Novel Encapsulation Technique to Upscale Latent Heat Storage Capacity in Steam Accumulators
Abstract
Cylindrical latent heat storage (LHS) capsules are used in steam accumulators for reducing the pressure drop in the vessel. Due to the high thermal resistance offered by the phase change material (PCM) in capsules with a higher diameter, more number of less diameter capsules need to be used for a particular storage capacity. In the present study, a novel encapsulation technique is proposed for effective heat transfer in cylindrical LHS capsules. With this technique, less number of capsules can yield the similar or higher storage capacity in a comparatively lesser charging time. A numerical model is developed to study the performance characteristics of the proposed novel encapsulation technique. In the numerical model, the effective heat capacity method is applied to consider the latent heat of the PCM and Boussinesq approximation is used to include the natural convection of the molten layer of the PCM. Darcy law’s source term is added in the momentum equation to deduce the velocities of the PCM in its actual form in the mushy zone.
Keywords
Heat transfer enhancement, Latent heat storage, Novel encapsulation, Phase change material.