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Solar Energy 86 (2012) 1709–1724

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Extending the validity of lumped capacitance method for large

Biot number in thermal storage application
Ben Xu, Pei-Wen Li ⇑, Cho Lik Chan
Depart. of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA

Received 18 January 2012; received in revised form 20 March 2012; accepted 25 March 2012
Available online 14 April 2012

Communicated by: Associate Editor D. Laing

Abstract

In a typical thermal energy storage system, a heat transfer fluid is usually used to deposit/extract heat when it flows through a packed
bed of solid thermal storage material. A one-dimensional model of the heat transfer and energy storage/extraction for a packed-bed ther-
mal storage system has been developed previously by the authors. The model treats the transient heat conduction in the thermal storage
material by using the lumped capacitance method, which is not valid when the Biot number is large. The current work presents an effec-
tive heat transfer coefficient between the solid and fluid for large Biot numbers. With the corrected heat transfer coefficient, the lumped
capacitance method can be applied to model the thermal storage in a wide range of Biot numbers. Four typical structures for the solid
thermal storage material are considered. Formulas for the effective heat transfer coefficient (and effective Biot number) are presented. To
verify the prediction by the lumped capacitance method using the effective heat transfer coefficient, we compare the results to the cor-
responding analytical solutions. The results are in very good agreement. The effective heat transfer coefficient extended the validity of the
lumped capacitance method to large Biot numbers, which is of significance to the analysis of thermal energy storage systems.
Ó 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Thermal energy storage; Lumped capacitance method; Large Biot numbers; Corrected heat transfer coefficient; Validity extending

1. Introduction generation at a lower per unit cost. It can also alleviate

Harvesting more and more renewable energy is a world-
wide-important issue in the coming decades. With the
recent development of concentrated solar thermal technol-
ogies (Pitz-Paal et al., 2007; Laing et al., 2010), thermal
energy storage is becoming more and more important.
The stored solar thermal energy can supply the heat needed
for building heating and industrial drying, as well as
extending the operation of solar thermal power plants at
night to meet the needs of peak demands of power (Wyman
et al., 1980; Singer et al., 2010). The ability of thermal
energy storage to extend the daily operation of power
plants beyond sunlight hours can ideally expand power
⇑ Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 520 626 7789.
E-mail address: peiwen@email.arizona.edu (P.-W. Li).
resource intermittency, increasing energy value and opera-
tional flexibility (Montes et al., 2009; Price et al., 2002).
Consequently, the cost of electricity from concentrated
solar thermal power plants can be reduced (Gil et al.,
2010; Renewable Energy, 2007; Herrmann and Kearney,
2002; McMahan et al., 2007; Herrmann et al., 2004;
Warerkar et al., 2011).
In a solar thermal power plant, heat transfer fluid (HTF)
is typically used to collect and deliver heat that is received
from concentrated sunlight. Hot HTF from solar collection
fields may be directly stored in tanks for thermal storage.
This situation can be considered as ideal thermal storage
(assuming the tank has no heat loss) since discharged fluid
will continuously exit at the same high temperature until
the tank is completely emptied. However, due to the high
cost of HTF (typically liquid salts or oils), direct storage

