Design and investigation of single tank phase change thermal storage domestic hot water system

• Main Authors: Qianjun Mao, Ying Li, Min Chen
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2021-06-01
• Series: Case Studies in Thermal Engineering
• Subjects: Thermal energy storage; Phase change materials; Cascade; Domestic hot water
• Online Access: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214157X21000666

Thermal energy storage (TES) is extensively applied in production and daily life. As a basic work, we designed a single tank phase change TES domestic hot water system using night valley power. Based on the single tank TES experimental platform, a 2D numerical model of the system was established. To optimize the performance of a single tank TES system, the effect of heat transfer fluid (HTF) inlet velocity and temperature on the heat release of the storage tank was analyzed based on simulation. The enhanced heat transfer effect of the radial cascade system and axial cascade system was also compared. The results showed that 0.8 m/s is the optimal HTF inlet velocity in the calculation range. The rule of the heat release about the HTF inlet temperature just meets the different hot water requirements in winter and summer. The heat release capacity of the radial cascade system and axial cascade system is higher than that of the conventional single-stage system, and the proportion of latent heat release in radial cascade is larger. This study will provide theoretical guidance for the optimal design of the single tank TES domestic hot water system in the future.