Performance Evaluation of Various Phase Change Materials for Thermal Energy Storage of A Solar Cooker via Numerical Simulation

*Dede Tarwidi -  Telkom University, Indonesia
Danang Triantoro Murdiansyah -  Telkom University, Indonesia
Narwan Ginanjar -  Telkom University, Indonesia
Published: 4 Nov 2016.
Open Access Copyright (c) 2016 International Journal of Renewable Energy Development
Citation Format:
Article Info
Section: Original Research Article
Language: EN
Full Text:
In Vol 5, No 3 (2016): October 2016
Statistics: 1144 1124
Abstract

In this paper, thermal performance of various phase change materials (PCMs) used as thermal energy storage in a solar cooker has been investigated numerically. Heat conduction equations in cylindrical domain are used to model heat transfer of the PCMs. Mathematical model of phase change problem in the PCM storage encompasses heat conduction equations in solid and liquid region separated by moving solid-liquid interface. The phase change problem is solved by reformulating heat conduction equations with emergence of moving boundary into an enthalpy equation. Numerical solution of the enthalpy equation is obtained by implementing Godunov method and verified by analytical solution of one-dimensional case. Stability condition of the numerical scheme is also discussed. Thermal performance of various PCMs is evaluated via the stored energy and temperature history. The simulation results show that phase change material with the best thermal performance during the first 2.5 hours of energy extraction is shown by erythritol. Moreover, magnesium chloride hexahydrate can maintain temperature of the PCM storage in the range of 110-116.7°C for more than 4 hours while magnesium nitrate hexahydrate is effective only for one hour with the PCM storage temperature around 121-128°C. Among the PCMs that have been tested, it is only erythritol that can cook 10 kg of the loaded water until it reaches 100°C for about 3.5 hours.

Article History: Received June 22nd 2016; Received in revised form August 26th 2016; Accepted Sept 1st 2016; Available online

How to Cite This Article: Tarwidi, D., Murdiansyah, D.T, Ginanja, N. (2016) Performance Evaluation of Various Phase Change Materials for Thermal Energy Storage of A Solar Cooker via Numerical Simulation. Int. Journal of Renewable Energy Development, 5(3), 199-210.

http://dx.doi.org/10.14710/ijred.5.3.199-210

Keywords
PCM; thermal performance; heat transfer; solar cooker; Godunov method; numerical simulation

Article Metrics:

