Coupled thermo-fluidic model for thermal energy storage based on liquid solid phase change

Abstract

The production and storage of thermal energy are important processes that contribute to the satisfaction of daily needs. They are effective ways of managing the thermal energy available from various solar applications. The most efficient storage technique is the use of phase change materials (PCMs) because these components can keep large amounts of thermal energy in stock. The problem is that this approach continues to be confronted with difficulties despite significant progress in research, design and modelling. Nevertheless, these difficulties can be resolved through numerical simulations that enable the identification of powerful tools for optimising thermal system design and predicting thermal behaviour. Correspondingly, in this work, thermo-mechanical modelling was conducted to describe the different methods of heat transfer that can optimise thermal energy storage via PCMs. This study also established a numeric resolution and the spatio-temporal discretisation of the basic equations accompanying the numerical model. The proposed numerical solution improves the prediction of thermal behaviour and can be used as a guide in designing new systems capable of producing and storing solar energy.

Improvement of Thermal Energy Storage by Integrating PCM Into Solar System

“…Therefore, the solar system adopts the behaviour of the PCM, which can be explained by the governing equations. These equations describe the behaviour of The materials during the capture of energy and their explanation for storage during the change in the phase during fusion, the sum of the governing equations is three, which are the mass conservation equation, the momentum conservation equation and the energy conservation equation [21].…”