Comparison of Single-Phase Mathematical Models for Solid-State Packed Beds for Thermal Energy Storage

Abstract

This article presents an analytical solution for the evaluation of the thermal performance of packed bed sensible heat storage. The numerical model developed was tested for four different solid storage mediums. The thermal energy equation is solved numerically by deploying the finite difference method. The presented analytical solution is based on a novel mathematical approach. The numerical model was validated using the computer simulation package Comsol Multiphysics v5.3. Our numerical model results are in good agreement with the published experimental data, with an overall difference of ~10%. Hence, the numerical model is an efficient way of evaluating the thermal performance of packed bed thermal energy storage systems compared to other numerical strategies or computer simulation techniques. This proves that the novel analytical model has shown to be a reliable and broadly accurate approach to acquire the thermal performance of sensible heat storage.

Keywords

• analytical solution
• numerical model
• thermal storage