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Building Simulation 2019, 12(5): 869-879 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12273-019-0527-3
Research Article | Issue | Published: 23 April 2019

Numerical investigation on the melting of nanoparticle-enhanced PCM in latent heat energy storage unit with spiral coil heat exchanger

Show Author's Information Ruiqing Du1,2,  Wenxin Li1,2,  Teng Xiong3,  Xun Yang1,2,  Yong Wang1,2( ),  Kwok Wei Shah3
National Centre for International Research of Low-Carbon and Green Buildings, Ministry of Science & Technology, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400045, China
Joint International Research Laboratory of Green Buildings and Built Environments, Ministry of Education, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400045, China
Department of Building, School of Design and Environment, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117566, Singapore
Keywords:
phase change material, nanoparticle-enhanced, latent heat storage unit, spiral coil heat exchanger, heat transfer fluid
Cite this article:
Du R, Li W, Xiong T, et al. Numerical investigation on the melting of nanoparticle-enhanced PCM in latent heat energy storage unit with spiral coil heat exchanger. Building Simulation, 2019, 12(5): 869-879. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12273-019-0527-3
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Abstract Full text About this article

Latent heat storage units are widely used in building heating systems due to its high energy storage density, whereas the practical performances of them are limited by the low thermal conductivities of phase change materials. In this paper, copper nanoparticles were added into paraffin to enhance the heat transfer rate of a latent heat storage unit using a coil heat exchanger. A three-dimensional numerical model was built to simulate the melting process of phase change material, and it was well validated against the experimental data. The simulation results showed that the nanoparticle-enhanced phase change material saved 19.6% of the total melting time consumed by the pure phase change material. In addition, the dispersion of nanoparticles significantly alleviated the temperature non-uniformity in the unit. Moreover, for the unit using nanoparticle-enhanced phase change material, the flow rate of heat transfer fluid was not recommended higher than 0.75 m3/h. The dispersion of nanoparticles could enlarge the optimum heat transfer fluid temperature range to 60-70 °C compared with that of pure phase change material (60-65 °C). Therefore, the application of nanoparticle-enhanced phase change material in the latent heat storage unit can significantly enhance heat transfer, and the proposed optimum inlet heat transfer fluid temperature range could contribute to higher energy efficiency.


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About this article

Numerical investigation on the melting of nanoparticle-enhanced PCM in latent heat energy storage unit with spiral coil heat exchanger

Show Author's information Ruiqing Du1,2, Wenxin Li1,2, Teng Xiong3, Xun Yang1,2, Yong Wang1,2( ), Kwok Wei Shah3
National Centre for International Research of Low-Carbon and Green Buildings, Ministry of Science & Technology, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400045, China
Joint International Research Laboratory of Green Buildings and Built Environments, Ministry of Education, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400045, China
Department of Building, School of Design and Environment, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117566, Singapore

Abstract

Latent heat storage units are widely used in building heating systems due to its high energy storage density, whereas the practical performances of them are limited by the low thermal conductivities of phase change materials. In this paper, copper nanoparticles were added into paraffin to enhance the heat transfer rate of a latent heat storage unit using a coil heat exchanger. A three-dimensional numerical model was built to simulate the melting process of phase change material, and it was well validated against the experimental data. The simulation results showed that the nanoparticle-enhanced phase change material saved 19.6% of the total melting time consumed by the pure phase change material. In addition, the dispersion of nanoparticles significantly alleviated the temperature non-uniformity in the unit. Moreover, for the unit using nanoparticle-enhanced phase change material, the flow rate of heat transfer fluid was not recommended higher than 0.75 m3/h. The dispersion of nanoparticles could enlarge the optimum heat transfer fluid temperature range to 60-70 °C compared with that of pure phase change material (60-65 °C). Therefore, the application of nanoparticle-enhanced phase change material in the latent heat storage unit can significantly enhance heat transfer, and the proposed optimum inlet heat transfer fluid temperature range could contribute to higher energy efficiency.

Keywords: phase change material, nanoparticle-enhanced, latent heat storage unit, spiral coil heat exchanger, heat transfer fluid

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Publication history
Copyright
Acknowledgements

Publication history

Received: 14 September 2018
Revised: 02 January 2019
Accepted: 13 February 2019
Published: 23 April 2019
Issue date: October 2019

Copyright

© Tsinghua University Press and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2019

Acknowledgements

This research is financially supported by the Science and Technology Ministry of China (No. 2016YFC0700406), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51576023), the 111 Project (No. B13041) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. 106112016CDJCR211221).

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