Energy and Buildings 68 (2014) 488–497

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Energy and Buildings

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Numerical and experimental investigation of a PCM-based thermal

storage unit for solar air systems
Pavel Charvát a,∗ , Lubomír Klimeš a , Milan Ostrý b
a
Brno University of Technology, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Energy Institute, Technická 2896/2, 616 69 Brno, Czech Republic
b
Brno University of Technology, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Institute of Building Structures, Veveří 331/95, 602 00 Brno, Czech Republic

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: A general problem of most solar thermal systems is the need for thermal storage in order to balance
Received 6 April 2013 supply and demand of heat over a certain period of time. A possibility to employ latent heat of fusion
Received in revised form 4 October 2013 in phase change materials (PCMs) for thermal energy storage in air-based solar thermal systems was
Accepted 9 October 2013
investigated using laboratory experiments and numerical simulations. A heat storage unit containing
100 aluminium panels filled with a paraffin-based PCM was used in the investigations. The experiments
Keywords:
were carried out in a lab environment with an electric air heater as a heat source. A numerical model of
Thermal storage
the unit was developed and implemented as a type in the TRNSYS 17 simulation tool. The results of the
Heat storage unit
Latent heat
simulations with the developed model show a good agreement with experimental results. Subsequently,
Phase change materials the model was used for a parametric study analysing the influence of certain parameters. The performed
Solar air systems investigations showed a potential of the use of latent heat thermal storage in air-based thermal systems
with a narrow temperature operation range.
© 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction temperature range, latent heat thermal storage, which makes use
of phase change of a heat storage material, offers certain advan-
Solar air systems, though not as common as water-based solar tages over sensible heat storage for many technical applications
systems, can be used in a number of applications. One of the most [7].
common applications is space heating or ventilation air heating The materials used for latent heat thermal storage are generally
[1]. Drying of various products is another area in which solar air referred to as phase change materials (PCMs). The phase change
systems can be used [2]. Solar heated air can also be used for of a material provides a rather high thermal storage capacity and
regeneration of desiccant wheels in air-conditioning systems [3]. also energy storage density in a relatively narrow temperature
However, many of these applications require thermal energy stor- interval around the phase change temperature. Though both the
age in order to operate effectively [4]. Water can easily be used as a solid–liquid and the liquid–gas phase changes can be employed for
heat storage medium in water-based solar energy systems but it is latent heat storage, it is the solid–liquid phase change that is used
usually less practical for air-based systems. Building structures can in almost all the latent heat storage systems [8,9]. A large number
be employed as thermal storage mass in some solar applications of papers dealing with the phase change materials and their use
utilizing air as a heat carrier but this approach is not applica- in different technical applications, e.g. cold thermal energy storage
ble in all situations. The Tromb wall [5] is one of the examples [10], building integrated thermal storage [11], or air conditioning
of thermal storage integrated with building structures. Another [12] have been published in recent years.
possibility is the use of packed beds where solid materials (usu- Various ways of integration of PCM-based heat storage in the
ally pebbles) are used for sensible heat storage [6]. Though rather air-based solar thermal systems have been reported. One of the
simple to use, the packed beds containing sensible heat storage simplest ways is the integration of the PCMs directly with the solar
materials have certain disadvantages; they use a lot of space, they air collector [13]. Tyagi et al. [1] presented a review of a variety of
are difficult to clean and the thermal storage density is relatively solar air heating systems with and without thermal energy stor-
small. With regard to the thermal storage density and operation age. Thermal energy storage in solar air systems is mostly intended
to provide the heat storage capacity for hours or days. Since the
volumetric thermal capacity of water is approximately 3500-times
∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +420 541143245. higher than that of air, it makes much more sense to use water-
E-mail addresses: charvat@fme.vutbr.cz (P. Charvát), klimes@fme.vutbr.cz based solar systems when long-term (e.g. seasonal) thermal storage
(L. Klimeš), ostry.m@fce.vutbr.cz (M. Ostrý). is needed and to employ water–air heat exchangers for air heating.

