Numerical & Experimental Investigation of Solidification Thickness around Cylindrical Surfaces for HVAC Cold Storage Systems

Thermal Ice Storage System (TISS) is an innovative way of storing night-time off-peak energy for daytime peak usage. In many locations, demand for electrical power peaks during summer time. Air-conditioning equipment are the main reason accounting for as much as half of the power demand during the hot mid-day hours when electricity is most expensive. Since utilities have spare electrical generating capacity at night, electricity generated during this “off-peak” is much less expensive. In this research a numerical model for Latent Heat Storage (LHS) cylindrical tank has been obtained from a numerical package, ANSYS software ver. 15, and compared to an experimental data gathered from similar tank. The data showed good agreement with the experimental data with an error of 9%. The numerical model can be used to estimate ice thickness and tank geometries for any future work.