to contribute to the improved performance of the refrigerator. The mathematical model has been developed according to the technical characteristics and operating conditions of the refrigerator, the technical characteristics of the ventilator, and the thermo‐physical properties of the PCM. The model parameters that have been analyzed are the PCM melting time, air velocity range for tolerable efficient operating conditions, and the pressure drop through the PCM heat exchanger. As a case study, the approach was applied to a 600‐L conventional refrigerator equipped with a 63‐W ventilator. It has been found that over the tolerated velocity range of [2.5‐3.7 m/s], the optimal dimensions of the PCM heat exchanger are defined for an optimal velocity of 3.495 m/s. This is equivalent to an optimum sphere diameter of 0.071 m, a PCM heat exchanger length of 0.213 m, and a width of 0.148 m. The PCM heat exchanger ensures an extended compressor downtime of 12.6 hours for an ice‐PCM mass of 7.15 kg and occupies only 1.2% of the useful volume of the refrigerator.     

Parametric analysis of space cooling systems based on night ceiling cooling with PCM‐embedded piping

A parametric analysis is conducted for space cooling systems based on cold water flowing, during the night, within regularly arranged pipes embedded in a layer of phase change material (PCM), located among the structural layers of the ceiling. The introduced PCM layer in conjunction with night cooling add to the usual ceiling cooling systems offers the advantages of low energy consumption, high cool storage capacity, operation under reduced night electricity price, smoothing of electricity consumption by eliminating daily peak loads, improved thermal comfort and elimination of ceiling dripping. Our parametric analysis is based on a transient three‐dimensional finite‐difference solution of the related heat‐transfer problem for various values of all the main system parameters. PCM phase change process is simulated by using the effective thermal capacity function, which is determined experimentally for PCM suitable for air‐conditioning applications. Our tests showed that the main parameters of the system are pipe spacing, PCM layer thickness, pipe depth within the ceiling, cooling water inlet temperature, night cooling duration and PCM properties (thermal conductivity, phase change heat and ends of phase change temperature range). The effect of all the above parameters is analysed and suggestions are made for selecting the proper combinations of their values in order to obtain the lowest energy consumption in conjunction with the highest level of thermal comfort. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Numerical simulation of porous latent heat thermal energy storage for thermoelectric cooling

Porous latent heat thermal energy storage for thermoelectric cooling is simulated via a matrix-based enthalpy formulation, having the temperature as unknown, in a three-dimensional domain. The system is made up of two aluminum containers; the inner one contains the cooling objective in water suspension and the outer one the phase change material (PCM) in a porous aluminum matrix. The system’s charging and discharging processes are simulated for constant thermoelectric module cold side temperature under different porosities of the aluminum matrix. The mathematical modeling approach simplifies the analysis while the metal matrix in the PCM greatly improves performance. A direct application of the studied system is vaccine conservation in solar powered thermoelectric cooling systems.     

Thermal properties of composite PCM wallboard in low-temperature hot Water radiant system

低温热水墙体辐射供暖技术因其节能、舒适及对供暖温度（热源品位）要求低等优势而越来越得到广泛应用。在研究相变墙体辐射供暖系统的基础上,针对相变墙体层蓄热效率低的问题,提出采用一种新的复合相变墙体板。并建立相应复合相变墙体的传热模型,利用数值模拟软件对复合相变墙体的蓄放热过程进行分析,对比分析了有复合相变层和没有相变层时室内供暖系统的区别,同时研究了相变温度、相变层厚度等参数对复合相变墙体表面平均温度、表面热流密度的影响,得到了它们对复合相变墙体的传热过程的影响规律。研究结果可为提高供暖系统的舒适度提供理论依据,并为发展低品位能源利用提供技术支持。     

Numerical and experimental investigation for heat transfer in triplex concentric tube with phase change material for thermal energy storage

This paper addresses a numerical and experimental investigation of a thermal energy storage unit involving phase change process dominated by heat conduction. The thermal energy storage unit involves a triplex concentric tube with phase change material (PCM) filling in the middle channel, with hot heat transfer fluid (HHTF) flowing outer channel during charging process and cold heat transfer fluid (CHTF) flowing inner channel during discharging process. A simple numerical method according to conversation of energy, called temperature & thermal resistance iteration method has been developed for the analysis of PCM solidification and melting in the triplex concentric tube. To test the physical validity of the numerical results, an experimental apparatus has been designed and built by which the effect of the inlet temperature and the flow rate of heat transfer fluid (HTF, including HHTF and CHTF) on the thermal energy storage has been studied. Comparison between the numerical predictions and the experimental data shows good agreement. Graphical results including fluid temperature and interface of solid and liquid phase of PCM versus time and axial position, time-wise variation of energy stored/released by the system were presented and discussed.     