0378-7788/$ – see front matter © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2013.10.011
 P. Charvát et al. / Energy and Buildings 68 (2014) 488–497 489

a half of the air gap was modelled. The heat loss to the surroundings
Nomenclature was neglected. The authors reported a good agreement between the
results from the developed numerical model and the experimental
c specific heat at constant pressure (kJ kg−1 K−1 ) data from the laboratory experiment. However, the phase change
ceff effective heat capacity (kJ kg−1 K−1 ) of the material (indicated by inflection points) is absent in the tem-
fs solid fraction (–) perature curves during the heat storage and heat release periods.
h heat transfer coefficient (W m−2 K−1 ) The temperature curves without inflection points are typical for
H enthalpy (kJ kg−1 ) sensible heat storage materials.
k thermal conductivity (W m−1 K−1 ) A quite extensive study of a PCM-air heat exchanger containing
Lf latent heat of fusion (kJ kg−1 ) aluminium containers filled with a PCM (compact storage modules
ṁ mass flow rate (kg s−1 ) – CSM) was presented by Dolado et al. [16–18]. The authors studied
q heat storage/release rate (W) a PCM-air exchanger in which the CSM panels were positioned ver-
q̇ convective heat flux (W m−2 ) tically and the direction of air flow was also vertical with air supply
Q̇ internal source of heat (W m−3 ) at the top and air return at the bottom of the unit. The paraffin-
R thermal resistance of the unit walls (m2 K W−1 ) based PCM RT27 was used in the investigations. The total weight of
Re Reynolds number the PCM in the unit was 135 kg. Both empirical [16] and numerical
 density (kg m−3 ) [17] models of the investigated heat storage unit were developed.
 time (s) The numerical model of the PCM layer was developed with the use
t temperature (◦ C) of finite difference method as a one-dimensional implicit formula-
T temperature (K) tion. An influence of thermophysical properties of the PCM as well
x spatial coordinate (m) as other parameters such as air flow rate, surface rugosity and ther-
mal conductivity of the encapsulation material were numerically
Abbreviations
investigated with the developed model.
CSM compact storage module
Halawa and Saman [19] reported the thermal performance anal-
PCM phase change material
ysis of a phase change thermal storage unit for space heating.
The PCM used in the study was calcium chloride hexahydrate
Subscripts
(referred to as PCM29 in the paper) with the melting tempera-
a air
ture of 28 ◦ C. The PCM-air heat exchanger consisted of parallel
eff effective
slabs in a rectangular duct with air passing between the slabs. The
in inlet
authors analysed the influence of various parameters such as the
l liquid
air flow rate, the PCM slab thickness or the air gap on the per-
m mean
formance of the unit. The adiabatic walls were considered for the
out outlet
unit but such an assumption is reasonable for a parametric study
s solid
in which the influence of various design and operation parame-
∞ free stream condition
ters is investigated. However, the melting temperature of 28 ◦ C
seems to be relatively low for space heating application. Though
Superscripts
the parallel PCM slabs with the air channels between them is the
c congealing
most often considered configuration of an PCM-air heat exchanger,
m melting
some other designs are also possible. Dubovsky et al. [20] presented
an analytical model of a shell-and-tube PCM-air heat exchanger
where a PCM was in the tubes and the air flowed inside the shell.
Several studies, both experimental and numerical, were carried According to Agyenim et al. [21], the shell-and-tube exchang-
out into latent heat thermal storage with air as a heat carrier. Hed ers represent the most frequently studied case by the number of
and Bellander [14] reported mathematical modelling of a PCM-air published papers, however, most of these cases are water-based
heat exchanger for thermal storage in case of night cooling. The systems.
exchanger contained six horizontal layers of PCM in aluminium As pointed out above, many of the models neglect the heat
pouches with 8 mm air gaps between the layers. The length of the exchange between the thermal storage unit and the ambient envi-
layers in the direction of airflow was 0.48 m. The air velocity of ronment [14,19]. Such simplification can be justified for thermal
4 m s−1 was considered in all air gaps. The model was implemented storage in passive cooling applications where the temperature dif-
as a single node finite difference model. The heat loss to the ambi- ference between the PCM and the ambient air is rather small
ent environment was neglected. The authors used the model to (usually less than 10 K) and the heat storage cycles are relatively
investigate the influence of the surface roughness on heat transfer short. In case of thermal storage for space heating, the tempera-
in the heat storage unit, but the surface roughness is not described ture difference between the PCM and the ambient air can exceed
in detail what makes the results quite difficult to interpret. The 30 K, resulting in a non-negligible heat loss over a certain period of
authors concluded that the rough surface can significantly intensify time. Another assumption often used in modelling of the storage
heat transfer between the fluid and the heat storage material, but units with PCM slabs is the same air flow rate in all air channels.
this intensification is subsequently paid for by a higher fan power. This flow pattern can be achieved in laboratory experiments but it
The increase of the fan energy consumption is not quantified in the is less likely in case of the thermal storage units in actual building
paper. energy systems.
Modelling and experimental validation of a similar arrangement The aim of the study presented in this paper was to develop and
of a PCM-air heat exchanger for free cooling applications was pre- validate a simulation model for the heat storage units comprising
sented by Lopez et al. [15]. The authors considered an exchanger CSM panels filled with PCMs. The simulation model allows to take
consisting of parallel horizontal PCM slabs with air gaps between into account the distribution of air flow rates in different air chan-
the slabs. The simulation model was created in MATLAB with the nels as well as the heat exchange with the ambient environment.
use of control volume method. The same air flow rates were con- The model was used for a parametric study analysing the influence
sidered in all air gaps and thus only a half of the slab thickness with of certain parameters.
490 P. Charvát et al. / Energy and Buildings 68 (2014) 488–497

thermal CSM panels

insulation

tout tin

Fig. 1. Schematic of investigated heat storage unit.

