Numerical and experimental investigation of a fixed bed latent heat storage system during charging processes

Heat transfer analysis of a packed bed-phase change material (PCM) latent heat thermal energy storage system is presented in this article. The spherical capsules, containing water with a nucleation agent as a PCM, fill the thermal storage tank used for an air-conditioning commercial application. The heat transfer fluid that circulates through the tank and around the capsules is an aqueous solution of ethanol. In this study, the experimental model is tested to use for analysing the thermal performance of packed bed-PCM latent. The governing equations are based on energy balance in the spherical capsules where the results are compared numerically using simple, explicit and finite difference technique. The results obtained are used only for charging process. The effects of mass flow rate and inlet heat transfer fluid temperature are investigated on the time duration for solidification. The contribution of this article is using ethanol as transfer fluid in thermal storage system.