0038-092X/$ - see front matter Ó 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2012.03.016
1710 B. Xu et al. / Solar Energy 86 (2012) 1709–1724
Nomenclature
a inner radius of the thermal storage tube, m
b outer radius of the thermal storage tube, m
Bi Biot number, hR/kr for sphere and cylinder, h(d/
2)/kr for plate, ha/kr for tube
BiLC lumped capacitance Biot number, hLC/k
Bieff effective lumped capacitance Biot number,
heffLC/k
Cf specific heat capacity of heat transfer fluid
(HTF), J/kg K
Cr specific heat capacity of solid material, J/kg K
J0, J1 Bessel functions
h heat transfer coefficient between solid particle
and HTF, W/m2 K
heff effective heat transfer coefficient, W/m2 K
kr thermal conductivity of solid material, W/m K
Lc characteristic length for BiLC, (m), Vr/Sr
M equilibrium temperature (constant) between so-
lid and HTF, K
QLM dimensionless heat, QLM/[qrCrVr(Ti  T1)]
p finite Laplace transform parameter
R radius of spheres, cylinders, cylindrical tanks, m
Sfiller total surface area of solid particles per unit
length of a cylindrical storage tank, m
Sr surface area of the solid particles in a control
volume of length L (m2)
t* dimensionless time variable (kr/qrCr)[t/(Vr/Sr)2]
hti weighted average time, s
TI fluid inlet temperature, K
TO fluid outlet temperature, K
Tf temperature of heat transfer fluid (HTF), K
TLM lumped temperature of solid in a control vol-
ume, K
U Average flow velocity of heat transfer fluid
(HTF) , m/s
of HTF is not economical. From the viewpoint of cost
reduction, using cheaper solid material as the primary ther-
mal storage medium and HTF as the heat-carrying fluid
that releases/extracts heat to/from the primary thermal
storage material can be attractive (Li et al., 2012). Whereas
the cost reduction by using cheaper solid material is a great
benefit, the heat transfer between the HTF and the solid
thermal storage material (with or without phase change)
is a disadvantage from the energy storage efficiency point
of view (Shitzer and Levy, 1983). In order to develop a tool
to help industry design thermal storage systems, it is impor-
tant to understand the energy storage and delivery behav-
ior in a tank that contains HTF and a primary thermal
storage medium (solid material).
A large heat transfer rate (for thermal storage) is due to
at least one of the following three factors: a very high heat
transfer coefficient, a large heat transfer surface area, or a
large temperature difference. A large temperature
Vf volume of the fluid in a control volume of length
L, m3
Vr volume of a solid particle, m3
Y0, Y1 Bessel functions
x1, x2 the coordinates of the surface and midline of a
plate, see Fig. 4
Greek symbols
a thermal diffusivity of solid material, m2/s
b a parameter defined by Eq. (16)
m
b eigenvalue, dimensionless
DKf difference of finite Laplace transform tempera-
ture of HTF between inlet and outlet
e porosity of a packed bed
g ratio of the outer and inner radius, b/a
Kf finite Laplace transform temperature of heat
transfer fluid (HTF)
Kr finite Laplace transform temperature of a solid
material
c a parameter defined by Eq. (17)
C(p) finite Laplace transform of any function
qf density of heat transfer fluid (HTF), kg/m3
qr density of the solid material, kg/m3
s time that a solid particle and HTF reach equilib-
rium state, s
hLM dimensionless lumped temperature of solid
material, (T  T1)/(Ti  T1)
Subscription
LM value for solid material in a control volume
LC value from lumped capacitance method
difference between the thermal storage material and the
heat transfer fluid is related to a large loss of exergy,
and thus is not efficient from the energy efficiency point
of view. Technically, the enhancement of the convective
heat transfer coefficient between a large quantity of por-
ous solid material and fluid is very challenging, and there-
fore is not worth pursuing either for thermal storage
application. Finally, one has to rely on the large heat
transfer area between the solid thermal storage material
and heat transfer fluid to maintain a high energy storage
performance. A heat transfer fluid in a bed packed with
solid material particles (from a millimeter up to several
centimeters in nominal diameter), or by small capsules
containing phase change materials, is widely considered
a very competitive thermal storage technology. Therefore,
the heat transfer between a fluid and a solid material of
various shapes is an important issue and will be reviewed
and studied comprehensively in this work.
 B. Xu et al. / Solar Energy 86 (2012) 1709–1724
Two of the current authors have developed a one-
dimensional transient model simulating the heat transfer
and energy storage/extraction in a packed bed system
(Van Lew et al., 2011; Li et al., 2011). The model is robust
and efficient in carrying out thousands of calculations for
sizing the thermal storage tanks of various scales of ther-
mal energy requirement. The model treats the heat conduc-
tion in the thermal storage material by using a lumped
capacitance method, which is not valid when the Biot num-
ber is large. In this paper, we analytically derive formulas
for an effective heat transfer coefficient (in an effective Biot
number), extending the validity of the lumped capacitance
method to any large Biot number. Consequently, the
robust and efficient one-dimensional transient model can
be generally applied to obtain accurate thermal energy
storage results.
Earlier in the 1970s of the last century, Bradshaw et al.
(1970) and Jeffreson (1972) conducted a pioneering work to
extend the use of the lumped capacitance method to the cir-
cumstance when the internal thermal resistance of a solid
sphere is significant compared to the external convective
thermal resistance. Essentially, they based their analysis
on the argument that the slow internal heat conduction
of the solid can be viewed as a thermal resistance, prevent-
ing a rapid transfer of the internal energy from the core of a
solid to the surface and being carried away by a passing
fluid, or vice versa. Therefore, the presence of internal ther-
mal resistance in the solid reduces the heat transfer capabil-
ities from a solid to a fluid—the greater the internal
temperature gradient, the less quickly heat addition or
removal can be achieved by the passing fluid. This lag in
energy storage/extraction performance led them to intro-
duce a correction to the heat transfer coefficient and use
it in the lumped capacitance method to analyze the heat
storage/extraction in solid spherical particles. Bradshaw
et al. (1970) successfully derived a formula for the effective
heat transfer coefficient for spherical particles in a fluid
flow.
In thermal energy storage systems, there are different
types of packed beds of different geometries. In fact, ther-
mal storage materials could be plates, cylindrical rods
immersed in fluid, or a solid core with circular channels
inside for HTF. The following sections will present four
types of thermal storage packed beds. We use the method-
ology developed by Bradshaw et al. (1970). The formulas
of the effective heat transfer coefficient (Biot number) will
be presented. Comparison to analytical results will verify
their usefulness. Hausen (1976) also proposed similar con-