2. Heat storage unit

The investigations were performed for a lab-scale model of a

day-cycle thermal storage unit. On certain days, especially in spring
and autumn, space heating or ventilation air heating may not be
needed during the daytime when the outdoor temperature is rel-
atively high and solar radiation is available but that need usually
arises after the sunset. Also, some residential buildings do not need
to be ventilated or heated to the comfort level during the day
because occupants are not at home. These are the situations where
a day-cycle thermal storage unit can be used in air-based solar sys-
tems. Solar heat can be stored in the heat storage unit during the
day when the heat supply exceeds the heat demand and it can be
released when otherwise. For that purpose the latent heat of phase
change can favourably be utilized. The main advantage of thermal
storage with the PCMs is the amount of heat that can be stored in a
small temperature interval around the melting temperature. That
amount of heat is generally larger than in the case of sensible heat
storage operating in the same temperature range.
There is a number of both organic and inorganic PCMs that
can be used for thermal storage in solar air heating systems. A
paraffin-based PCM was selected for the presented study because Fig. 2. The heat storage unit without front and top walls revealing CSM panels.
paraffin is one the most common organic PCMs. The advantage of
paraffin-based PCMs is their availability with a wide range of melt- panels had the dimensions of 450 mm × 300 mm × 10 mm and each
ing temperatures. The PCM with the melting temperature of around of them accommodated approximately 700 ml of Rubitherm RT42
40 ◦ C was chosen in this study with regard to the air temperature paraffin-based PCM. The panels were arranged in 5 rows with 20
at the outlet of solar air heaters (collectors) and the supply air tem- panels in each row. The CSM panels were positioned with the ver-
perature for warm air heating. The conventional warm-air space tical distance of 30 mm from each other and there was a 20 mm
heating systems usually use air supply temperature that is 20 K or air gap (air channel) between the panels. The PCM-based heat stor-
even 30 K higher than the room temperature. The studied heat stor- age unit is a kind of PCM-air heat exchanger and the surface area
age unit is supposed to be used in spring and autumn when the heat density in case of the investigated unit was 53 m2 m−3 .
loss of a house is lower than the design heat loss and the air sup- The properties of RT42 as specified in the product data sheet
ply temperature can be lower to cover the heat loss. At the same are summarized in Table 1 [22]. The product data sheet does not
time, the solar air heaters need to provide a higher air tempera- directly specify the latent heat of the solid–liquid phase change, but
ture than the melting temperature of the PCM in the heat storage instead the heat storage capacity in a temperature interval around
unit. The efficiency of solar air heaters decreases with increasing
temperature of heat transfer fluid; therefore, it makes sense to use
PCMs with a melting temperature as low as (practically) possible
for solar air space heating.
The CSM panels provide a rather easy and flexible approach to
building thermal storage units of a desired thermal storage capac-
ity. The CSM panels can be arranged in various ways in the units.
The basic arrangement is a row of parallel CSM panels with an air
channel between the two adjacent panels. In order to increase the
capacity of the heat storage unit, the CSM panels can be added in
all three spatial directions. However, even if the storage unit has
the desired thermal capacity that capacity may not be available
in operation due to various heat transfer constrains. The simpli-
fied energy balance calculations may underestimate problems with
heat transfer between the heat transfer fluid and the heat storage
materials.
The arrangement of the investigated heat storage unit can be
seen in Fig. 1 and the photo of the unit is shown in Fig. 2. The unit
contained 100 CSM panels filled with a PCM, see Fig. 3. The inter-
nal dimensions of the unit were 0.44 m × 0.62 m × 1.8 m. The CSM Fig. 3. Rubitherm CSM panel.
 P. Charvát et al. / Energy and Buildings 68 (2014) 488–497 491

