抄録
Latent heat thermal energy storage tanks, where carbon-fiber brushes are inserted to improve the heat transfer rates in the phase change materials, are installed in an air-conditioning system of a building as a space heating resource. The measured outlet fluid temperatures are compared with the numerical ones predicted by the previously developed three-dimensional heat transfer model. The numerical results have unallowable prediction errors, which probably result from poor contact between the brushes and the heat transfer tubes due to an installation problem of the brushes. However, the numerical results predicted by a corrected model agree well with the experimental ones under various operating conditions. The effect of the brushes on the thermal outputs of the tanks is then investigated using the corrected model. The result shows that the brushes contribute to saving space and cost of the tanks.