cept of using corrected heat transfer coefficients in lumped
capacitance method. The equations of corrections to the
heat transfer coefficient were also summarized in the book
by Schmidt and Willmott (1981), which are reexamined in
this work. Other works on this issue include those done by
Razelos and Lazaridis (1967), Hughes et al. (1976), and
Mumma and Marvin (1976). The concluding equations in
these references will be compared and evaluated with the
results from the current study.
1711
Fig. 1. Schematic of a thermocline thermal storage tank and a control
volume for mathematical analysis
2. A basic thermal storage model and its general application
Fig. 1 shows an example of a thermocline thermal stor-
age tank, in which heat transfer fluid (HTF) flows through
a packed bed of solid particles (or filler materials). During
the heat charge process, hot HTF flows down in the tank,
gives thermal energy to the solid material, and flows out at
a lower temperature. During the heat discharge process,
cold HTF flows up in the tank, extracts thermal energy
from the solid particles, and flows out at a higher
temperature.
For mathematical analysis of the energy balance, we
consider a differential control volume of length dz of the
tank. The fluid is assumed to be flowing at a uniform veloc-
ity and carries heat/enthalpy in and out. For convenience
of analysis, the fluid inlet location to the storage tank is
always set to be z = 0. This means that for the heat charge
process, the coordinate zat the top of the tank is zero; while
for heat discharge process, the coordinate z at the bottom
of the tank is zero.
For the energy balance analysis in the control volume,
dz, the following assumptions are made:
(1) There is a uniform radial distribution of the fluid flow
and filler material through the storage tank.
(2) Between the filler material (spherical particles the size
of several millimeters to several centimeters) there is
only point contact and therefore heat conduction
between solid particles is negligible.
(3) It is the advection mechanism, not conduction, that
dominates the heat transfer in the fluid, and there-
fore, the heat conduction in the axial direction in
the fluid is negligible.
(4) The lumped capacitance method is applicable to the
heat conduction within the filler material.
(5) There is no heat loss from the storage tank to the sur-
roundings. This applies to both the charge and dis-
charge processes.
Assumption (1) can be satisfied by using adequate flow
distribution designs in a thermal storage tank (Yang and
Garimella, 2010). Assumption (3) is typically satisfied for
convection flow of most fluids except liquid metals.
Assumption (4) is valid when the Biot number is small.
1712 B. Xu et al. / Solar Energy 86 (2012) 1709–1724
However, if assumption (4) is invalid, a correction will be
introduced, which is the major issue that this study will
address.
For a cylindrical thermal storage tank, the energy bal-
ance of the fluid in the elementary volume of dz is of the
form
@T f @T f hS filler
þU ¼ ðT LM  T f Þ ð1Þ
@t @z qf C f epR2
where h is the heat transfer coefficient between solid filler
material and HTF. The temperature TLM denotes a lumped
temperature of the solid particles. The parameter Sfiller is
the total surface area of solid particles per unit length of
the tank. Therefore, Sfiller has a unit the same as the length.
For spherical particles, we find that
3pR2 ð1  eÞ
S filler ¼ ð2Þ
r cient, a serious concern about the accuracy of the method
For the same control volume, dz, the energy balance
analysis is applied to the solid particles. The internal energy
change in the solid material is due to the heat transfer from
the solid material to the HTF. The equation is then written
as
@T LM hS filler
¼ ðT LM  T f Þ ð3Þ
@t qr C r ð1  eÞpR2
During the heat charge process, the hot HTF enters from
the top z = 0 of the tank at an inlet boundary condition of
high HTF temperature; during the heat discharge process,
the cold HTF enters from the bottom z = 0 of the tank at
an inlet boundary condition of low HTF temperature.
The thermal storage system shown in Fig. 1 can be gen-
erally described as a system with a heat transfer fluid flow-
ing through a porous medium. Therefore, the physical
relationship between the HTF and the porous thermal stor-
age material in Fig. 1 can be viewed as a general phenom-
enon, which may include three other scenarios. As shown
in Fig. 2, case (a) has a fluid flowing in flat channels sepa-
rated by walls of thermal storage materials. Fig. 2b shows
the case with a fluid flowing though a bundle of cylindrical
rods of the thermal storage solid material, and Fig. 2c is the
case with a fluid flowing in pipes that are imbedded in ther-
Fig. 2. Three typical scenarios of heat transfer between HTF and solid
thermal storage materials ( solid thermal storage material; heat
transfer fluid).
mal storage material, which, in fact, can be either solid or
liquid. The equivalent porosity of the thermal storage
material in the three cases in Fig. 2 can be easily calculated
by counting the fluid volume compared to the total volume
of the storage system.
Following the same procedures of the heat transfer anal-
ysis for energy balance given above, it is convenient that
the governing equations, Eqs. (1) and (3), are applicable
for all three scenarios in Fig. 2, with their respective poros-
ity and heat transfer surface areas Sfiller being applied.
Two of the current authors have developed very efficient
numerical approaches (Van Lew et al., 2011) to solve the
governing equations, Eqs. (1) and (3), which were origi-
nally derived by Schumann (1929) and further discussed
by Shitzer and Levy (1983). Although the modeling and
the approaches of the solution by two of the current
authors have been proved to be very convenient and effi-
could be raised when the assumption of lumped heat capac-
itance heat conduction in a solid filler material is not satis-
fied. This is particularly true if the internal thermal
resistance of the solid particles in Fig. 1 is large. In order
to still apply the same basic approach of energy storage
analysis as discussed in above and keep the methodology
of the lumped capacitance method being used, a correction
to the lumped heat capacitance method has been proposed
for spherical particles by Bradshaw et al. (1970) and Jeffre-
son (1972). In their work, they introduced an effective heat
transfer coefficient heff to replace h in the governing equa-
tions, Eqs. (1) and (3).
Similarly for the other three thermal storage systems
shown in Fig. 2, when the internal thermal resistance in
the thermal storage material is significant, it is also conve-
nient that an effective heat transfer coefficient be intro-
duced to replace the actual heat transfer coefficient h so
that the lumped capacitance method is still applicable in
Eqs. (1) and (3). The objective of the following analyses
is to find the effective heat transfer coefficient for all the
thermal energy storage cases given in Figs. 1 and 2.
3. Mathematical formulation and the concept of an effective
heat transfer coefficient
For thermal storage in a solid material of general geom-
etry, the 1D transient heat transfer governing equations in
the fluid and solid are given here in dimensional form,
 
