Performance of Thermal Energy Storage System using Water-Based Nanofluids for Solar Heating Applications

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6463-662-8_47How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Solar Flat Plate Collector; Phase Change Material (PCM); Heat Transfer Fluid (HTF); Paraffin Wax; Stearic Acid; Nanoparticles; Nanofluids; Charging; Discharging; Thermal Energy Storage System (TESS); Al2O3 Nanoparticles; MgO Nanoparticles; System Efficiency; Latent Heat Storage(LHS); Sensible Heat Storage(SHS); Instantaneous Heat Storage(IHS); Cumulative Heat Storage(CHS)

Abstract

The study evaluates the thermal performance of a packed bed TES system that integrates both sensible and latent heat storage using solar energy as the heat source. A cylindrical, insulated storage tank containing spherical capsules containing phase change materials (PCMs), particularly stearic acid and paraffin wax, makes up the TES unit. These PCMs enhance thermal management, reduce system size and cost, and offer high isothermal and thermal storage capacities. The heat transfer fluid (HTF) is optimized by mixing nanoparticles into water, forming nanofluids, which demonstrated superior heat transfer efficiency compared to conventional water in the TES system. In this study, heat was transferred between a solar collector and the TES unit using nanofluids, accompanied by water serving as the base fluid. The HTF in the experiments was first water alone, and then water combined with Al₂O₃ and MgO nanoparticles at three volume fractions: 0.2%, 0.5%, and 0.8%. Flow rates of 2, 4, and 6 L/min were evaluated using a variable heat source provided by the solar flat plate collector. Analyzing the improvement in heat transport and monitoring the impact on the PCMs’ melting time under various circumstances was the main goal. For the various HTFs and PCMs, performance criteria such charging time, instantaneous and cumulative stored heat, and system efficiency were assessed. In order to recover the stored heat, batch-wise discharging experiments were also carried out; the findings were provided to shed light on the efficacy of the TES system. The thorough examination of nanofluid-enhanced heat transfer and its effects on PCM melting dynamics makes this work noteworthy.

Copyright

© 2025 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - K. Krishna Reddy
AU  - R. Meenakshi Reddy
AU  - K. Madhava Reddy
AU  - Y. V. Mohan Reddy
AU  - K. Poli Reddy
AU  - G. S. Guru  Dattatreya
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/03/17
TI  - Performance of Thermal Energy Storage System using Water-Based Nanofluids for Solar Heating Applications
BT  - Proceedings of the International Conference on Advanced Materials, Manufacturing and Sustainable Development (ICAMMSD 2024)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 592
EP  - 610
SN  - 2352-5401
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6463-662-8_47
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6463-662-8_47
ID  - Reddy2025
ER  -