A Numerical Study Concerning Indirect Ice Storage Tanks Performance
A numerical investigation regarding the charging process behavior occurring in a typical indirect ice storage tank is presented. It consists of analyzing the heat transfer and removal of energy, applicable to storage systems, which are chiller-based. In this sense the secondary coolant circulates through a heat exchanger that is submerged in a tank of water and it is used to freeze (charge) the phase-change material (water), which never leaves the storage tank. The thermal exchange process is investigated in critical regions formed between the heat exchanger wall and the tank wall. The present study simulates such regions through a channel formed by parallel flat plates, one of which is the heat exchanger, and investigates the heat transfer effects considering it in two different positions. In the first one the channel is in the vertical position, while for the second, it is horizontally positioned. Our task is to provide helpful qualitative results for the heat transfer performance of ice storage tanks. The results are analyzed through streamlines and isotherms, for specific instants of time. Further, the heat transfer effectiveness, average heat flux and solid formed at one of the two plates of the channel, are compared for the vertical and horizontal positions of the channel, as well as different distances from the heat exchanger and tank wall.