Table 1 PC
Thermophysical properties of Rubitherm RT42 [22]. data heater
acquisition controller fan controller
Melting temperature range 38–43 ◦ C main peak 41 ◦ C module
Congealing temperature range 43–37 ◦ C main peak 42 ◦ C
Heat storage capacity in temp. range 174 kJ kg−1 (±7.5%)
between 35 ◦ C and 50 ◦ C
Specific heat in both solid and liquid states 2 kJ kg−1 K−1
Density in solid state at 15 ◦ C 880 kg m−3 insulated heat storage unit 230 V
Density in liquid state at 80 ◦ C 760 kg m−3 flexible
Volume expansion in temp. range of phase 14% duct
change
Heat conductivity 0.2 W m−1 K−1

electric
the melting point (between 35 ◦ C and 50 ◦ C) is specified with the heater
fan
uncertainty of 7.5%. It means that the heat storage capacity of RT42
between 35 ◦ C and 50 ◦ C is 174 ± 13 kJ kg−1 K−1 . Fig. 4. Experimental set-up.
As for the specific heat, it primarily depends on the chemical
composition of a PCM. For the majority of commercially available
PCMs, the specific heat in both the solid and liquid states is between The application of thermal storage in solar air heating system
1 kJ kg−1 K−1 and 2.5 kJ kg−1 K−1 [21]. The specific heat in the solid means that the duration of thermal storage period is limited by
and liquid state of Rubitherm RT42, specified in the product data availability of solar radiation. Space heating in central Europe is not
sheet, is 2 kJ kg−1 K−1 . However, Kenisarin and Mahkamov [23] generally needed in summer and conditions for solar air heating in
reported the solid and liquid specific heats of Rubitherm RT42 of winter are really poor. Moreover, there is not much need for ther-
1.8 kJ kg−1 K−1 and 2.4 kJ kg−1 K−1 , respectively. Losada-Peréz et al. mal storage in solar air heating systems in winter because space
[24] determined the specific heats of Rubitherm RT42 experimen- heating is needed almost all the time and the days with clear sky
tally with the use of the adiabatic scanning calorimetry method. are also those with low outdoor temperature. The biggest potential
They reported the specific heat of 3.5 kJ kg−1 K−1 and 2.3 kJ kg−1 K−1 for thermal storage is in spring and autumn when some daytime
in the solid and liquid state, respectively. Considering the specific solar gains can be moved to after sunset hours. The flow rate in the
heat of 2 kJ kg−1 K−1 , the latent heat is 144 kJ kg−1 K−1 , which is also experimental case was a compromise between acceptably short
consistent with the findings of Kenisarin and Mahkamov [23]. heat storage period and the reasonable inlet air temperature. The
For the specific heat of 2 kJ kg−1 K−1 in both the solid and liquid average sunshine duration in early spring and late autumn is less
states, as specified in the product data sheet, overall heat storage than 5 h in Brno, Czech Republic (latitude 49.2◦ N) and it is probably
capacity of the panels (including the aluminium containers) was not reasonable to expect higher solar air heater outlet tempera-
11.8 MJ (3.3 kWh) in the temperature interval between 25 ◦ C and ture than 60 ◦ C. It needs to be pointed out that the temperature at
55 ◦ C (T = 30 K). If each of the panels was filled with 700 ml of the outlet of a solar air heater changes during the day and a con-
water instead of Rubitherm RT42 then the total thermal storage stant outlet temperature could only be achieved with variable air
capacity of the panels would be 9.7 MJ (2.7 kWh). It is obvious that flow rate controlled with regard to solar radiation and outdoor air
the use of PCM-based thermal storage in this case only makes sense temperature.
if the operation temperature interval is rather narrow. Water-based The heat storage and release experiments were performed for
thermal storage (containers filled with water) operating in the tem- a couple of weeks with only a few dozen phase change cycles.
perature interval of T = 45 K would provide larger thermal storage The change of PCM properties with the number of phase change
capacity than the considered latent heat storage. Since each appli- cycles was reported by many authors. Rathod and Banerjee [26]
cation may require different operation temperature interval, the published the review of papers on thermal stability of PCMs
melting temperature of a PCM needs to be chosen with regard to used in latent heat energy storage systems. The deterioration of
the application. There is a number of phase change materials with thermophysical properties of the PCMs can significantly influ-
the melting temperature between 30 ◦ C and 100 ◦ C that can be used ence the long-term performance of heat storage. The change of
for thermal energy storage in solar air systems [25]. the PCM properties can be taken into account in the numeri-
cal simulations as a change of thermophysical properties with
time or a number of phase change cycles if such dependence is
3. Experimental investigations
known.
The experiments were carried out in a lab environment. The
experimental set-up can be seen in Fig. 4. An electric heater substi- 4. Numerical investigations
tuting an air collector was used to heat up the air at the inlet of the
unit. The electric heater had the maximum heating output of 2 kW. 4.1. Model concept
The heating output of the air heater could be controlled but the
maximum output was used in most experiments. A fan with a flow The numerical model of the heat storage unit was implemented
rate control was used to maintain the constant flow rate through as a one-dimensional transient heat transfer problem. The TRN-
the heat storage unit. The fan allowed for the maximum air flow rate SYS 17 simulation tool, which allows for transient simulations of
of 760 m3 h−1 . The data acquisition involved monitoring of the air energy systems and buildings, was used in the numerical investi-
flow rate through the unit as well as air temperature measurements gations. The development of several latent heat storage models for
at several locations. The resistance temperature probes Pt100 were TRNSYS has been reported by various authors in the last decade,
used for the air temperature measurements and the anemomet- e.g. [19,27,28]. The TRNSYS can be coupled with other simulation
ric probe was used for air flow rate measurements. An open-loop tools which increases its versatility. A coupling between TRNSYS
arrangement was used, it means that air passing through the unit and MATLAB was used for the development of the numerical model
was supplied outside of the lab. A thermally insulated flexible duct of the heat storage unit. Though convenient for the development
was used for this purpose. The storage unit itself was thermally of the model the coupling is not practical for actual simulations.
insulated with polystyrene on the outside. The need for repeated calling of MATLAB from TRNSYS in each
492 P. Charvát et al. / Energy and Buildings 68 (2014) 488–497

