Optimizing Charging and Discharging Time for Solar Portable Immersion
Heater Using Scheffler Concentrator and Phase Change Material.
Abstract
Thermal energy storage systems (TES) have emerged as a vital solution
for addressing the gap between energy supply and demand. While research
on solar energy storage has primarily focused on flat-plate collectors,
limited work has been done to explore the potential of Scheffler solar
concentrators. This study proposes an innovative approach to thermal
energy storage using a Scheffler solar concentrator and phase change
material (PCM) to address the energy needs of rural areas with limited
access to electricity. Real-time design and testing were conducted using
paraffin wax as the PCM, and CFD analysis was performed using the ANSYS
Fluent software to determine the optimal charging and discharging times.
The results indicated that the required charging time was 17 min
according to the CFD analysis, while the experimental results yielded a
charging time of 18 min. The results demonstrated that the proposed
approach is a feasible and effective solution for meeting the energy
demands of rural communities. The charging time was optimized using the
response surface method, yielding an optimal charging time of 20.5 min
and an optimal discharging time of 26.2 min. Overall, these findings
highlight the potential of utilizing Scheffler solar concentrators and
PCMs for sustainable and reliable thermal energy storage.