Effects of instabilities and coherent structures on the performance of a thermocline based thermal energy storage

Manu, KV and Anand, Prateek and Chetia, Utpal Kumar and Basu, Saptarshi (2015) Effects of instabilities and coherent structures on the performance of a thermocline based thermal energy storage. In: APPLIED THERMAL ENGINEERING, 87 . pp. 768-778.

PDF App_The_Eng_87_768_2015.pdf - Published Version Restricted to Registered users only Download (3MB) | Request a copy

Abstract

We investigate the transient dynamics of disturbances inside a thermocline based molten salt thermal energy storage (TES). Numerical simulations were conducted with four inlet flow configurations. The disturbances introduced at the inlet grow via Rayleigh Taylor instability. The formed vortical motions inside the tank propagate downstream and destroy the thermocline. The vortex-thermocline interaction upsets the stratification inside the TES. The disturbance growth rate, penetration length and vortex Reynolds number are measured. The growth of penetration length prior to the vortex-thermocline interaction is quadratic. The vortex Reynolds number of the eddy which causes thermocline breakdown increases with increase in Atwood number. The impingement of vortex on thermocline is studied. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Publication:	APPLIED THERMAL ENGINEERING
Publisher:	PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
Additional Information:	Copy right for this article belongs to the PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD, THE BOULEVARD, LANGFORD LANE, KIDLINGTON, OXFORD OX5 1GB, ENGLAND
Keywords:	Computational fluid dynamics; Solar thermal storage; Rayleigh Taylor instability; Vortex-thermocline interaction
Department/Centre:	Division of Mechanical Sciences > Mechanical Engineering
Date Deposited:	24 Sep 2015 06:28
Last Modified:	24 Sep 2015 06:28
URI:	http://eprints.iisc.ac.in/id/eprint/52402

Actions (login required)

View Item