Jančík Petr, Schmirler Michal, Hyhlík Tomáš, Suchý Jakub, Sláma Pavel, Prokop Petr, Syrovátka Viktor
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Department of Fluid Dynamics and Thermodynamics, CTU in Prague, Technická 4, 160 00, Prague, Czech Republic.
Sci Rep. 2022 Dec 5;12(1):20961. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-24990-0.
Thermal energy accumulation is one of the ways how to optimize heat production processes and how to balance the supply and demand of heat in distribution systems. This article presents a design of a fin-and-tube latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES), which combines high thermal energy storage density and scalability. A computational model that used lumped heat capacities was tuned using the experimental data. The numerical model proved to be simple yet precise. A new constant mixing temperature test was designed and performed with the LHTES. Unlike standard constant flow rate charge/discharge test, this test provided valuable information about what to expect in the real-life operation conditions. From the tests and data from simulations, it was concluded that the LHTES would perform better in terms of its capacity utilization if it operated at lower output power than in the laboratory circuit. This indicates that a smaller, and thus more cost-effective, LHTES could be employed in the laboratory circuit with virtually the same utility to the system if its heat transfer characteristics were improved.
热能蓄存是优化热生产过程以及平衡分配系统中热供需的方法之一。本文介绍了一种翅片管式潜热热能蓄存（LHTES）的设计，该设计兼具高热能蓄存密度和可扩展性。使用集总热容的计算模型通过实验数据进行了调整。数值模型被证明简单而精确。针对LHTES设计并进行了一项新的恒定混合温度测试。与标准的恒定流量充/放电测试不同，该测试提供了有关在实际运行条件下预期情况的有价值信息。从测试和模拟数据得出的结论是，如果LHTES在比实验室电路更低的输出功率下运行，其容量利用率会更高。这表明，如果改进其传热特性，一个更小且因此更具成本效益的LHTES可以应用于实验室电路，对系统具有几乎相同的效用。
