Experimental studies and characterization of phase transition and heat transfer of a latent heat storage connected to a lab scale heat pump

Description

For space-saving storage of thermal energy, so-called latent heat storage systems with phase change materials (PCMs) are ideal, as they can store larger amounts of heat within a small temperature range than sensible heat storage systems. Certain paraffins have a jump temperature in the domestic hot water temperature range, which is around 40-70°C. As part of the development of a sustainable and energy efficient heating, cooling and hot water system, a paraffin-filled heat exchanger integrated into the refrigerant circuit of a laboratory heat pump is investigated in this thesis. This heat exchanger is called RPW-HEX (R = Refrigerant, P = PCM, W = Water, HEX = Heat Exchanger) for short. The paraffin in the heat exchanger can be melted by hot water or by superheated or condensing refrigerant and thus the storage tank is charged. The heat can then be released to the water circuit at a later time, with the PCM gradually solidifying. After completion of the test rig, a thorough understanding of the operation of the heat pump with integrated RPW-HEX was obtained by means of several measurements. For this purpose, individual sections and components were examined in detail, and possible improvements were developed. The first measurement results on thermal losses, mass flow settings and the melting and solidification process in the RPW-HEX are presented.

Period	26 Sept 2022 → 30 Sept 2022
Event title	71st Annual Meeting of the Austrian Physical Society ÖPG
Event type	Other
Degree of Recognition	National