tamb
tan5 tan4 tan3 tan2 tan1

ta25 ta15 ta24 ta14 ta23 ta13 ta22 ta12 ta21 ta11
tout tin
plane of symmetry

Fig. 5. Schematic of the numerical model.

time iteration profoundly increases the computational time. For spatial dimensions. Only one section per panel was calculated in
that reason the numerical model developed in MATLAB was con- the reported simulations.
sequently recompiled with the use of C++programming language
to the form of the build-in TRNSYS module. The model of the 4.2. Phase change modelling
unit can be used with other components available in the TRN-
SYS such as air heaters, solar collectors, and heat pumps. The The numerical model is based on the implementation of the 1D
schematic of the numerical model of the heat storage unit is shown heat transfer equation that includes an internal source of heat [29]
in Fig. 5.  
Since there are many geometrically same air channels (gaps) ∂T ∂ ∂T
c = k + Q̇ (1)
between the CSM panels, only several channels could be modelled ∂ ∂x ∂x
in order to decrease the computational time. Actually, assuming
where  represents the density, c denotes the specific heat, k stands
the symmetry only the half of the channel with the half of the CSM
for the thermal conductivity, t is the time, T represents the tempera-
panel thickness could be modelled. Such a basic model was tested
ture and x is the spatial coordinate (in the direction of the PCM layer
but it did not represent the situation in the actual heat storage unit
thickness). The internal heat source of the latent heat of fusion Q̇
very well since the air flow rates vary in different air gaps. There-
in Eq. (1) can be expressed as follows [30],
fore, a more realistic model as shown in Fig. 5 was implemented to
address this issue. The air velocity profile in the heat storage unit ∂fs
was assumed symmetrical about the horizontal mid-plane of the Q̇ = Lf (2)
∂
unit. The variation of air velocities in the horizontal direction was
where Lf denotes the latent heat of fusion and fs is the solid frac-
neglected in the model. The heat loss of the unit was calculated
tion that represents the ratio between the solid and liquid phases
from the temperature difference between the ambient air temper-
[30]. The effective heat capacity method [31] was adopted as an
ature and the air temperatures inside the unit close to the unit
approach to modelling of the phase change. This method makes
walls. The simulation of the phase change of PCM inside the CSM
use of the effective heat capacity ceff in order to comprise the latent
panels was the most time consuming part of the calculations and
heat of fusion. The effective heat capacity can be defined as follows
the computational time increased with the number of solved sec-
[30],
tions. The detail of the one of the sections (computational domains)
is shown in Fig. 6. The number of nodes used for the calculations 1 ∂H ∂fs ∂
can be specified in the model together with the number of sections ceff (T ) = = c − Lf (3)
 ∂T ∂ ∂T
which should be solved for each panel. Regardless of the number of
sections, each of them is solved as a 1D heat transfer problem. This where H is the enthalpy of the material. Hence, the effective heat
assumption is based on the dimensions of the CSM panels where capacity is proportional to the slope of the enthalpy function with
the thickness of the PCM layer is much smaller than its other two respect to the temperature. The substitution of Eq. (3) into Eq.
(1) results in the governing equation of heat transfer in the phase
change material as follows
 
h2, ta21 qi2 ∂T ∂ ∂T
ceff = k . (4)
tso21 ∂ ∂x ∂x
tsi21
container A general dependence of the effective heat capacity on the tem-
perature for a material undergoing a phase change can be seen in
wall
tpcmn Fig. 7. The effective heat capacity coincides with the respective
specific heats in the liquid and solid states of the material out-
side of the phase change temperature range. The effective heat
PCM
capacity significantly varies when the material undergoes phase
change as it comprises the absorption or the release of the latent
tpcm1
heat. The temperature range of the phase change, in which both
container the solid and liquid phases simultaneously coexist and the solid
wall fraction satisfies 0 < fs < 1, is commonly called the mushy zone [30].
tsi11 Fig. 7 shows the effective capacity for a material with the hystere-
h1, ta11 qi1 tso11 sis of melting and solidification that is rather typical for most of
the PCMs. The hysteresis complicates numerical modelling of the
Fig. 6. Schematic of a computational domain. PCM thermal behaviour when the material does not fully liquefy or
 P. Charvát et al. / Energy and Buildings 68 (2014) 488–497 493

