Performance Evaluation of a Thermal Energy Storage

Abstract

The direct contact heat transfer technique gives better heat transfer rates. In this paper, the operation of a simple system was simulated under different operating conditions. During the charging mode of the operation, refrigerant R134a is injected into water stored in an evaporator to exchange directly heat with the water and form clathrates. Later, the clathrate is used to cool water which is used for air-conditioning purposes. Direct contact charging and/or discharging eliminate the necessity of a heat exchanger inside the storage tank and leads to an effective heat transfer method. The results indicate that the performance of the system depends on the refrigerant type, compressor speed and the mass flow rate of the refrigerant.