EFFECT OF WALL CONDUCTIVITY ON THERMAL STRATIFICATION

The growing desire to find alternate energy sources to meet the ever-increasing energy demands of mankind has led to extensive research in the field of solar energy. Energy devices working on solar energy need energy storage subsystems because of the intermittent nature of solar radiation. Thermal energy storage systems which keep the warm and cold water separated by means of gravitational stratification have been found to be attractive in low and medium temperature thermal storage applications due to their simplicity and low cost. Experimental investigations have been carried out on scaled model storage tanks of various materials and wall thickness to study their effect on the stratification. It has been found that degradation of thermoclines is slower for tanks whose walls have a higher thermal resistance.