Reciprocating Flow for Enhancing Thermal Performance of Latent Thermal Energy Storage Systems
Abstract
Efforts related to the enhancement of thermal efficiency of latent thermal energy storage systems (LTESS) are primarily focused on increasing the heat transfer from heat transfer fluid (HTF) at phase change material (PCM) boundaries and increasing the heat conduction inside the PCM. For enhancing heat transfer at PCM boundaries, comparatively less attention has been paid to the thermodynamic characteristics of HTF at the PCM boundary. The current study describes a simple method of increasing heat transfer rate from HTF to PCM in a shell and tube LTESS by increasing the uniformity of temperature at HTF-PCM boundary compared to conventional unidirectional flow methods through the use of a periodically reciprocating HTF flow. This results in the generation of higher temperature gradients across the HTF-PCM boundary which leads to higher heat transfer rates, lower average temperatures, lower maximum temperatures, and lower temperature differences across the PCM. Detailed parametric studies are performed to investigate the effects of flow and heat transfer parameters of HTF, and the design of PCM container on the relative thermal efficiency of the latent thermal energy storage system with reciprocating flow to unidirectional flow.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Nov 01, 2021
- Source ID
- 10.1115/imece2021-69669
Entities
People
- Akashdeep Singh Virk
- Chanwoo Park
- Chol-Bum Kweon
- Constandinos M. Mitsingas
Organizations
- United States Army Research Laboratory
- University of Missouri