An Investigation of Thermal Stratification in Horizontal Storage Tanks

Abstract

The thermal behavior of a horizontal storage tank has been investigated numerically and experimentally. The purpose of the present work is to compare a simple, one-dimensional model to the measured temperature stratification in this horizontal tank. For the test conditions used in these experiments, axial temperature gradients were found to be negligible compared to vertical temperature gradients. It was observed that significant mixing of the tank occurred when water was removed unless a diffuser manifold was placed on the makeup water inlet. The numerical model used was one-dimensional (vertical) with some degree of mixing at the inlet and outlet boundaries. The temperatures at the top of the tank were predicted fairly well, but the temperatures at the bottom deviated somewhat from the predictions. It appears that some additional interior mixing, not included in the present model, occurs.