TY - JOUR Y1 - 2012/// A1 - Belusko, M. A1 - Halawa, E. A1 - Bruno, F. SP - 3359 IS - 13-14 JF - International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer SN - 00179310 N2 - Thermal performance characterisation of thermal storage systems employing phase change materials (PCMs) has been carried out predominantly through numerical modelling. These models do not provide a direct representation of the storage system, and cannot readily be used to design a thermal storage unit (TSU) for a particular application to meet the performance specification. Furthermore, limited consideration is given to exergy efficiency of the PCM system being studied. The phase change profiles identified in detailed simulation of PCM encapsulated in flat containers, have been employed to analytically formulate the TSU effectiveness using the familiar effective-NTU (-NTU) approach. A one and two dimension formulation were developed with respect to the phase change fraction. This single parameter function can be used for sizing a TSU, by determining the redundant amount of PCM defined by the minimum effectiveness during discharging. Furthermore by optimising design parameters, exergy losses can be minimised by maximising the effectiveness over the full charging - discharging cycle. The study demonstrated that for air based systems phase change can be represented in one-dimension, however for liquid based systems two-dimensional phase change needs to be considered. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. KW - Design parameters; Effectiveness-NTU; Exergy efficiencies; Exergy loss; Flat container; Numerical modelling; One-Dimension; PCM systems; Performance specifications; Phase Change; Single parameter; Storage systems; Thermal Performance; Thermal storage; Thermal storage system; Thermal storage units; Two-dimension KW - Exergy; Phase change materials KW - Heat storage AV - none N1 - cited By 55 TI - Characterising PCM thermal storage systems using the effectiveness-NTU approach EP - 3365 VL - 55 UR - https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84859399292&doi=10.1016%2fj.ijheatmasstransfer.2012.03.018&partnerID=40&md5=200134a357d806c19affdf67791ee7df ID - scholars2981 ER -