Table 2
Parameters of effective heat capacity curves used in numerical simulations.

Case cm Heat storage capacity Latent heat of phase

between 35 ◦ C and 50 ◦ C change

Lower uncertainty level (−7.5%) 51.1 kJ kg−1 K−1 161 kJ kg−1 131 kJ kg−1
Mean 56.2 kJ kg−1 K−1 174 kJ kg−1 144 kJ kg−1
Upper uncertainty level (+7.5%) 61.3 kJ kg−1 K−1 187 kJ kg−1 157 kJ kg−1

solidify during the working cycle. In the simulated thermal storage In order to complete the mathematical model and to establish
cycle the PCM fully liquefied during the heat storage period and the well-posed problem, the initial and boundary conditions were
fully solidified in the heat discharge period; therefore, one effec- provided. The initial condition was the uniform temperature for
tive heat capacity curve was used for melting and a different one the entire heat storage unit. The convective heat flux according to
for solidification. The effective heat capacity of a PCM is usually the Newton’s law of cooling was used as the boundary condition
determined experimentally, e.g. with the use of the differential at the surfaces of the panels, see Fig. 6. The heat transfer coeffi-
scanning calorimetry method [32] or utilizing the thermal delay cient was determined with the use of the correlation for the fluid
method [33]. A simplified approach as described by Kuznik et al. flow between two parallel planes [29]. The Reynolds number in the
[34] was utilized in numerical simulations presented in this study. investigated cases was Re ≤ 1000, which is generally laminar flow.
The effective heat capacity of Rubitherm RT42 was proposed in the In case of fully developed laminar flow the Nusselt number is con-
form of the Gaussian-shape function. With both the solid and liquid stant and therefore the heat transfer coefficient does not depend
specific heats of 2 kJ kg−1 K−1 , the effective heat capacity function on the Reynolds number. However, even in case of laminar flow
reads as follows, the Nusselt number is not constant in the entry region where the
  flow is not yet fully developed meaning that the value of the heat
(t − tm )2 transfer coefficient also depends on the distance from the channel
ceff (t) = 2 + cm exp − (5)
2.1 entrance. The influence of entry region on the heat transfer coeffi-
cient was much more significant than the influence of the Reynolds
where cm is the maximum increment of the specific heat due to the number because the length of the entry region for the heat storage
latent heat. The mean temperature of the phase change tm for melt- unit with 5 rows of CSM panels was longer than the length of the
ing and congealing was 41 ◦ C and 40 ◦ C, respectively. The effective air gap (channel) between the CSM panels. The Nusselt number
heat capacity defined by Eq. (5) complies with the material prop- and therefore the heat transfer coefficient have smaller values in
erties stated in Table 1. Considering the uncertainty of ±7.5% for the fully developed laminar flow than in the entry region [29]. This
the heat storage capacity, two more ceff (t) curves were used in the fact can have implications in optimal design of heat storage units.
numerical simulations. The parameters of the curves are presented
in Table 2. 5. Results and discussion
In comparison to the enthalpy method [35–37] that can also
be used for modelling of phase change problems, the effective Fig. 8 shows the measured and simulated air temperatures at
heat capacity approach requires only the primary unknown vari- the inlet and outlet of the heat storage unit during the heat storage
able – the temperature – that is calculated directly from Eq. (4). and heat release periods in an experiment with the constant inlet
A possibility to use an implicit discretization scheme, and there- air temperature. The situation with the constant air temperature is
fore unlimited time step of simulation due to the unconditional presented because it is rather illustrative for theoretical analyses.
numerical stability [29], is another advantage of the effective heat The constant air temperature at the inlet of the unit would probably
capacity approach. However, to ensure a desired accuracy the time be of a rare occurrence under real operating conditions of a solar
step is still limited from the physical point of view due to a nar- air system, but for other heat sources such as air-to-air heat pumps
row temperature interval of the mushy zone where the effective the constant air temperature at the inlet is more plausible.
heat capacity changes rapidly. The control volume method using The heat storage period took place from 0:10 h to 4:15 h and the
the explicit scheme for the time derivative was utilized in order to heat release period was between 4:15 h and 9:00 h. The air flow
solve the problem numerically [38]. Due to the conditional stability rate through the heat storage unit was 230 m3 h−1 during the entire
of the explicit time discretization, the time step of the simulation
was carefully determined with the use of stability criteria in order
to prevent numerical instability or even oscillations [39].