@T f @T f
qf C f V f þU ¼ hS r ðT LM  T f Þ ð4Þ
@t @z
@T LM
qr C r V r ¼ hS r ðT LM  T f Þ ð5Þ
@t
where Vf is the volume of the fluid in an elementary control
volume of length Dz of the thermal storage tank; Sr is the sur-
face area of the solid material in the same control volume of
length Dz. Eq. (4) simulates the heat transfer in the fluid,
which has a heat source due to the convection heat transfer
 B. Xu et al. / Solar Energy 86 (2012) 1709–1724 1713

between the filler materials and fluid. Eq. (5) simulates the where TI(t) is the fluid inlet temperature. We further as-
heat transfer in the filler material, which has a heat sink term, sume that the solid material attains the final equilibrium
which is negative but has the exact value as the heat source temperature, M (independent of z), at the end of the charg-
term in Eq. (4). Note that lumped capacitance assumption ing process, in time s. The fluid temperature at z = L is
for the thermal storage material is assumed to be valid in TO(t). Define finite Laplace transform as
Eqs. (4) and (5). The validity of the lumped capacitance Z s
assumption is determined by the Biot number, Bi = hLc/k, Kf ðz; pÞ ¼ T f ðz; tÞept dt ð13Þ
0
typically should be less than 0.1, where Lc = Vr/Sr.
When the lumped capacitance assumption is not valid, and
the heat conduction within the solid material has to be Z s
included in the formulation, which yields Kr ðz; pÞ ¼ T r ðz; tÞept dt ð14Þ
  Z 0
@T f @T f @T r Applying these finite Laplace transform to Eqs. (9) and
qf C f V f þU ¼ k r dS ð6Þ
@t @z Sr @n (10) and eliminating Kr(z, p), we obtain
@T r
qr C r ¼ k r r2 T r ð7Þ dKf bp bMeps
@t þ Kf þ ¼0 ð15Þ
dz pþc pþc
The following analysis is to approximate the internal
where M is the equilibrium temperature (constant) between
heat conduction effect in the thermal storage material,
solid and HTF,
given on the right-hand sides in Eq. (7), in the form of
Newton’s cooling relationship. Specifically, this should hS r
b¼ ð16Þ
result in the volume-integrated right-hand side of Eq. (7) qf C f eU
being expressed as hS r
Z c¼ ð17Þ
qr C r
k r r2 T r dV ¼ heff S r ðT LM  T f Þ ð8Þ
V The transformed boundary condition is
Substitute Eq. (8) into Eqs. (6) and (7), we can obtain Z s
the lumped-capacitance-type of formulation similar to z ¼ 0; f ðpÞ ¼ TIðtÞept dt ð18Þ
0
Eqs. (4) and (5), except the heat transfer coefficient is an
effective heat transfer coefficient heff. In fact, the effective The solution to Eq. (15) subject to boundary condition
heat transfer coefficient heff is a corrected value from the as in Eq. (18) is
heat transfer coefficient, h. It is necessary to point out that  
M M bpz

