Numerical Modeling of Charging and Discharging of Shell-and-Tube PCM Thermal Energy Storage Unit

Maciej Fabrykiewicz, Krzysztof Tesch and Janusz T. Cieśliński ()
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Maciej Fabrykiewicz: Institute of Technology, State University of Applied Sciences in Elbląg, Wojska Polskiego 1, 82-300 Elbląg, Poland
Krzysztof Tesch: Institute of Energy, Gdańsk University of Technology, Narutowicza 11/12, 80-233 Gdańsk, Poland
Janusz T. Cieśliński: Institute of Energy, Gdańsk University of Technology, Narutowicza 11/12, 80-233 Gdańsk, Poland

Energies, 2025, vol. 18, issue 14, 1-16

Abstract: This paper presents the results of a numerical study on transient temperature distributions and phase fractions in a thermal energy storage unit containing phase change material (PCM). The latent heat storage unit (LHSU) is a compact shell-and-tube exchanger featuring seven tubes arranged in a staggered layout. Three organic phase change materials are investigated: paraffin LTP 56, fatty acid RT54HC, and fatty acid P1801. OpenFOAM software is utilized to solve the governing equations using the Boussinesq approximation. The discretization of the equations is performed with second-order accuracy in both space and time. The three-dimensional (3D) computational domain corresponds to the inner diameter of the LHSU. Calculations are conducted assuming constant thermal properties of the fluids. The experimental and numerical results indicate that for paraffin LTP56, the charging time is approximately 8% longer than the discharging time. In contrast, the discharging times for fatty acids RT54HC and P1801 exceed their charging times, with time delays of about 14% and 49% for RT54HC and 25% and 30% for P1801, according to experimental and numerical calculations, respectively.

Keywords: PCM; thermal energy storage; numerical simulation; shell-and-multitube unit (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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