Analysis of a thermal energy storage tank in a large district cooling system: A case study

Abstract

This study's primary goal is to evaluate the performance of a large thermal energy storage tank installed in a Gas District Cooling (GDC) plant. The performance parameters considered in this study include thermocline thickness (WTc), Cumulated Charge (Qcum), and Half Figure of Merit (1/2 FOM). The operation sensor data of a large Thermal Energy Storage (TES) tank was acquired for this analysis. The recorded temperature sensor from the 1st to 7th January and from 12th to 17th October 2019 was considered in this research. GraphPad prism computer software was deployed for analyses, and the temperature distribution data were analyzed to determine the four temperature parameters (hot water temperature (Th), cool water temperature (Tc), cool water depth (C), and slope gradient (S)) using a non-linear regression curve fitting technique and sigmoid Dose Responses function as integrated with the software. At the end of this research, the relationship between the growth of the determined performance parameter with charging hours was analyzed and presented. The research results proved the ability of GraphPad Prism software to assess the temperature distribution in the TES tank and also the corresponding effects on the overall Tank performance. The software offers better advantages in evaluating the performance parameter of the TES tank accurately.