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Advances in Thermal Energy Storage Technology

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Applied Thermal Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2022) | Viewed by 7356

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Rua Luis Reis Santos, University of Coimbra, 3030-788 Coimbra, Portugal
Interests: thermal engineering systems; renewable energy technologies; thermal design and optimization; thermal management; thermal storage; energy capture technology; thermal engineering economics; laser diagnostics; heat and fluid multiphase flows; constructal theory; information theory in data analysis
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Thermal energy storage (TES) plays an essential role in integrating renewable energy engineering systems in industry, building, and power generation. With TES systems, the need for costly reinforcements to the grid is higher. Thus, TES can help in the seasonal balance of energy demands, scaling up the investment in renewables, and contributing to energy use decarbonization. 

Another growing field where TES is relevant is in industrial waste heat (IWH) recovery. Industries waste considerable amounts of energy through hot exhaust gases, cooling media, or heated surfaces in equipment and products. There is currently an under-utilized potential in IWH, which TES technology could recover by storing it for later use.

Therefore, the climatic variability challenges and the ability to optimize the timescales of energy storage, the identification of wasted energy sources and defining the best techniques for storing it, and converting thermal energy to other forms are scientific questions open for more research. 

The scope of this Special Issue is to synthesize the recent advances in:

  • Thermal energy-capturing techniques;
  • Energy waste recovery for thermal storage;
  • Thermal energy storage materials;
  • Heat exchangers design and technology;
  • Thermal energy conversion methods;
  • Thermal energy storage numerical models;
  • Thermodynamics of thermal energy storage.

Prof. Dr. Miguel R. Oliveira Panão
Guest Editor

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 5935 KiB  
Article
Experimental Assessment of the Influence of the Design on the Performance of Novel Evaporators with Latent Energy Storage Ability
by Boniface Dominick Mselle, Gabriel Zsembinszki, David Veréz, Emiliano Borri, Andreas Strehlow, Birgo Nitsch and Luisa F. Cabeza
Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(4), 1813; https://doi.org/10.3390/app12041813 - 10 Feb 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1976
Abstract
This study was carried out within the HYBUILD project, as part of the task aimed at developing novel evaporators for compact and direct integration of phase-change materials (PCM) into air-conditioning systems for efficient utilization of solar energy. To achieve this, novel evaporators were [...] Read more.
This study was carried out within the HYBUILD project, as part of the task aimed at developing novel evaporators for compact and direct integration of phase-change materials (PCM) into air-conditioning systems for efficient utilization of solar energy. To achieve this, novel evaporators were designed to contain PCM between refrigerant and heat transfer fluid (HTF) channels, allowing a three-media heat exchange mechanism. This paper experimentally assesses the influence of the configuration/arrangement of the channels on the performance of the evaporators, using three different lab-scale prototypes. Key performance indicators (KPI) relevant for thermal energy storage (TES) and heat exchangers (HEX) were used to study the influence of the design on the performance of the different designs of the novel evaporators. The results show that the change in the PCM, refrigerant, and HTF channel configuration affects the performance of the novel evaporators independently. The coefficient of performance (COP) of the refrigeration system and the energy storage density of the modules are the least affected KPIs (less than 16%), whereas the state of charge (SOC) at thermal equilibrium is the most affected KPI (about 44%). A discussion on how these effects provide unique strength for specific applications is included. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Thermal Energy Storage Technology)
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15 pages, 4083 KiB  
Article
Experimental Investigation and Exergy Analysis of Dehumidification Performances for a Cascaded Phase Change Heat Storage Dehumidifier
by Lixi Zhang, Yi Jia, Zhida Fan and Kangbo Wang
Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(3), 1303; https://doi.org/10.3390/app12031303 - 26 Jan 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1571
Abstract
In the humidification and dehumidification solar desalination system, the recovery of vapor condensation latent heat is the key problem. Using a cascaded phase change heat storage method to recover vapor condensation latent heat can improve the phase change heat storage rate and the [...] Read more.
In the humidification and dehumidification solar desalination system, the recovery of vapor condensation latent heat is the key problem. Using a cascaded phase change heat storage method to recover vapor condensation latent heat can improve the phase change heat storage rate and the water production performance of dehumidifier. The exergy analysis and experimental methods are used to study the cascaded phase change storage dehumidifier. The results show that the more stages of phase change materials in the cascaded phase change heat storage device, the greater the exergy efficiency will be. The heat transfer performance of phase change materials increases with the increase of hot and wet air temperature and flow at the inlet of the dehumidifier. The exergy efficiency and gain output ratio of three-stage phase change heat storage are higher than that of the single-stage. The three-stage one is recommended. If the heat recovered by the cascaded phase change heat storage device is supplied to the passive humidification dehumidification desalinator for secondary water output, the water output and gain output ratio will increase by 25% and the water production cost will be reduced by 20%. The results can provide a basis for the design and application of a cascaded phase change heat storage dehumidifier. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Thermal Energy Storage Technology)
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21 pages, 1778 KiB  
Article
An Analytical Model for Transient Heat Transfer with a Time-Dependent Boundary in Solar- and Waste-Heat-Assisted Geothermal Borehole Systems: From Single to Multiple Boreholes
by Mohammed A. Hefni, Minghan Xu, Ferri Hassani, Seyed Ali Ghoreishi-Madiseh, Haitham M. Ahmed, Hussein A. Saleem, Hussin A. M. Ahmed, Gamal S. A. Hassan, Khaled I. Ahmed and Agus P. Sasmito
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(21), 10338; https://doi.org/10.3390/app112110338 - 3 Nov 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2740
Abstract
With the increasing engineering applications of geothermal borehole heat exchangers (BHEs), accurate and reliable mathematical models can help advance their thermal design and operations. In this study, an analytical model with a time-dependent heat flux boundary condition on the borehole wall is developed, [...] Read more.
With the increasing engineering applications of geothermal borehole heat exchangers (BHEs), accurate and reliable mathematical models can help advance their thermal design and operations. In this study, an analytical model with a time-dependent heat flux boundary condition on the borehole wall is developed, capable of predicting the thermal performance of single, double, and multiple closed-loop BHEs, with an emphasis on solar- and waste-heat-assisted geothermal borehole systems (S-GBS and W-GBS) for energy storage. This analytical framework begins with a one-dimensional transient heat conduction problem subjected to a time-dependent heat flux for a single borehole. The single borehole scenario is then extended to multiple boreholes by exploiting lines of symmetry (or thermal superposition). A final expression of the temperature distribution along the center line is attained for single, double, and multiple boreholes, which is verified with a two-dimensional finite-element numerical model (less than 0.7% mean absolute deviation) and uses much lesser computational power and time. The analytical solution is also validated against a field-scale experiment from the literature regarding the borehole and ground temperatures at different time frames, with an absolute error below 6.3%. Further, the thermal performance of S-GBS and W-GBS is compared for a 3-by-3 borehole configuration using the analytical model to ensure its versatility in thermal energy storage. It is concluded that our proposed analytical framework can rapidly evaluate closed-loop geothermal BHEs, regardless of the numbers of boreholes and the type of the heat flux on the borehole wall. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Thermal Energy Storage Technology)
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