Stratification analysis in packed bed thermal energy storage systems
Issue date
2013Suggested citation
Oró Prim, Eduard;
Castell, Albert;
Chiu, Justin;
Martin, Viktoria;
Cabeza, Luisa F.;
.
(2013)
.
Stratification analysis in packed bed thermal energy storage systems.
Applied Energy, 2013, núm. 109, p. 476–487.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2012.12.082.
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District cooling and heating networks are increasing in many countries, especially in the Scandinavian
countries. Some of the systems have become small for the needs of the population and they have to be
enhanced in order to reach the cooling or heating necessities. Here, thermal energy storage system of
a district cooling network is studied. Phase change material (PCM) is used in order to enhance the energy
density and the stratification of the water tank. The experimental set up consists mainly of a cylindrical
storage tank with a capacity of 3.73 L filled with spherically encapsulated PCM. The PCM used is PK6 from
Rubitherm GmbH with a storage capacity of 175 kJ/kg between 2 C and 13 C. Many methods to characterize
water tank stratification, such as graphical (dimensional and non-dimensional) and numerical
figures based on temperature distribution (degree of stratification, first law efficiencies, second law efficiencies,
other efficiencies as MIX number), are used to analysed and characterized two storage tanks, one
of them with the inclusion of PCM packed bed during both charging and discharging processes.