• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.331-341
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• 2013

In a solar domestic hot water (SDHW) system, solar energy is collected using collector panels, transferred to a circulating heat transfer fluid (brine), and eventually stored in a thermal storage tank (TST) as hot water. In this study, a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model was developed to predict the solar thermal energy storage in a hybrid-type TST equipped with a helical jacket heater (mantle heat exchanger) and an immersed spiral coil heater. The helical jacket heater, which is the brine flow path attached to the side wall of a TST, has advantages including simple system design, low brine flow rate, and enhanced thermal stratification. In addition, the spiral coil heater further enhances the thermal performance and thermal stratification of the TST. The developed model was validated by the good agreement between the CFD results and the experimental results performed with the hybrid-type TST in SDHW settings.

• Korean Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineering
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.341-346
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• 2005

The simplification of solar thermal systems reduces the possibility of operating trouble and lowers the cost of the initial investment and maintenance. This also leads to increased competitiveness in the energy market. We proposed a spiral-jacketed storage tank that functions both as a heat exchanger and expansion tank, which removes the secondary piping and markedly simplifies the entire system. The new storage tank was designed and manufactured to maintain the same performance as the conventional system and the exiting system was remodelled by adopting the newly proposed storage tank. This experiment was conducted under real conditions over a period of several months. The retrofitted system with the spiral-jacketed storage tank showed good performance that is on a similar level as the previous system having a typical storage tank and heat exchanger.

• Korean Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineering
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• v.20 no.10
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• pp.645-653
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• 2008

Spiral-jacketed thermal storage tanks can greatly simplify solar heating systems while maintaining the thermal performance at a similar level as conventional systems with an external heat exchanger. Proper design of the spiral-jacket flow path is essential to make the most of solar energy, and thus to maximize the thermal performance. In the present work, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis was carried out for a spiral-jacketed storage tank installed in a solar heating demonstration system. The results of the CFD analysis showed a good agreement with experimentally determined thermal performance indices such as the acquired heat, collector efficiency, and mixed temperature in the storage tank. This verified CFD modelling approach can be a useful design tool in optimizing the shape of spiral-jacket flow path and the flow rate of circulating fluid for better performance.

• Korean Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineering
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.8-14
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• 2014

We have performed experiments to enhance the stratification in a storage tank in order to raise the collector efficiency and solar fraction in solar thermal systems. The storage tank with a spiral jacket in the side wall has a scroll-shaped heat exchanger coil added to the upper part. The performance was compared between only the side and upper-side heating part through simulation using TRNSYS under the same weather conditions and initial conditions. As a result, the upper-side heating has a 4.2% advantage in solar fraction, but almost no increase in collector efficiency.

• Proceedings of the SAREK Conference
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• 2004.06a
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• pp.70-70
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• 2004

• Korean Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineering
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.336-342
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• 2012

Large-scale active solar heat systems are generally using heat exchanger between collector and storage tank loops to prevent damage by freezing. It is difficult to maintain stratification in a storage tank in the system owing to greater flow rate enhancing heat transfer. In the previous study, we introduced a spiral-jacketed storage tank and obtained good results to keep system performance of general level without better stratification. We added a scroll-shaped heat exchanger coil on the upper part in the spiral-jacketed storage tank. As a result of the experiment, it was verified that degree of stratification of the new type storage tank is higher than that of the previous one with a possibility of better collector efficiency and solar fraction.