Fig. 7. Effective heat capacity. Fig. 8. Inlet and outlet air temperatures.
494 P. Charvát et al. / Energy and Buildings 68 (2014) 488–497

Fig. 10. Heat release rate.

Fig. 9. Heat storage rate.

experiment. The experiment began from the constant temperature peak in the heat storage rate from the experiment is not as sharp as
of the heat storage unit of 25 ◦ C as can be seen from the inlet and in the case of numerical simulations where the inlet air tempera-
outlet air temperatures during the first 10 min. In order to achieve ture was reached in the first time step. The numerical model of the
this initial condition, the ambient air was circulated through the unit underestimated the heat loss to the surroundings. That is one
unit until there was no difference between the inlet and outlet air of the reasons for increasing discrepancies between experimen-
temperatures. Then the electric heater was switched on and almost tal and numerical results over longer periods of time. At a certain
constant inlet air temperature of 58 ◦ C was maintained. At 4:15 h point during the heat storage period the air temperature difference
the heater was switched off and the heat release period began with between the inlet and the outlet of the unit is not because of the
the inlet air temperature of 25 ◦ C. The numerical simulation used heat being stored in the unit but only due to the thermal loss of the
the same initial and boundary conditions in order to obtain com- unit.
parable results. The heat release rates can be seen in Fig. 10. Similarly to the heat
storage period, the heat release rate was calculated as
5.1. Inlet and outlet air temperatures qout = ṁa ca (tout − tin ). (7)

As can be seen in Fig. 8, the outlet air temperature follows the The air temperature at the inlet of the unit was 25 ◦ C during the
increase of the inlet air temperature rather quickly at the begin- heat release period. The air flow rate was the same as in the case of
ning of the heat storage period when only sensible heat storage the heat storage period. Again, there is a relatively good agreement
takes place. The onset of the melting process is clearly visible as the between the numerical and experimental results at the beginning
change in the time derivative of the outlet air temperature. Between of the heat release period (sensible heat storage) but the discrepan-
about 0:30 h and 1:00 h, the time derivative of the outlet air temper- cies occur during the congealing of the PCM. The heat release rate
atures (i.e. the slope of the air temperature increase) temporarily peaks at around 2 kW at the beginning of the heat release period
declines due to latent heat storage in the PCM. The same behaviour but it very quickly drops to around 1 kW when the sensible heat
can be seen in the heat release period when the air temperature above the melting range is released.
at the outlet initially decreases rather steeply, but when the air
temperature drops to the congealing temperature of the PCM, the 5.3. Reasons for discrepancies
decrease of the air temperature slows down as the latent heat is
released. The onset of melting and congealing does not occur in all One-dimensional simulation models require simplification of
panels at the same time and that is one of the reasons why there the studied problem and that means that certain phenomena can-
is not a temperature plateau (almost isothermal heat storage and not be addressed in detail. In the case of the investigated unit the
release) so often shown in theoretical descriptions of latent heat simplification mostly concerns the air flow inside the unit and the
storage. Another reason is a relatively wide melting range of RT42. phase change of the PCM. Since the air flow in the unit cannot be
modelled in detail, some assumption needs to be made about the air
5.2. Heat storage and release rates flow rates in particular air cavities (channels). The highest air flow
rate for the studied arrangement was considered in the air cavity at
The heat storage rates for the situation shown in Fig. 8 can be the horizontal mid-plain (plain of symmetry) of the unit and it was
seen in Fig. 9. The heat storage rate was obtained from the air mass assumed that the air flow rate in other air cavities decreased with
flow rate ṁa and the difference between the inlet and outlet air their distance from the mid-plain (with the minimum air flow rates
temperatures in the air channels adjacent to the walls of the storage unit). As for
the phase change modelling, the 1D approach to heat transfer in the
qin = ṁa ca (tin − tout ) (6)
studied case seemed to be justified by the dimensions of the CSM
where ca is the specific heat of air at constant pressure and tin and panels where the thickness of the PCM layer was much smaller than
tout are the air temperatures at the inlet and outlet of the unit as other two spatial dimensions and the dominant heat flux could be
shown in Fig. 5. The discrepancies between the simulated and mea- expected in the direction of the PCM layer thickness. No convection
sured heat storage rates at the beginning of the unit operation (from was considered in the melted PCM. The horizontal position of the
0:10 h to 0:30 h in Fig. 9) are mainly due to the electric air heater. panels means that the melted PCM collects in the lower part of the
The actual heater needed some time to reach the desired air tem- panel and the air cavities (voids) may form between the PCM and
perature at the inlet of the heat storage unit and that is why the the aluminium shell of the panel. That might increase the thermal
 P. Charvát et al. / Energy and Buildings 68 (2014) 488–497 495

