Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Parametric analysis of a packed bed thermal storage device with phase change material capsules in a solar heating system application

  • Research Article
  • Published:
Building Simulation Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The goal of this study is to investigate the effect of key design parameters on the thermal performance of the packed bed heat storage device by numerical calculation. A one-dimensional, non-equilibrium packed bed latent heat storage mathematical model was established and the applicability of the model was verified. The results demonstrate that the inlet temperature of the heat transfer fluid (HTF) had the greatest influence on each index. When the inlet temperature increased from 333 K to 363 K, exergy destruction increased threefold, effective heat storage time decreased by 67%, effective heat storage increased by 38%, and exergy efficiency decreased by 11%. The decrease of the capsule diameter had a positive effect on each evaluation index. According to the sensitivity analysis, the order of importance of each parameter within their variation range was HTF inlet temperature, HTF flow rate, PCM capsule size and PCM initial temperature.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Abbreviations

A c :

cross-sectional area of tank (m2)

A s :

apparent surface area of capsules (m2)

c :

specific heat (J·kg−1·K−1)

D c :

diameter of the spherical capsule (mm)

Ex :

exergy

Ex char :

total thermal storage exergy

Ex dest :

rate of exergy destruction

H m :

latent heat of fusion (kJ·kg−1)

h :

surface heat transfer coefficient (W·m−3·K−1)

h v :

volumetric coefficient of heat transfer (W·m−3·K−1)

k :

heat conductivity coefficient (W·m−1·K−1)

m :

fluid flow rate (L·min−1)

M :

control volume mass (kg)

Nu :

Nusselt number

Pr :

Prandtl number of the fluid

Q eff :

effective heat storage (MJ)

Re :

Reynolds number

t :

time (min)

T :

temperature (K)

T 0 :

ambient temperature (K)

t eff :

effective heat storage time (K)

T m :

phase change temperature (K)

v :

velocity of HTF (m/s)

x :

axial coordinate (mm)

ΔT :

heat transfer temperature difference (K)

β :

liquid rate (%)

ε :

porosity of the packed bed

ρ :

density (kg/m3)

φ :

exergy efficiency (%)

CPC:

compound parabolic collector

DSC:

differential scanning calorimeter

FDM:

finite difference method

HTF:

heat transfer fluid

HVAC:

heating, ventilation, air-conditioning, and cooling

LTS:

latent thermal storage

MA:

myristic acid

PBTES:

packed bed thermal energy storage device

PCM:

phase change material

PG:

propylene glycol

STS-SP:

sensible thermal storage of solid phase

STS-LP:

sensible thermal storage of liquid phase

f:

HTF

in:

inlet of heat transfer fluid

ini:

initial state

j :

control volume number of HTF and PCM

l:

liquid

out:

outlet of heat transfer fluid

p:

PCM

s:

solid

References

  • Agyenim F, Hewitt N, Eames P, Smyth M (2010). A review of materials, heat transfer and phase change problem formulation for latent heat thermal energy storage systems (LHTESS). Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 14: 615–628.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ahmed N, Elfeky KE, Qaisrani MA, Wang QW (2019). Numerical characterization of thermocline behaviour of combined sensible-latent heat storage tank using brick manganese rod structure impregnated with PCM capsules. Solar Energy, 180: 243–256.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beavers GS, Sparrow EM, Rodenz DE (1973). Influence of bed size on the flow characteristics and porosity of randomly packed beds of spheres. Journal of Applied Mechanics, 40: 655–660.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chandra P, Willits DH (1981). Pressure drop and heat transfer characteristics of air-rockbed thermal storage systems. Solar Energy, 27: 547–553.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cheng X, Zhai X, Wang R (2016). Thermal performance analysis of a packed bed cold storage unit using composite PCM capsules for high temperature solar cooling application. Applied Thermal Engineering, 100: 247–255.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dickinson RM, Cruickshank CA (2011). Review of combined space and domestic hot water heating systems for solar applications. In: Proceedings of ASME 2011 5th International Conference on Energy Sustainability.

