This paper presents a study related to the development of a simple, compact thermal storage unit suitable for use in small to medium commercial applications that utilize chilled water cooling coils. This thermal store design is based on the use of a technical grade paraffin phase change material (PCM), macro-encapsulated into cylindrical tubes that are densely packed into a containment tank. An experimental scale model of this thermal store is constructed for testing purpose, and tests are conducted to determine the feasibility of this design and also to characterize its operation. The experimental thermal store proved capable of supplying usable energy for cooling purposes, but the overall efficiency (net recovery of thermal energy at a useable temperature) needs to be improved. This can be accomplished by manipulating overall thermal store capacity, adjusting the encapsulation tube size and quantity, and/or adjusting heat transfer fluid flow rates. Further experimentation is required to determine the optimum performance parameters for this application, and also to determine the effective thermodynamic properties of the technical grade PCM utilized in these experiments. Future work will use the findings from this study to develop a numeric model of the thermal store so that critical parameters of the design can be identified and optimized. A larger scale (6.25kWh) thermal store is under construction to support additionalexperiments and numeric model validation.
Citation: ASHRAE Papers CD: 2014 ASHRAE Winter Conference, New York, NY
Product Details
- Published:
- 2014
- Number of Pages:
- 9
- File Size:
- 1 file , 2.5 MB
- Product Code(s):
- D-NY-14-C078
