LAUSR

Abstract The latent heat storage (LHS) system is an essential component required to harness renewable energy systems. For this purpose, thermal energy storage media commonly known as phase-change martials (PCM) are utilized. However, their low thermal conductivity is the main challenge to be addressed in the LHS systems applications. Therefore, a shell and tube kind of LHS with multiple finned heat transferring fluid (HTF) tubes is designed and fabricated. Erythritol (C4H10O4) as an energy storage media and cooking waste oil as HTF are utilized. Experimental and numerical thermal performance study of LHS is performed using various parameters such as stored energy, charging time, transient liquid fraction and temperature. The impact of the HTF mass flow rate and temperature variation on the melting behavior of the storage unit is studied. It is observed that the increase in inlet flow rate and temperature enhances melting performance. The experimental results are validated with the outcome of numerical analysis with CFD software (ANSYS-Fluent), which indicates acceptable accuracy of experimental results with a maximum discrepancy of 6.0%. The total simulation time of the whole melting analysis of the PCM inside LHS is 175 min. The sensible, latent heat and the overall stored energy of PCM are found as 9,429 kJ, 17,735 kJ and 27,164 kJ respectively.