Performance Investigation on Cascade Latent Heat Storage for Various Geometric Orientations
Abstract
The utilization of the multiple phase change materials in a single storage unit is one of the potential methods to augment the heat transfer in latent heat storage. In the present work, a comparative performance assessment between single, two, and three-stage cascade latent heat storage (CLHS) have been performed. A 3D shell and tube-based thermal energy storage is considered for the analysis using commercial software ANSYS Fluent 2020R1. In the present work, the effect of the orientation of the storage on the melting/solidification behavior of the PCMs in CLHS and on the overall cyclic performance of the CLHS will be tested. Moreover, the effect of the number of stages on the performance of the multi-PCM based storage will also be highlighted. The effect of the operating parameters, i.e., inlet temperature and mass flow rate of the HTF, on the cyclic performance of the CLHS will also be highlighted in the present study.