  • Du R, Li W, Xiong T, Yang X, Wang Y, Shah KW (2019). Numerical investigation on the melting of nanoparticle-enhanced PCM in latent heat energy storage unit with spiral coil heat exchanger. Building Simulation, 12: 869–879.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elfeky KE, Ahmed N, Wang Q (2018). Numerical comparison between single PCM and multi-stage PCM based high temperature thermal energy storage for CSP tower plants. Applied Thermal Engineering, 139: 609–622.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elfeky KE, Li X, Ahmed N, Lu L, Wang Q (2019). Optimization of thermal performance in thermocline tank thermal energy storage system with the multilayered PCM(s) for CSP tower plants. Applied Energy, 243: 175–190.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jia X, Zhai X, Cheng X (2019). Thermal performance analysis and optimization of a spherical PCM capsule with pin-fins for cold storage. Applied Thermal Engineering, 148: 929–938.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Karthikeyan S, Solomon GR, Kumaresan V, Velraj R (2014). Parametric studies on packed bed storage unit filled with PCM encapsulated spherical containers for low temperature solar air heating applications. Energy Conversion and Management, 78: 74–80.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Loem S, Deethayat T, Asanakham A, Kiatsiriroat T (2019). Thermal characteristics on melting/solidification of low temperature PCM balls packed bed with air charging/discharging. Case Studies in Thermal Engineering, 14: 100431.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mao Q, Chen H, Yang Y (2019). Energy storage performance of a PCM in the solar storage tank. Journal of Thermal Science, 28: 195–203.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nallusamy N, Sampath S, Velraj R (2007). Experimental investigation on a combined sensible and latent heat storage system integrated with constant/varying (solar) heat sources. Renewable Energy, 32: 1206–1227.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nallusamy N, Velraj R (2009). Numerical and experimental investigation on a combined sensible and latent heat storage unit integrated with solar water heating system. Journal of Solar Energy Engineering, 131(4): 041002.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Panesi A (2016). Numerical and experimental investigation of a fixed bed latent heat storage system during charging processes. Australian Journal of Mechanical Engineering, 14: 64–72.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Raul A, Jain M, Gaikwad S, Saha SK (2018). Modelling and experimental study of latent heat thermal energy storage with encapsulated PCMs for solar thermal applications. Applied Thermal Engineering, 143: 415–428.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Regin AF, Solanki SC, Saini JS (2009). An analysis of a packed bed latent heat thermal energy storage system using PCM capsules: Numerical investigation. Renewable Energy, 34: 1765–1773.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sun X, Jovanovic J, Fan S, Chu Y, Mo Y, Liao S (2019). A reduced-scale experiment to evaluate the thermal performance of building envelopes containing phase change material spheres. Building Simulation, 12: 629–640.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wakao N, Funazkri T (1978). Effect of fluid dispersion coefficients on particle-to-fluid mass transfer coefficients in packed beds: Correlation of Nusselt numbers. Chemical Engineering Science, 33(10): 1375–1384.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wei J, Kawaguchi Y, Hirano S, Takeuchi H (2005). Study on a PCM heat storage system for rapid heat supply. Applied Thermal Engineering, 25: 2903–2920.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yang X, Cai Z (2019). An analysis of a packed bed thermal energy storage system using sensible heat and phase change materials. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 144: 118651.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yuan Y, Zhang N, Tao W, Cao X, He Y (2014). Fatty acids as phase change materials: A review. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 29: 482–498.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This work is financially supported by the National Key Ramp;D Program of China (No. 2018YFB0905104), and the Science and Technology Planning Project of Jilin Province (No. 20180201006SF).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Energy and Power Engineering, Northeast Electric Power University, Jilin, 132012, China

    Long Gao,  Gegentana, Junchao Bai, Baizhong Sun, Deyong Che & Shaohua Li

Authors
  1. Long Gao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Gegentana
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Junchao Bai
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Baizhong Sun
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Deyong Che
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Shaohua Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Baizhong Sun.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Gao, L., Gegentana, Bai, J. et al. Parametric analysis of a packed bed thermal storage device with phase change material capsules in a solar heating system application. Build. Simul. 14, 523–533 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12273-020-0686-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12273-020-0686-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation