Thermal Energy Storage in Phase Change Material.
Abstract
The present study deals with an experimental investigation of low temperature thermal storage based on macroencapsulation of Phase Change Material (PCM). The storage performance capabilities of capsule bed, tube bank and tubular single-pass heat exchanger are compared. The tests are conducted on the VKI Solar Utility Network (SUN) which is a closed loop facility designed to study air heating systems. An original data acquisition chain based on two conversing microprocessors is developed to carry out mass flow, pressure drop and temperature measurements. The experimental results are interpreted on the basis of comparison with numerical predictions and they allow to draw the following conclusions. Each type of matrix has its own range of operation for practical application but from a heat transfer standpoint, the PCM capsule packing unit is strongly recommended. It is suggested to extend this investigation to the effect of Reynolds number to find optimum range for thermo-mechanical efficiency.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 01, 1982
- Accession Number
- ADA113355
Entities
People
- J-m. Buchlin
- P. White
Organizations
- von Kármán Institute for Fluid Dynamics