Fig. 11. Outlet air temperatures for different heat resistances of the unit walls.
Fig. 12. Outlet air temperatures for different thicknesses of CSM panels.

resistance for heat transfer between the upper surface of the con-
extends the length of the unit by 0.3 m. Fig. 13 shows the simulated
tainer and the PCM. No voids in the PCM were considered in the
air temperatures behind the rows of the CSM panels in a unit with
simulations. A 3D model of the panel would provide much better
15 rows of panels (15 × 20 panels). The walls of the unit were con-
insight into the melting process [40,41] but for the computational
sidered adiabatic, the inlet air temperature was 55 ◦ C and the air
constraints it would be almost impossible to model each CSM panel
flow rate was 300 m3 h−1 .
individually in 3D. The approach in which the results of a simplified
Most studies consider complete phase change cycles in which
1D model are validated with experimental data and fine-tuning of
the whole amount of PCM completely changes phase from solid to
the model is done based on that comparison is probably the most
liquid and vice versa [19,14]. However, especially in case of solar
feasible approach for practical application of numerical simulations
systems where the amount of available heat depends on solar radi-
at the moment [16].
ation, which varies significantly from day to day, the partial melting
can be commonplace in real-life operation. As can be seen in Fig. 13,
5.4. Further simulation results the PCM in the first row of the CSM panels is fully melted in less
than an hour while the PCM in the 15th row takes several hours
The main advantage of the numerical simulations is that it is to melt. It means that the PCM in the panels at the inlet of the unit
relatively easy to perform parametric studies analysing the influ- would probably undergo more phase change cycles than the panels
ence of various design and operation parameters. The analyses of at the outlet in a real-life operation.
various parameters that influence the performance of the PCM- The heat storage rates for different numbers of rows can be seen
air heat storage unit can be found in [16] and [19]. It is obvious in Fig. 14. For the constant inlet conditions the heat storage rate
that with the increasing inlet air temperature or the increasing air increases with the increasing number of rows. The increasing heat
flow rate, the necessary time for melting of PCM gets shorter. The storage rate also means an increase of the effectiveness of the heat
influence, which is often neglected in the published studies, is the storage unit as a heat exchanger. A trivial conclusion would be that
heat loss to the ambient environment. Fig. 11 shows the simulated the infinite number of rows leads to the maximum effectiveness.
outlet air temperature in the heat storage period for three levels Since the increase of the heat storage rate (and the effectiveness) is
of thermal resistance of the unit walls. The inlet air temperature not proportional to the number of rows, an optimum arrangement
was 55 ◦ C, the ambient temperature was 25 ◦ C and the air flow of the CSM panels (a combination of panels positioned in parallel
rate was 300 m3 h−1 . As can be seen the non-insulated unit has and in series) for a specific application can be found by means of
a rather high thermal loss. The thermal insulation with the resis- multi-parametric optimization. It is important to choose appropri-
tance of 2 m2 K W−1 (roughly equivalent to 0.1 m of an insulation ate optimization criteria (e.g. the pressure drop of the unit vs. the
material with the thermal conductivity of 0.05 W m−1 K−1 ) rather
significantly reduces the heat loss. In case of a thermally insulated
unit, it is justifiable to use the assumption of adiabatic walls for the
parametric studies with relatively short heat storage cycles.
The CSM panels are available with the thickness of 10 mm,
15 mm and 20 mm. The simulated outlet air temperatures during
the heat storage period for the units containing CSM panels of the
three thicknesses are shown in Fig. 12. The simulation was done for
the inlet air temperature of 55 ◦ C and the air flow rate of 300 m3 h−1 .
The walls of the unit were considered adiabatic and the 20 mm air
cavities between the panels were considered in all three cases.
The heat storage capacity of the unit can be increased by addi-
tion of CSM panels that can be added in parallel and in series. The
number of panels in parallel does not influence the outlet air tem-
perature as long as the air flow rate in each channel remains the
same. The situation is different when the panels are added in series.
In case of the units comprising CSM panels, the unit dimensions can
only change in increments equivalent to dimensions of the panels.
For the arrangement used in the tested unit, each row of CSM panels Fig. 13. Outlet air temperatures at different positions in the unit.
496 P. Charvát et al. / Energy and Buildings 68 (2014) 488–497

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