Share

Numerical investigation on PCM-to-refrigerant heat exchangers for thermal energy storage.

Number: No 036

Author(s) : QIAO Y., CAO T., HWANG Y., LING J., AUTE V.

Summary

Recently, the application of thermal energy storage systems using phase change materials (PCM) is expanding in many fields due to the high energy storage density of PCMs and the narrow phase-change temperature range. In this paper, we conducted a numerical investigation on a shell-and-tube configured PCM-to-refrigerant heat exchanger (PCMHX) coupled in a vapor compression cycle for personal cooling. The enthalpy method was applied to the phase change analysis. The finite-volume method was employed to address the two-dimensional PCMHX numerical solution. Different from most of the previous studies on PCM-to-water heat exchangers, the proposed PCMHX works as a condenser. We validated the simulation results against the experiment data, including condenser pressure, capacity, and PCM temperature profiles. Since the refrigerant-side heat transfer coefficient changes along the condenser length, the heat transfer flux is not uniform across the PCM. Therefore, we analyzed the uneven PCM melting and its effects on the condensing temperature. Results show that PCM near the condenser outlet melts slower than other sections because of the low heat transfer coefficient and small temperature difference in a subcooled liquid region. The developed PCMHX model can reasonably predict the time-dependent heat transfer performance and the PCM melting process.

Available documents

Format PDF

Pages: 10 p.

Available

Free

Download

Details

  • Original title: Numerical investigation on PCM-to-refrigerant heat exchangers for thermal energy storage.
  • Record ID : 30029929
  • Languages: English
  • Subject: Technology
  • Source: 13th IEA Heat Pump Conference 2021: Heat Pumps – Mission for the Green World. Conference proceedings [full papers]
  • Publication date: 2021/08/31

Links


See other articles from the proceedings (198)
See the conference proceedings

Indexing