Exploring the Relationship Between Heat Absorption and Material Thermal Parameters for Thermal Energy Storage

Abstract

Using thermal energy storage alongside renewables is a way of diminishing the energy lack that exists when renewable energies are unable to run. An in-depth understanding of the specific effect of material properties is needed to enhance the performance of thermal energy storage systems. In this paper, we used fitting models and regression analysis to quantify the effect that latent heat of melting and material density have on the overall heat absorption. A single tank system, with encapsulated phase change materials is analysed with materials properties tested in the range of values commonly found in the literature. These materials are, therefore, hypothetically constructed ones based on materials such as paraffin. The software used for the numerical analysis is COMSOL Mulitphysics. Results show that the relationship between the latent heat and density regarding heat absorbed is a positive linear function for this system.