  1. Alexiades, V. & Solomon, A.D. (1981) Mathematical Modeling of Melting and Freezing Processes. Hemisphere Publishing Corporation, Washington DC.
  2. Agyenim, F., Hewitt, N., Eames, P., & Smyth, M. (2010) A review of materials, heat transfer and phase change problem formulation for latent heat thermal energy storage systems (LHTESS). Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 14(2), 615–628.
  3. Buddhi, D. & Sahoo, L.K. (1997) Solar cooker with latent storage: Design and experimental testing. Energy Conservation and Management, 38(5), 493–498.
  4. Buddhi, D., Sharma, S.D., & Sharma, A. (2003) Thermal performance evaluation of a latent heat storage unit for late evening cooking in a solar cooker having three reflectors. Energy Conservation and Management, 44(6), 809–817.
  5. Chen, C.R., Sharma, A., Tyagi, S.K., & Buddhi, D. (2008) Numerical heat transfer studies of PCMs used in a box-type solar cooker. Renewable Energy, 33(5), 1121–1129.
  6. Choi, J.C. & Kim, S.D. (1992) Heat-transfer characteristic of latent heat storage system using MgCl2·6H2O. Energy, 17(12), 1153–1164.
  7. Costa, M., Buddhi, D., & Oliva, A. (1998) Numerical simulation of a latent heat thermal energy storage system with enhanced heat conduction. Energy Conservation and Management, 39(3), 319–330.
  8. Domanski, R., El-Sebaii, A.A., & Jaworski, M. (1995) Cooking during off-sunshine hours using PCMs as storage media. Energy, 20(7), 607–616.
  9. Esen, M. & Ayhan, T. (1996) Development of model compatible with solar assisted cylindrical energy storage tank ans variation of stored energy with time for different phase change materials. Energy Conversion and Management, 37(12), 1775–1785.
  10. Esen, A. & Kutluay, S. (2004) A numerical solution of the Stefan problem with a Neumann-type boundary condition by enthalpy method. Applied Mathematics and Computation, 148(2), 321–329.
  11. Gong, Z., & Mujumdar, A.S. (1997) Finite-element analysis of cycle heat transfer in a shell-and-tube latent heat energy storage exchanger. Applied Thermal Engineering, 17(6), 583–591.
  12. Handayani, N.A. & Ariyanti, D. (2012) Potency of solar energy applications in Indonesia. International Journal of Renewable Energy Development, 1(2), 33–38.
  13. Kanimozhi, B., Sanandharya, K., Anand, S., & Kumar, S. (2015) Experimental study on solar cooker using phase change materials. Applied Mechanics and Materials, 766-767, 463–467.
  14. Khalifa, A.M.A., Taha, M.M.A., & Akyurt, M. (1987) Design, simulation, and testing of a new concentrating type solar cooker. Solar Energy, 38(2), 79–88.
  15. Muthusivagami, R.M., Velraj, R., & Sethumadhavan, R. (2010) Solar cookers with and without thermal storage--A review. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 14(2), 691–701.
  16. Najemi, S.D. & Boroushaki, M. (2016) Design, analysis and optimization of a solar dish/stirling system. International Journal of Renewable Energy Development, 5(1), 33–42.
  17. Peng, D. & Chen, Z. (2009) Numerical simulation of phase change heat transfer of a solar flat-plate collector with energy storage. Building Simulation, 2(4), 273–280.
  18. Ravishankar, S., Nagarajan, P.K., Vijayakumar, D., & Jawahar, M.K. (2013) Phase material on augmentation of fresh water production using pyramid solar still. International Journal of Renewable Energy Development, 2(3), 115–120.
  19. Sharma, A., Tyagi, V.V., Chen, C.R., Buddhi, D. (2009) Review on thermal energy storage with phase change materials and applications. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 13(2), 318–345.
  20. Sharma, S.D., Buddhi, D., Sawhney, R.L., & Sharma, A. (2000) Design development and performance evaluation of a latent heat unit for evening cooking in a solar cooker. Energy Conservation Management, 41(14), 1497–1508.
  21. Sharma, S.D., Iwata, T., Kitano, H., & Sagara, K. (2005) Thermal performance of solar cooker base on an evacuated tube solar collector with a PCM storage unit. Solar Energy, 78(3), 416–426.
  22. Singh, H., Saini, K., & Yadav, A. (2015) Experimental comparison of different heat transfer fluid for thermal performance of a solar cooker based on evacuated tube collector. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 17(3), 497–511.
  23. Tarwidi, D., & Pudjaprasetya, S. R. (2013). Godunov method for Stefan problems with enthalpy formulations. East Asian Journal on Applied Mathematics, 3(02), 107–119.
  24. Tarwidi, D. (2015). Modeling and numerical simulation of solar cooker with PCM as thermal energy storage. In Information and Communication Technology (ICoICT), 2015 3rd International Conference on (pp. 584-589). IEEE.
  25. Voller, V.R. & Cross, M. (1981) Accurate solutions of moving boundary
  26. problems using the enthalpy method. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 24(3), 545–556.
  27. Voller, V.R. & Shadabi, L. (1984) Enthalpy methods for tracking a phase change boundary in two dimensions. International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer, 11(3), 239–249.

The Authors submitting a manuscript do so on the understanding that if accepted for publication, copyright of the article shall be assigned to International Journal of Renewable Energy Development and Center of Biomass and Renewable Energy, Department of Chemical Engineering Diponegoro University as publisher of the journal.

Copyright encompasses exclusive rights to reproduce and deliver the article in all form and media, including reprints, photographs, microfilms and any other similar reproductions, as well as translations. The reproduction of any part of this journal, its storage in databases and its transmission by any form or media, such as electronic, electrostatic and mechanical copies, photocopies, recordings, magnetic media, etc. , will be allowed only with a written permission from International Journal of Renewable Energy Development and Center of Biomass and Renewable Energy, Department of Chemical Engineering Diponegoro University.

International Journal of Renewable Energy Development and Center of Biomass and Renewable Energy, Department of Chemical Engineering Diponegoro University, the Editors and the Advisory International Editorial Board make every effort to ensure that no wrong or misleading data, opinions or statements be published in the journal. In any way, the contents of the articles and advertisements published in the International Journal of Renewable Energy Development are sole and exclusive responsibility of their respective authors and advertisers.