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Journal of Zhejiang University-SCIENCE A (Applied Physics & Engineering)  2006, Vol. 7 Issue (8 ): 17-    DOI: 10.1631/jzus.2006.A1422
    
Study on performance of a packed bed latent heat thermal energy storage unit integrated with solar water heating system
NALLUSAMY N., SAMPATH S., VELRAJ R.
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Sri Venkateswara College of Engineering, Chennai 602 105, India; Department of Automobile Engineering, Sri Venkateswara College of Engineering, Chennai 602 105, India; Institute for Energy Studies, College of Engineering, Guindy, Anna University, Chennai 600 025, India
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Abstract  In thermal systems such as solar thermal and waste heat recovery systems, the available energy supply does not usually coincide in time with the process demand. Hence some form of thermal energy storage (TES) is necessary for the most effective utilization of the energy source. This study deals with the experimental evaluation of thermal performance of a packed bed latent heat TES unit integrated with solar flat plate collector. The TES unit contains paraffin as phase change material (PCM) filled in spherical capsules, which are packed in an insulated cylindrical storage tank. The water used as heat transfer fluid (HTF) to transfer heat from the solar collector to the storage tank also acts as sensible heat storage material. Charging experiments were carried out at varying inlet fluid temperatures to examine the effects of porosity and HTF flow rate on the storage unit performance. The performance parameters such as instantaneous heat stored, cumulative heat stored, charging rate and system efficiency are studied. Discharging experiments were carried out by both continuous and batchwise processes to recover the stored heat, and the results are presented.

Key wordsCharging      Discharging      Heat transfer fluid (HTF)      Latent heat      Phase change material (PCM)      Packed bed      Thermal energy storage (TES)     
Received: 18 December 2005     
CLC:  TK51  
Cite this article:

NALLUSAMY N., SAMPATH S., VELRAJ R.. Study on performance of a packed bed latent heat thermal energy storage unit integrated with solar water heating system. Journal of Zhejiang University-SCIENCE A (Applied Physics & Engineering), 2006, 7(8 ): 17-.

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http://www.zjujournals.com/xueshu/zjus-a/10.1631/jzus.2006.A1422     OR     http://www.zjujournals.com/xueshu/zjus-a/Y2006/V7/I8 /17

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