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Thermal Performance Analysis of PCM Capsules Packed-Bed System with Biomimetic Leaf Hierarchical Porous Structure

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Abstract

As an efficient natural selection nutrient transport system, biomimetic leaf hierarchical porous structure has unique advantages in material transportation and energy transfer. Biomimetic leaf hierarchical porous structure has been widely used in solar thermochemical reactions, photocatalysis, and energy storage. To improve the thermal efficiency and reduce the power consumption, the authors introduce the idea of bionic leaf hierarchical porous structure packed-bed latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES) system. Under the same porosity, the diameter of the PCM capsules is designed to change along the flow direction to optimize the thermal performance. The effects of velocity on temperature distribution, pressure drop, liquid fraction, and thermal storage capacity of the conventional uniform model and bionic leaf hierarchical porous model are analyzed. The results show that the bionic leaf hierarchical porous structure can thin the thickness of the thermocline, reduce the pressure drop, increase the heat transfer area, and improve the thermal response of the packed-bed compared with the conventional uniform model. The maximum increases of liquid fraction and completion rate are 36.6% and 20.3% with pressure drop reduction of 25 Pa, respectively. The maximum decrease of the above-melting point (MP) thermocline is 51.7% as well. These results provide suggestions to optimize the packed-bed LHTES system and improve its thermal performance under practical conditions.

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Abbreviations

c :

specific heat/J·kg−1 ·K−1

D :

diameter of the packed-bed/m

d :

diameter of the PCM capsule/m

g :

gravity/m·s−2

H :

height of tank/m

h :

enthalpy/J·kg−1

k :

thermal conductivity/W·m−1·K−1

L :

latent heat/kJ·kg−1

n :

number of PCM capsule

P :

pressure/Pa

S :

area/m2

T :

temperature/K

t :

time/s

u :

velocity in x-direction/m·s−1

V :

volume/m3

v :

velocity in y-direction/m·s−1

x :

x coordinate

y :

y coordinate

z :

z coordinate

ε :

porosity

η :

completion rate

μ :

dynamic viscosity/Pa·s

ρ :

density/kg·m−3

ϕ :

liquid fraction

ave:

average

bio:

bionic

con:

conventional

f:

heat transfer flow

in:

inlet

ini:

initial

p:

PCM

s:

sensible

ter:

terminal

w:

water

CR:

completion rate

HTF:

heat transfer flow

LF:

liquid fraction

LHTES:

latent heat thermal energy storage

PCM:

phase change material

TES:

thermal energy storage

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (No. 2018YFA0702300), and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 52076064), and the Taishan Scholars of Shandong Province (tsqn201812105).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of New Energy, Harbin Institute of Technology at Weihai, Weihai, 264209, China

    Yan Dong, Fuqiang Wang, Luwei Yang, Xuhang Shi & Guoliang Zhang

  2. School of Energy Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150001, China

    Yan Dong, Luwei Yang, Xuhang Shi, Guoliang Zhang & Yong Shuai

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  1. Yan Dong
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  2. Fuqiang Wang
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  3. Luwei Yang
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Correspondence to Fuqiang Wang.

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Dong, Y., Wang, F., Yang, L. et al. Thermal Performance Analysis of PCM Capsules Packed-Bed System with Biomimetic Leaf Hierarchical Porous Structure. J. Therm. Sci. 30, 1559–1571 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11630-021-1462-z

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