Thermo-economic assessments on building heating by a thermal energy storage system with metal foam
Due to the intermittency and discontinuity of solar energy, thermal energy storage (TES) using phase change materials (PCMs) is generally required to ensure stable operation in solar heating systems (SHS) during winter. This paper presents the design of a TES unit with different horizontal metal foa...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2023-09-01
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| Series: | Case Studies in Thermal Engineering |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214157X23006135 |
| _version_ | 1797729921282342912 |
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| author | Xinyu Gao Zhaoyang Niu Xinyu Huang Xiaohu Yang Jinyue Yan |
| author_facet | Xinyu Gao Zhaoyang Niu Xinyu Huang Xiaohu Yang Jinyue Yan |
| author_sort | Xinyu Gao |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Due to the intermittency and discontinuity of solar energy, thermal energy storage (TES) using phase change materials (PCMs) is generally required to ensure stable operation in solar heating systems (SHS) during winter. This paper presents the design of a TES unit with different horizontal metal foam filling ratios (60%–100%), and simulations of thermal characteristics, such as complete melting time and heat storage capacity by numerical method. Based on the heating demands of an office building in Xi'an, TES units are combined in parallel and economic indexes are calculated based on static evaluation method, including initial investment and investment payback period. Novelty, the contribution of gradient microstructure to the phase transition process is evaluated from thermophysical properties and economy. Results show that the TES unit with a filling ratio of 90% possesses the shortest complete melting time of 5310 s, which is 87.56% shorter than that of a TES unit with pure PCM. Finally, economic assessments of the engineering application of the partially filled metal foam structure are carried out, and it is determined that the SHS with the TES system of 90% filling ratio requires the least number of 548 TES units, with a payback period of three heating seasons. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T11:36:35Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-933f965b682a420da81f09851cd99793 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2214-157X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T11:36:35Z |
| publishDate | 2023-09-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Case Studies in Thermal Engineering |
| spelling | doaj.art-933f965b682a420da81f09851cd997932023-09-01T05:01:48ZengElsevierCase Studies in Thermal Engineering2214-157X2023-09-0149103307Thermo-economic assessments on building heating by a thermal energy storage system with metal foamXinyu Gao0Zhaoyang Niu1Xinyu Huang2Xiaohu Yang3Jinyue Yan4Institute of the Building Environment & Sustainability Technology, School of Human Settlements and Civil Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710049, ChinaInstitute of the Building Environment & Sustainability Technology, School of Human Settlements and Civil Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710049, ChinaInstitute of the Building Environment & Sustainability Technology, School of Human Settlements and Civil Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710049, ChinaInstitute of the Building Environment & Sustainability Technology, School of Human Settlements and Civil Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710049, China; School of Sustainable Development of Society and Technology, Mälardalen University, 72123, Västerås, Sweden; Corresponding author. Institute of the Building Environment & Sustainability Technology, School of Human Settlements and Civil Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710049, China.School of Sustainable Development of Society and Technology, Mälardalen University, 72123, Västerås, Sweden; Department of Building Environment and Energy Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China; Corresponding author. School of Sustainable Development of Society and Technology, Mälardalen University, 72123, Västerås, Sweden.Due to the intermittency and discontinuity of solar energy, thermal energy storage (TES) using phase change materials (PCMs) is generally required to ensure stable operation in solar heating systems (SHS) during winter. This paper presents the design of a TES unit with different horizontal metal foam filling ratios (60%–100%), and simulations of thermal characteristics, such as complete melting time and heat storage capacity by numerical method. Based on the heating demands of an office building in Xi'an, TES units are combined in parallel and economic indexes are calculated based on static evaluation method, including initial investment and investment payback period. Novelty, the contribution of gradient microstructure to the phase transition process is evaluated from thermophysical properties and economy. Results show that the TES unit with a filling ratio of 90% possesses the shortest complete melting time of 5310 s, which is 87.56% shorter than that of a TES unit with pure PCM. Finally, economic assessments of the engineering application of the partially filled metal foam structure are carried out, and it is determined that the SHS with the TES system of 90% filling ratio requires the least number of 548 TES units, with a payback period of three heating seasons.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214157X23006135Thermal heat storageSolar energyHeatingThermo-economic analysis |
| spellingShingle | Xinyu Gao Zhaoyang Niu Xinyu Huang Xiaohu Yang Jinyue Yan Thermo-economic assessments on building heating by a thermal energy storage system with metal foam Case Studies in Thermal Engineering Thermal heat storage Solar energy Heating Thermo-economic analysis |
| title | Thermo-economic assessments on building heating by a thermal energy storage system with metal foam |
| title_full | Thermo-economic assessments on building heating by a thermal energy storage system with metal foam |
| title_fullStr | Thermo-economic assessments on building heating by a thermal energy storage system with metal foam |
| title_full_unstemmed | Thermo-economic assessments on building heating by a thermal energy storage system with metal foam |
| title_short | Thermo-economic assessments on building heating by a thermal energy storage system with metal foam |
| title_sort | thermo economic assessments on building heating by a thermal energy storage system with metal foam |
| topic | Thermal heat storage Solar energy Heating Thermo-economic analysis |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214157X23006135 |
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