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Numerical study of solar absorption heat storage system applied to Bucharest city

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Abstract

Buildings represent a large part in terms of fossil energy consumption, which depends on the great need for heating. Even if the solar absorption heat storage system is possible, the performance of this system is affected by the cycle limits and the climatic conditions. The goal of the present study is to control the thermal performance of the system cycle according to the imposed climatic conditions of Bucharest city, Romania, and therefore a numerical model was developed for this purpose. The scheme and the thermodynamic cycle, the energy and mass balance equations, and the computational algorithm were presented. The results show that the cycle temperature increases at the end of desorption when the heating power supplied to the desorber is increased, which is also proportional to the drop in temperature at the beginning of the desorption. The temperature at the end of absorption and the mass flow rates of the solution have a significant effect on the thermal power released from the absorber and used to heat the building. For an average daily heat power of 1.35 kW/m2 and 10 hours per day of heating the building, the system with a solar collector area of 3 m2 has the capacity of heat supply for all the cold period. However, an economic strategy remains necessary.

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Abbreviations

A :

area (m2)

a 1 :

first-order loss coefficient (W/(m2·K))

a 2 :

second-order loss coefficient (W/(m2·K2))

h :

specific enthalpy (J/kg)

I :

solar radiation (W/m2)

ṁ :

mass flow rate (kg/s)

p :

pressure (kPa)

\(\dot q\) :

heat flux density (W/m2)

Q :

heat amount (W·h)

\(\dot Q\) :

thermal power (W)

r :

sensible heat percentage (%)

T :

temperature (°C)

t :

time (h)

U :

overall heat transfer coefficient (W/(K·m2))

x :

mass fraction (%)

ΔT :

temperature step

ε :

convergence error

η :

efficiency (%)

η 0 :

optical efficiency (%)

a:

absorption

amb:

ambient

avg:

average

ba:

beginning of absorption

bd:

beginning of desorption

c:

condensation

com:

comfort

cry:

crystallization

d:

desorption

e:

evaporation

fa:

ending of absorption

fd:

ending of desorption

gn:

generator

h:

heating

hf:

heating floor

i:

inlet

max:

maximum

min:

minimum

o:

outlet

ref:

reference

sc:

solar collector

sh:

superheated

sr:

sunrise

so:

solution

ss:

sunset

tot:

total

th:

thermal

v:

water vapor

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in collaboration with AUF (Agence universitaire de la Francophonie) in the framework of “Eugen Ionescu” Program.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Applied Sciences, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University Kasdi Merbah of Ouargla, Ouargla, Algeria

    Noureddine Cherrad

  2. Doctoral School, Technical University of Civil Engineering of Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania

    Noureddine Cherrad & Adrian-Gabriel Ghiaus

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  1. Noureddine Cherrad
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  2. Adrian-Gabriel Ghiaus
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Correspondence to Noureddine Cherrad.

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Cherrad, N., Ghiaus, AG. Numerical study of solar absorption heat storage system applied to Bucharest city. Build. Simul. 14, 601–616 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12273-020-0672-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12273-020-0672-8

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