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Experimental study on thermal behavior of new mixed medium phase change material for improving productivity on salt gradient solar pond

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Abstract

Five identical cylindrical salinity-gradient solar ponds (SGSPs) with internal heat exchanger were constructed and operated. In order to optimize the performance of the SGSPs, mixtures of NaCl and Na2SO4 were used. Radiation flux, temperature of the zones, ambient temperature, inlet, and outlet temperature of the internal heat exchangers were measured. It was shown a controlled amount of Na2SO4 improves the thermal and salinity stability of the pond in the normal operation and heat extraction and lowers the pond temperature drop ratio to the water outlet temperature drop during the heat extraction, which means an improvement in the energy storage capacity. The pond with higher percentage of Na2SO4 requires less time to stabilize. Higher percentage Na2SO4 reduces the density gradient between the upper and lower convective zones of the pond and leads to rapid destruction of the upper layer. Maximum ability of heat extraction corresponds to the pond with 0.75% Na2SO4. In addition, to prevent the algae growth at higher percentage Na2SO4, spraying of HCl on the pond surface was used.

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Abbreviations

A o :

External surface area of the heat exchanger (m2)

A SP :

Area of the solar pond (m2)

Cprel :

Ratio (specific heat capacity of fluid heat exchanger to specific heat capacity of fluid LCZ)

CPS :

Specific heat capacity of fluid LCZ \(\left( {{\text{J Kg}}^{ - 1} \;{^\circ }{\text{C}}} \right)\)

C PW :

Specific heat capacity of fluid heat exchanger \(\left( {{\text{JKg}}^{ - 1} \;{^\circ }{\text{C}}} \right)\)

G:

Solar radiation at the surface of the pond (W m-2)

HCl:

Hydrochloric acid

m lcz :

Mass of LCZ (Kg)

m rel :

Ratio of (mass flow rate in heat exchanger to mass of LCZ) (Kg)

ṁ w :

Mass flow rate in heat exchanger (Kg/ s)

n:

Heat extracted time intervals

NaCl:

Sodium chloride

Na2SO4 :

Sodium sulfate

PE:

Polyethylene

Q̇ :

Rate of heat extraction from the LCZ per unit area of the solar pond (W/ m2)

T i :

Inlet temperature of the internal heat exchanger (°C)

T iw :

Initial temperature of heat exchanger (°C)

T o :

Outlet temperature of the internal heat exchanger (°C)

T ow :

Final Temperature of Heat exchanger (°C)

TP :

Temperature of pond (°C)

T P1 :

Initial temperature of LCZ (°C)

T P2 :

Final temperature of LCZ (°C)

U :

Overall heat transfer coefficient based on external surface area (W/ m2°C)

IHE:

Internal heat exchanger

JSUT:

Jundi-Shapur University of Technology

LCZ:

Lower convective zone

LHTES:

Latent heat thermal energy storage 

LLDPE:

Linear low density polyethylene

LMTD:

Logarithmic mean temperature difference

NCZ:

Non-convective zone

N:

Ratio in percentage number of salt combinations

PCM:

Phase change material

SHTES:

Sensible heat thermal energy storage

SGSP:

Salt gradient solar pond

TES:

Thermal energy storage

UCZ:

Upper convective zone

\(\eta\) :

Thermal Efficiency

ɛ:

Maximum ability for heat extraction

δsensor :

Sensor accuracy

δinstrument :

Measuring instrument accuracy

δtotal :

Total uncertainty

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mechanical Engineering Department, Jundi-Shapur University of Technology, Dezful, Iran

    Mohammad Reza Assari, Mohammad Hossein Tahan & Alireza Jafar Gholi Beik

  2. Mechanical Engineering Department, Amirkabir University of Technology (Tehran Polytechnic), Tehran, Iran

    Hassan Basirat Tabrizi

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  1. Mohammad Reza Assari
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  2. Mohammad Hossein Tahan
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  3. Alireza Jafar Gholi Beik
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  4. Hassan Basirat Tabrizi
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Correspondence to Mohammad Reza Assari.

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Assari, M.R., Tahan, M.H., Jafar Gholi Beik, A. et al. Experimental study on thermal behavior of new mixed medium phase change material for improving productivity on salt gradient solar pond. J Therm Anal Calorim 147, 971–985 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-020-10317-6

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