Effects of fluctuating thermal sources on a shell-and-tube latent thermal energy storage during charging process

Li, Z., Yu, X., Wang, L., Lu, Y. , Huang, R., Chang, J. and Jiang, R. (2020) Effects of fluctuating thermal sources on a shell-and-tube latent thermal energy storage during charging process. Energy, 199, 117400. (doi: 10.1016/j.energy.2020.117400)

Abstract

The fluctuating and intermittent nature of industrial heat sources is a crucial technical barrier limiting the implementation of heat recovery energy systems. Latent Thermal Energy Storage (LTES) has the potential to overcome these issues by maintaining a Waste Heat Recovery (WHR) system within designed operation conditions to achieve effective and efficient operation. However, the dynamic heat transfer characteristics of LTES under fluctuating heat sources need to be studied further to better understand the effects of thermal fluctuation. In this work, the charging performance of a shell-and-tube LTES under fluctuating and steady heat source has been investigated and analysed. The effects of period and amplitude for the fluctuating heat source, as well as the Stefan number, are investigated in detail. Results indicate that large-period fluctuating heat sources can considerably reduce the total melting time but also reduce the energy storage capacity, whilst small-period fluctuating heat sources have almost no effect on the melting process of LTES. For the effects of fluctuating amplitude, both the total melting time and energy storage capacity decline at a decreasing rate with an increase of fluctuating amplitude. These results can bridge the knowledge gap needed for future designs of shell-and-tube LTES for fluctuating heat sources used with heat recovery applications.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: This research project was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant numbers No. 51976176 and No. 51806189). Support from the China Science Foundation (grant numbers 2018M640556 and 2019T120514) and Zhejiang Province Science Foundation (grant number ZJ20180099) are also highly acknowledged. The authors also would like to thank the Royal Academy of Engineering through the Transforming Systems through Partnerships programme (grant number TSPC1098) and Newton Fund Innovation Partnership providing the PhD scholarship under the (grant number 201703780098).
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Lu, Dr Yiji
• Authors: Li, Z., Yu, X., Wang, L., Lu, Y., Huang, R., Chang, J., and Jiang, R.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering > Systems Power and Energy
• Journal Name: Energy
• Publisher: Elsevier
• ISSN: 0360-5442
• ISSN (Online): 1873-6785
• Published Online: 18 March 2020
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2020 Crown Copyright
• First Published: First published in Energy 199: 117400
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the publisher copyright policy