Simulation and Evaluation of an Open-Type Thermal Storage System Using Composite Sorbents for Building Efficiency

A family of composite sorbents has been acknowledged as promising thermal storage materials for low grade thermal energy storage owing to its high specific storage capacity and low regenerating temperature. This paper reports a simplified numerical model aiming to determine the dynamic characteristics of the composite sorbents and evaluate the specific capacity and COP for thermal energy storage. The computational results were validated with the experimental measurements carried out on an open-type thermal storage set-up for the composite sorbents. By using the simple model, the dynamic characteristics of the composite sorbents with different CaCl₂ content were determined. The effects of CaCl₂ content in the composite sorbents and the operating parameters on the specific capacity and the coefficient of performance of the open-type sorption system were evaluated for low grade heat storage and building efficiency applications.