Numerical Analysis of Phase Change Material Characteristics Used in a Thermal Energy Storage Device

In this study, a numerical analysis is performed to investigate the freezing process of phase change materials (PCM) in a predesigned thermal energy storage (TES) device. This TES device is integrated with a milk storage cooling cycle operating under predefined practical conditions. Using this cooling unit, 100 litres of milk is kept cool at 4°C for 48 hours before it is collected. A 2-D model of the TES device is developed in COMSOL Multiphysics to analyze the phase change performance of water-based PCMs. The variations of thermal properties with temperature during the phase change are considered in the analysis. The model is used for exploring the solidification process of PCMs inside the TES device. Temperature variations with time, ice formation, and the impacts of boundary conditions are investigated in detail. Water PCM shows better characteristics in the solidification process in comparison to eutectic PCMs, which is mainly due to the differences between phase change temperatures of the PCMs.     

严寒地区单体建筑太阳能-相变墙系统蓄热特性研究

利用太阳能对水加热并通入相变墙进行蓄热,对减少严寒地区单体建筑供热能耗有重要意义。以大庆市某单体建筑为例,结合该地区太阳能分布特点及建筑热负荷大小,对适用于该地区的太阳能-相变墙系统进行集热与储热能力计算,并采用CFD方法研究单一工况下该系统的热工变化规律及不同热水参数、换热管规格对相变墙蓄热特性的影响。结果表明：该相变墙热稳定性良好,但受自然对流影响,底部相变材料熔化较慢;管径DN25、入口流速0.3m/s、供水温度310.15K、回水温度309.15K、管间距107mm可使相变材料在4小时内完成蓄热,平均节能率为31.8%。研究结果可望为降低严寒地区建筑供热能耗提供新思路。     

Experimental study of the phase change and energy characteristics inside a cylindrical latent heat energy storage system: Part 2 simultaneous charging and discharging

The time mismatch between energy availability and energy demand with solar domestic hot water (SDHW) systems is often solved using energy storage. Energy storage systems typically employ water for thermal energy storage, however, water storage takes up considerable space and weight due to the large volumes required under certain conditions. A latent heat energy storage system (LHESS) may provide a valuable solution to the space and weight issue, while also correcting the energy mismatch by storing energy in phase change materials (PCMs) when it is available, dispensing energy when it is in demand, and acting as a heat exchanger when there is supply and demand simultaneously. PCMs are advantageous as energy storage materials due to their high energy density which reduces the space requirements for energy storage. However, heat transfer problems arise due to the inherently low thermal conductivity of PCMs. Simultaneous charging and discharging has not been addressed in literature making questionable the ability of a LHESS to operate as a heat exchanger during the mode of operation. The main objective of this research is to study the heat transfer processes and phase change behavior of a PCM during simultaneous charging and discharging of a LHESS.In Part 2 of this paper, experiments are performed using a vertical cylindrical LHESS which is charged and discharged simultaneously to replicate latent heat energy storage paired with a SDHW system with simultaneous energy supply and demand. Dodecanoic acid is used as the PCM. Experimental results for simultaneous operations are presented, under various scenarios and flow rates for both the hot and cold heat transfer fluids. The ability of the system to directly transfer heat between the hot and cold heat transfer fluids is studied, and the results found during consecutive, or separate, charging and discharging, presented in Part 1 of this paper, are compared to the results found during simultaneous charging and discharging. It was found that natural convection in the melted PCM clearly provides an advantage towards direct heat exchange between the hot and cold heat transfer fluid; while the low thermal conductivity of solid PCM provides a barrier to this direct energy exchange.