171
Views
0
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Research Article

Variation of thermal stratification, first and second law efficiency due to the use of porous media in hot water tank

ORCID Icon
 

ABSTRACT

Thermal energy storage tanks are one of the widely used energy storage systems. In these systems, thermal stratification and energy storage capacity are the most important parameters affecting system performance. In this study, a porous medium was placed in the upper part of the tank, where the water in the tank is the hottest, in order to increase the system performance for standby mode. Thus, convection-induced movement of the water in the upper part of the tank was tried to be minimized and it was aimed to reduce the temperature drop. The results were determined experimentally in terms of first law and second law efficiency, maximum temperature difference, and overall heat transfer coefficient over a 48 hours cooling period. The porous media thickness was used as a parameter and its values were chosen as 10, 12, 14, and 16 cm. The best results were obtained for the porous media thickness of 16 cm, at which thermal stratification, first law, and second law efficiency increased by an average of 1.8 times, 1.6%, and 2.3%, respectively.

Nomenclature

A=

area, m2

c=

specific heat capacity,J/kgK

E=

energy,W

Ex=

exergy,W

m=

mass,kg

Po=

atmospheric pressure,kPa

R=

measured dimension quantity

u=

internal energy,J

v=

specific volume,m3/kg

s=

entropy,J/ oC

T=

temperature,oC

t=

time,s

Q=

energy, W

W=

uncertainty in the measurement

WR+=

total uncertainty associated

Greek symbols

ηı=

first law efficiency,%

ηıı=

second law efficiency,%

Subscripts

av=

avarage

loss=

loss

max=

maximum

min=

minimum

i=

instantaneous

in=

initial

o=

ambient

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

Raw data were generated at [facility name]. Derived data supporting the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author [initials] on request.

Additional information

Funding

No funder was used in the realization of the study.

Reprints and Corporate Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:

Academic Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:

If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.