Computer Simulation of a High-Temperature Thermal Energy Storage System Employing Multiple Families of Phase-Change Storage Materials

Abstract

Previous work by one of the authors entailed modeling of a packed bed thermal energy storage system utilizing phase-change materials (PCM). A principal conclusion reached is that the use of a single family of phase-change storage material may not in fact produce a thermodynamically superior system relative to one utilizing sensible heat storage material. This paper describes the model constructed for the high-temperature thermal energy storage system utilizing multiple families of phasechange materials and presents results obtained in the exercise of the model. Other factors investigated include the effect on system performance due to the thermal mass of the containment vessel wall and variable temperature of the flue gas entering the packed bed during the storage process. The results obtained indicate efficiencies for the system utilizing the five PCM families exceeding those for the single PCM family by as much as 13 to 26 percent. It was also found that the heat transfer to the containment vessel wall could have a significant detrimental effect on system performance.

Study on phase change temperature distributions of composite PCMs in thermal energy storage systems

“…They found that the use of multiple PCMs could reduce the exergy loss of the system and obtained the optimum condition for systems composed of two or infinite number of PCMs. Adebiyi et al (1992) reported that the efficiency for systems using five PCM families in a packed bed latent heat TES system exceeded that using single PCM family by as much as 13-26%. Watanabe et al (1993) extended the experiments of Farid et al (1990) using water as the heat transfer medium and proved that there was obvious enhancement of the charging-discharging rates in the latent heat TES system using three PCMs.…”

“…Numerical experiments indicated that the transient heat flux can be greatly enhanced by using slabs of multiple composite PCMs when energy is charged from one side and discharged from the other side of a slab. Adebiyi et al (1996) described a model for the high-temperature TES system using multiple families of PCMs and presented the numerical results. Their results indicated efficiencies for the system with five PCM families exceeding those for the single PCM family by as much as 13-26%.…”

Performance comparison of high-temperature packed bed operation with PCM and sensible-heat pellets

“…His study was based on a computational model. Adebiyi et al (1996) developed a comprehensive mathematical model to simulate the thermal behaviour of a high-temperature TES system utilizing multiple families of PCM media. One of the major conclusions reached in that paper was that use of multiple PCM families with different melting temperatures can significantly improve the system performance as opposed to a single PCM.…”

Energy Optimization at Datacenters in Two Different Locations of Nigeria

“…A single source renewable usually tends to bring the problem of "intermittence". A combination of one or more renewable energy resource such as solar, wind, hydropower and biomass with other technologies such as batteries and generator (defined as hybrid renewable) is a better option [15]. Hybrid system can complement each other and component.…”