An experimental facility for latent heat thermal energy storage units

Abstract

Assessing the performance of thermal energy storage (TES) units beyond software simulation requires testing in a controlled environment, with specific operating modes, and in safe conditions. A test-rig with an energy source and a monitoring system is very helpful to conduct experimental tests to assess the performance of TES systems. To this end, this paper presents an experimental facility for the study of latent heat TES (LH-TES) units. Emphasis is placed on the individual elements of the facility, which includes plumbing components and electric heaters to support the charging process of the TES units. Water is used as the heat transfer fluid (HTF). To demonstrate the capabilities of the test-rig, an LH-TES prototype for heating applications is used. Four different configurations and three operating modes are assessed: charging, discharging and discharging-mixing. The wide range of the experiments possible with the developed facility enables testing of early designs of LH-TES units ahead of deployment in real thermal networks.