Performance evaluation of enhanced clustered latent heat system for air heater using modified organic material

Abstract

The present work evaluates a new model of clustered latent heat storage unit (LHSU) which specifically designed for air heater. The system involves multi-tank which is arranged in staggered configuration. The clustered system uses direct charge for heating the storage material and employs forced air convection for heat liberation. The maximum temperature increment for the heated air is more than 50 %, showing an effective function of the proposed model. This work also analyzes the role of storage material within the system. The stabilized storage material demonstrates a better performance in term of minimum heat loss on the charge stage. Also, it allows for an excellent charge behavior with average of 3.44 °C/min. The LHSU can be combined with an additional fin for accelerating the operation, making the system can be applied flexibly based on the requirement of the energy system. The operation curve is displayed as battery percentage to understand the characteristics of the system during energy interaction. In general, the addition of fin and modified storage material leads to significant improvement, offering the applicability of the proposed model in various technologies for air heater systems.

Keywords

• Air heater
• Clustered
• Heat storage
• Palmitic
• Stabilized