The present work investigates, theoretically and experimentally, the thermal performance of a packed bed combined sensible and latent heat storage unit, integrated with the solar water heating system. A one-dimensional porous medium approach with the finite difference technique is used to develop the numerical model to obtain the temperature profiles of both the phase change material (PCM) and heat transfer fluid (HTF), and the molten mass fraction of the PCM at any axial location of the cylindrical storage tank during the charging process. The model also incorporates the effect of the varying fluid inlet temperature to accommodate the actual conditions that prevails in the solar collector. Experimental apparatus utilizing paraffin as PCM, which is filled in high-density polyethylene spherical capsules, is constructed and integrated with a solar flat plate collector to conduct the experiments. The water used as HTF to transfer heat from the solar collector to the storage tank also acts as a sensible heat storage (SHS) material. The results of the numerical model are compared into the experimental results of the temperature profile for various porosities and HTF flow rates. It is found that the results of the numerical model are in good agreement with the experimental results. The performance parameters, such as instantaneous heat stored, cumulative heat stored, and charging rate are also studied in detail.
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e-mail: velrajr@annauniv.edu
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November 2009
Research Papers
Numerical and Experimental Investigation on a Combined Sensible and Latent Heat Storage Unit Integrated With Solar Water Heating System
N. Nallusamy,
N. Nallusamy
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Sri Venkateswara College of Engineering
, Pennalur, Sriperumbudur, 602 105 Tamil Nadu, Indiannalls@gmail.comnalls@svce.ac.in
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R. Velraj
R. Velraj
Institute for Energy Studies, College of Engineering,
e-mail: velrajr@annauniv.edu
Anna University
, Chennai 600 025, India
Search for other works by this author on:
N. Nallusamy
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Sri Venkateswara College of Engineering
, Pennalur, Sriperumbudur, 602 105 Tamil Nadu, Indiannalls@gmail.comnalls@svce.ac.in
R. Velraj
Institute for Energy Studies, College of Engineering,
Anna University
, Chennai 600 025, Indiae-mail: velrajr@annauniv.edu
J. Sol. Energy Eng. Nov 2009, 131(4): 041002 (8 pages)
Published Online: September 17, 2009
Article history
Received:
May 23, 2007
Revised:
April 4, 2008
Published:
September 17, 2009
Citation
Nallusamy, N., and Velraj, R. (September 17, 2009). "Numerical and Experimental Investigation on a Combined Sensible and Latent Heat Storage Unit Integrated With Solar Water Heating System." ASME. J. Sol. Energy Eng. November 2009; 131(4): 041002. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.3197600
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