Simulation of thermal behavior of a solid porous medium bed used in heat storage

Abstract

The thermal energy storage (TES) is not a new concept, but the novelty consists to develop an efficient and inexpensive thermal storage devices. The present work has been undertaken to study the feasibility of storing solar energy using porous medium (Sand) during the diurnal period and utilizing this energy at the nighttime and overcast periods. The device is composed by solar plan heater, storage tank and application. The thermal transfer between the storage medium and the energy–carrying fluid heated in the solar cell is assured by an exchanger imbedded into a storage material. The heat energy stored during day is restored at night through the second circuit. The storage is based on sensible heat concept. The simulation of the thermal behavior of the storage medium shows that the temperature increases during the sunlight period to reach maximal values then it decreases. It corresponds to charge/discharge cycle in storage system. The realization of this device will be interesting then