the effective heat transfer coefficient heff will strongly Kf ðz; pÞ ¼  eps þ f ðpÞ þ eps epþc ð19Þ
p p
depend on the geometry of the solid filler materials. The
following analysis takes the spherical filler material as an It is interesting to examine the following formula for
example to elucidate the methodology. Following the weighted average time, which was introduced by Bradshaw
method, we will present similar solutions for the other three et al. (1970):
geometries of thermal storage materials shown in Fig. 2. Rs Rs
0
tgðtÞ dt tgðtÞept dt
For the purpose of extracting the effective heat transfer hti ¼ sR ¼ lim R0s
0
gðtÞ dt p!0
0
gðtÞept dt
coefficient as explained in above, it is sufficient to consider R s
a simple case where the fluid temperature does not vary d
dp 0
gðtÞept dt
with time and therefore the heat transfer mainly causes ¼ lim R s ð20Þ
p!0
0
gðtÞept dt
fluid temperature to change in the z direction only. This
simplification allows us to focus on the heat transfer The weighted average time can therefore be calculated
between the fluid and filler materials. Therefore, the energy by the following equation:
balance equations from the lumped capacitance method for d
CðpÞ
dp
the fluid and thermal storage material are hti ¼ lim ð21Þ
p!0 CðpÞ
@T f
qf C f V f U ¼ hS r ðT r  T f Þ ð9Þ where C(p) is the finite Laplace transform of function g(t).
@z
We will now form a function, DKf(p) = Kf(0, p)  Kf(L,
@T r
qr C r V r ¼ hS r ðT r  T f Þ ð10Þ p), which is the difference of the finite Laplace transform
@t for fluid temperature at inlet and outlet. Substitute the
The initial conditions are function DKf(p) as C(p) into Eq. (21), the weighted average
time formula for the lumped capacitance case is obtained
t ¼ 0; Tf ¼ Tr ¼ 0 ð11Þ
that
The boundary conditions are qr C r q Cr L f ð0Þ
hti ¼ þsþ r  ð22Þ
z ¼ 0; T f ¼ TIðtÞ ð12Þ hS r 2U qf C f e M
1714 B. Xu et al. / Solar Energy 86 (2012) 1709–1724

