Study of Charging of Stratified Storage Tanks With Finite Wall Thickness

Abstract

This paper presents a numerical and experimental study of finite wall thickness on stratification during charging of soar thermal storage tanks. A numerical two‐dimensional spectral‐element model has been used. Predictions of the model are compared with experimental data, and with a one‐dimensional plug flow model. The fluid inlet effect on the stratification is minimized in the experiments by the use of a proper diffuser design with a settling mesh. Both heat conduction in the tank wall and the developing flow in the tank have a significant effect on stratification during charging at low flow rates. The one‐dimensional plug flow model is shown to be inferior to the two‐dimensional model in representing the experimental data. Yet, a simple one‐dimensional flow model corrected for both centreline velocity and mixing effects has given comparable results to the more expensive two‐dimensional model. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., Int. J. Energy Res., vol 21, 411–427 (1997).