Main tasks
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The research plan is composed by 6 main tasks:
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1. thermophysical characterization of PCMs;
2. numerical modelling and CFD evaluation;
3. tests in the small-scale experimental setup;
4. tests in the Guarded Hot Box Apparatus;
5. definition of full-scale prototypes;
6. technical seminar and workshop.
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TASK 1 refers to the evaluation of alternative methods for the thermophysical characterization of PCMs. TASK 2 involves the numerical modelling of the heat transfer with solid-liquid phase change and the development of a CFD methodology for a detailed parametric analysis of the thermal behaviour of TES systems. TASK 3 involves developing an experimental methodology to provide benchmarking data for numerical validation purposes considering an existing setup designed to measure the transient heat transfer with phase-change through small-scale TES units. TASK 4 involves adapting the existing Guarded Hot Box Apparatus to evaluate the thermal performance of full-scale prototypes in a transient mode and to provide experimental data for validating more complex CFD models. TASK 5 involves the design of full-scale prototypes to be numerically and experimentally optimized. TASK 6 involves organizing a technical seminar and a final workshop to disclose the achieved results.