This is the functional form for the weighted average

time. In the following sections, Sections 3.1–3.4, we con-
sider four cases of different solid body structures. The heat
transfer within the solid body is modeled by the heat diffu-
sion equation in the appropriate coordinate system. Fol-
lowing Bradshaw et al.’s (1970) method, we obtain the
analytical formulas for the weighted average time. By com-
paring these formulas to Eq. (22), we can extract the effec-
tive heat transfer coefficient heff.

3.1. Solid sphere in fluid flow

We assume here the solid thermal storage materials are

spheres as shown in the schematic diagram in Fig. 3. When Fig. 3. Model of a solid sphere in fluid flow ( solid thermal storage
the Biot number for the sphere is large, the lumped capac- material; heat transfer fluid).
itance assumption is no longer valid, which means that the
temperature inside the sphere cannot be assumed uniform. Eq. (28) can then be solved for Kf(r, p),
Therefore, the governing equations are  ðBðR;pÞ1ÞhS 
  AðR; pÞ r
qf C f V f U z
@T f @T r Kf ðz; pÞ ¼ e 1
qf C f V f U ¼ k r S r ð23Þ BðR; pÞ  1
@z @r r¼R ðBðR;pÞ1ÞhS r
  þ f ð0Þe qf C f V f U z
ð35Þ
@T r 1 @ @T r
qr C r ¼ kr 2 r2 ð24Þ
@t r @r @r We now follow the same procedure as in the lumped
The initial and boundary conditions for Tf remain the capacitance case by defining DKf(p) = Kf(0, p)  Kf(L, p).
same as in Eqs. (11) and (12). The initial and boundary The weighted average time is obtained for the solid sphere,
conditions for Tr are: which has internal resistance
T r ðr; 0Þ ¼ 0 ð25Þ qr C r Rqr C r q Cr L f ð0Þ
hti ¼ þ þsþ r 
@T r hS r 5k r S r 2U qf C f e M
r ¼ 0; ¼0 ð26Þ
@r qr C r q Cr L f ð0Þ
@T r ¼ þsþ r  ð36Þ
r ¼ R; k r ¼ hðT f  T r Þ ð27Þ heff S r 2U qf C f e M
@r
Taking the finite Laplace transform, we have In Eq. (36) we use the two terms qrCr/hSr and Rqr Cr/
  5krSr as one term and introduce an effective heat transfer
dKf @Kr
qf C f V f U þ kr Sr ¼0 ð28Þ coefficient heff. This makes the structure of Eq. (36) similar
dz @r r¼R
  to the equation from the lumped capacitance case given by
ps 1 @ 2 @Kr Eq. (22). Therefore, for the sphere solid thermal storage
qr C r ðMe þ pKr Þ ¼ k r 2 r ð29Þ
r @r @r material the relationship of the effective heat transfer coef-
@Kr ficient heff and the actual heat transfer coefficient h is
r ¼ 0; ¼0 ð30Þ obtained:
@r
@Kr 1
r ¼ R; k r ¼ hðKf  Kr Þ ð31Þ heff sp ¼ 1 ð37Þ
@r þ R
h 5k r
The transformed temperature of the sphere can be
solved as When heffsp is used to replace h in the lumped
capacitance method, we expect the solution will approach
Kr ðr; pÞ ¼ Aðr; pÞ þ Bðr; pÞKf ðz; pÞ ð32Þ the results from a precise analytical solution. The
where demonstration of this will be given in Section 4. The current
2  3
h qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffii ps eps MR  k r2 þRh
results for the effective heat transfer coefficient of a sphere
pS r
sinh r V f kr ð1eÞ 4 e Mk r
þ
R
5 matches the solution published by Jeffreson (1972). Next
pR p
eps M
Aðr; pÞ ¼ 
p
þ 2 qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi  qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi 3 ð33Þ we give the analyses for three other cases that have not been
pS r pS r
6kr V f kr ð1eÞ cosh R V f kr ð1eÞ   h qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffii7 discussed by Bradshaw et al. (1970) and Jeffreson (1972) fol-
r6
4 þ  Rkr2 þ Rh sinh R V f kpS r
r ð1eÞ 5
7
R
lowing the same methodology.
h qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffii
sinh r V f kpS r
h
Bðr; pÞ ¼ 2 qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi  qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
r ð1eÞ
3 ð34Þ 3.2. Solid plates in fluid flow
pS r pS r
6kr V f kr ð1eÞ cosh R V f kr ð1eÞ   h qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffii7
r6
4 R
þ  Rkr2 þ Rh sinh R V f kpS r
r ð1eÞ 5
7
We now turn to the case when the solid thermal storage
materials are large plates with fluid flowing in between
 B. Xu et al. / Solar Energy 86 (2012) 1709–1724 1715

