Ghaddari, N.K.; Al-Maarafie, A.M.
July 1997
Fuel and Energy Abstracts, vol 38-4, p. 246
A numerical and experimental study of finite wall thickness on stratification during charging of solar thermal storage tanks is presented. A numerical two-dimensional spectral-element model has been used. Predictions of the model are compared with experimental data, and with a one-dimensional plug flow model. The fluid inlet effect on the stratification is minimized in the experiments by the use of a proper diffuser design with a settling mesh. The one-dimensional plug flow model is shown to be inferior to the two-dimensional model in representing the experimental data. However, a simple one-dimensional flow model corrected for both centerline velocity and mixing effects has given comparable results to the more expensive two-dimensional model.
Source: www.sciencedirect.com