Energies 2017, 10(4), 568; doi:10.3390/en10040568
Simulations of Melting of Encapsulated CaCl2·6H2O for Thermal Energy Storage Technologies
1
Department of Chemistry and Physics, University of Almería, 04120 Almería, Spain
2
Solar Energy Research Center, CIESOL, Joint Institute University of Almería-PSA CIEMAT, 04120 Almería, Spain
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Academic Editor: Ibrahim Dincer
Received: 25 January 2017 / Revised: 3 April 2017 / Accepted: 13 April 2017 / Published: 21 April 2017
(This article belongs to the Section Energy Storage and Application)
Abstract
We present in this work simulations using the finite difference approximation in 2D for the melting of an encapsulated phase-change material suitable for heat storage applications; in particular, we study CaCl2·6H2O in a cylindrical encapsulation of internal radius 8 mm. We choose this particular salt hydrate due to its availability and economic feasibility in high thermal mass building walls or storage. Considering only heat conduction, a thermostat is placed far from the capsule, providing heat for the melting of the phase-change material (PCM), which is initially frozen in a water bath. The difference in density between the solid and liquid phases is taken into account by considering a void in the solid PCM. A simple theoretical model is also presented, based on solving the heat equation in the steady state. The kinetics of melting is monitored by the total solid fraction and temperatures in the inner and outer surfaces of the capsule. The effect of different parameters is presented (thermostat temperature, capsule thickness, capsule conductivity and natural convection in the bath), showing the potential application of the method to select materials or geometries of the capsule. View Full-TextKeywords:
phase-change materials; thermal conductivity; solidification; melting; latent thermal energy storage; cylindrical containers
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Puertas, A.M.; Romero-Cano, M.S.; De Las Nieves, F.J.; Rosiek, S.; Batlles, F.J. Simulations of Melting of Encapsulated CaCl2·6H2O for Thermal Energy Storage Technologies. Energies 2017, 10, 568.
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