Investigation of a latent heat thermal energy storage system

Abstract

An experimental investigation of a shell-and-tube heat exchanger concept for use in a latent thermal energy storage system for solar heating applications has been carried out. The thermal analysis provides the influence of the water inlet temperature and mass flow rate on the storage charging/discharging times and temperature gradients for heat flow into or out of two different storage substances: paraffin wax and asphalt. Results indicate the capability of the heat exchanger concept to operate within small temperature potentials (< 16 K) for realistic heat input rates.