THERMAL PERFORMANCE OF COOL STORAGE IN PACKED CAPSULES FOR AIR-CONDITIONING

This paper investigates, theoretically and experimentally, the thermal performance of ice-water cool storage in packed capsules for air conditioning. A one-dimensional porous-medium model to determine the thermal characteristics has been developed. Experimental apparatus utilizing water capsules as phase change material was designed and constructed. Comparisons of this theory with experimental data of temperature profiles for various porosities, flow rates and different inlet coolant temperatures show good agreements. Predictions from the present model have also been compared with the lump model which assumes temperature uniformity in packed capsules and coolant flow. The results show that the one-dimensional model has the advantage of predicting the temperature distributions of water and coolant. For engineering application, a useful correlation of internal heat transfer coefficients for cool storage in packed capsules with solidification has also been presented.