Investigating the Synergistic Effects of Cascaded ST-LHTES Unit and CEG with PCM on Thermal Performance: A Numerical Study

Kumar, Narender, Chakraborty, Prodyut R., Bhardwaj, Chandrashekhar

ISES Solar World Congress 2023 · New Delhi, India · 2023-10-30
Published by International Solar Energy Society (ISES)
DOI: 10.18086/swc.2023.03.05

Abstract

Latent heat based thermal energy storage systems (LHTES) have gained interest for their high energy storage density and isothermal energy charging and discharging. However, challenges such as low thermal conductivity and performance enhancement must be addressed. The promising solution for this is using a cascading of PCMs combined with compressed expanded graphite (CEG). In this study, cascading is considered by employing two phase change materials (PCMs), Lithium Nitrate (PCM 1) and Solar Salt (PCM 2), arranged axially along the heat transfer fluid (HTF) flow direction (Therminol-66). Numerical simulations using ANSYS Fluent 2019 R2 is conducted to investigate the charging dynamics of a 2-D axisymmetric shell and tube LHTES unit. A volume fraction-updating scheme is used to study the melt fraction of PCMs in all cases. Moreover, the proposed model will analyze the exergy efficiency and effectiveness of LHTES.

Keywords

Latent heat, Compressed expanded graphite, Cascading, Charging and discharging

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