A Novel Liquid–Solid Fluidized Bed of Large-Scale Phase-Changing Sphere for Thermal Energy Storage

Bibliographic Details
Title: A Novel Liquid–Solid Fluidized Bed of Large-Scale Phase-Changing Sphere for Thermal Energy Storage
Authors: Xiaohang Qu, Xiaoni Qi, Da Fang
Source: Applied Sciences, Vol 14, Iss 21, p 9828 (2024)
Publisher Information: MDPI AG, 2024.
Publication Year: 2024
Collection: LCC:Technology
LCC:Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General)
LCC:Biology (General)
LCC:Physics
LCC:Chemistry
Subject Terms: phase-changing material (PCM), fluidized bed, thermal energy storage, visualization measurement, Technology, Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General), TA1-2040, Biology (General), QH301-705.5, Physics, QC1-999, Chemistry, QD1-999
More Details: The storage of thermal energy has been hindered by the low heat-transfer rate of the solid phase of the phase-changing materiel. With water being the heat-transfer fluid as well as the liquid phase in the liquid–solid two-phase system, a novel type of fluidized bed is designed in this study. Numerous hollow spheres are fabricated with phase-changing materiel encapsulated. Adding the solid–liquid phase-change material capsules to the flowing fluid, the capsules are dispersed suspended in the carrier. The large spheres, 25 mm in present experiment, possess the merits of guaranteeing energy-storage density and tolerating internal interface chaotic motion. Both the fluidization status and phase-changing process are recorded by photography combined with image-processing technology. It is found that the large spheres, with density less than water, can be fluidized by the downward flowing fluid. As the flow rate increases, the expansion ratio of the solid phase increases and the regimes of incipient fluidization and bubbling fluidization can be observed. In comparison to the fixed bed, the oscillation of pressure drop across a fluidized bed is more severe, but the averaged value is less than the fixed bed. The melting and solidifying can be accelerated by 22.6% and 50%, respectively, thus proving the superiority of the fluidized bed in improving the heat-transfer rate while charging/discharging the thermal energy. Three types of basic movement of the spheres are shown to contribute to the enhanced phase-changing rate, which are shifting, colliding and rotating.
Document Type: article
File Description: electronic resource
Language: English
ISSN: 2076-3417
Relation: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/14/21/9828; https://doaj.org/toc/2076-3417
DOI: 10.3390/app14219828
Access URL: https://doaj.org/article/0f196706207945c0b6c978a404a08645
Accession Number: edsdoj.0f196706207945c0b6c978a404a08645
Database: Directory of Open Access Journals
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More Details
ISSN:20763417
DOI:10.3390/app14219828
Published in:Applied Sciences
Language:English