he current paper presents parametric study to evaluate the effect of the melting temperature on the performance of multi-layered solid-PCM (MLSPCM) thermocline tank for concentrated solar power plants (CSP) applications. The model is developed using the Concentric-Dispersion (C-D) equations. The results obtained are validated against the experimental data from the literature. The governing equations are solved in MATLAB using finite difference method. The results show that an optimal three-layer cascaded thermocline tank should include a top PCM layer that has a dimensionless temperature (θ) equal to 0.8, a middle PCM layer that has a dimensionless temperature (θ) equal to 0.5, and a bottom PCM layer that has a dimensionless temperature (θ) equal to 0.35. Moreover, the results show that an optimal three-layer cascaded latent heat thermocline tank should include a top PCM layer that melts slightly above the molten salt hot supply threshold and a bottom PCM layer that melts slightly below the cold return threshold. |
