Thermal performance of a full-scale stratified chilled-water thermal storage tank

Conference · Thu Dec 31 04:00:00 EST 1998

OSTI ID:687607

Bahnfleth, W P; Musser, A ^[1]

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1. Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA (United States)

The thermal performance of a full-scale 1.47 million gallon (5300 m{sup 3}), 44.5 ft (13.6 m) water-depth, naturally stratified chilled-water thermal storage tank with radial diffusers is analyzed. Controlled, constant inlet flow rate tests covering the full range of the system have been performed for both charge and discharge processes. Thermal performance for these half-cycle tests is quantified using performance metrics similar to the figure of merit (FOM). Lost capacity, a new measure of performance with practical significance, is also presented. Uncertainty analysis shows that under some circumstances, particularly for tall tanks, lost capacity allows thermal performance to be quantified with less experimental uncertainty than FOM. Results of these tests indicate that discharge cycles performance is not as good as charge cycle performance at the same flow rate. However, the half-cycle figure of merit for all cycles tested was in excess of 90%, despite the fact that the inlet Reynolds number exceeded that recommended in the literature by up to a factor of five.

• OSTI ID: 687607
• Report Number(s): CONF-980650--
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

25 ENERGY STORAGE
32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
CAPACITY
DIFFUSERS
DISTRICT COOLING
FLUID FLOW
MEDICAL ESTABLISHMENTS
PERFORMANCE
STRATIFICATION
THERMAL ENERGY STORAGE EQUIPMENT
WATER