them. The schematic diagram of this case is shown in We first solve for the transformed temperature of the
Fig. 4. In the plates the heat conductions in the fluid flow solid thermal storage material.
direction and the direction normal to the paper of the fig-
ure are ignored, only leaving the heat conduction in the Kr ðx; pÞ ¼ Aðx; pÞ þ Bðx; pÞKf ðz; pÞ ð47Þ
thickness of the plates for analysis. The same procedure where
of analysis used in Section 3.1 will be applied.
pffiffip

The governing equations are Aðx; pÞ ¼ 

eps M
  ppffiffi
eps hM cosh a
ðx  x2 Þ

pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi ppffiffi
 ð48Þ
  p p h cosh a 1
ðx  x2 Þ þ pqr C r k r sinh a 1
ðx  x2 Þ
@T f @T r ppffiffi

qf C f V f U ¼ kr Sr ð38Þ hcosh ðx  x2 Þ
@z @x x¼x1 Bðx;pÞ ¼ ppffiffi a

pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi ppffiffi
ð49Þ
hcosh a 1
ðx  x2 Þ þ pqr C r k r sinh a 1
ðx  x2 Þ
@T r @2T r
qr C r ¼ kr ð39Þ
@t @x2 where a = kr/qrCr.
Eq. (43) can then be solved for Kf(x, p):
The initial and boundary conditions for Tf remain the  ðBðx ;pÞ1ÞhSr 
same as in Eqs. (11) and (12). The initial and boundary Aðx1 ; pÞ 1
qf C f V f U z
Kf ðz; pÞ ¼ e 1
conditions for Tr are Bðx1 ; pÞ  1
ðBðx1 ;pÞ1ÞhS r
T r ðx; 0Þ ¼ 0 ð40Þ qf C f V f U z
þ f ð0Þe ð50Þ
@T r
x ¼ x2 ; ¼0 ð41Þ Following the same method as in the previous analyses
@x
@T r to find the weighted average time,
x ¼ x1 ; k r ¼ hðT f  T r Þ ð42Þ
@x qr C r qr C r ðx2  x1Þ q Cr L f ð0Þ
hti ¼ þ þsþ r 
Taking the finite Laplace Transform, the governing hS r 3k r S r 2U qf C f e M
equations become qr C r q Cr L f ð0Þ
  ¼ þsþ r  ð51Þ
@Kf @Kr heff S r 2U qf C f e M
qf C f V f U ¼ kr Sr ð43Þ
@z @x x¼x1 The effective heat transfer coefficient is then found to be
ps d 2 Kr
qr C r ½Me þ pKr ðx; pÞ ¼ k r 2 ð44Þ 1
dx heff pl ¼ 1 ðx2 x1 Þ
ð52Þ
h
þ 3k r
The corresponding boundary conditions transform to
dKr 3.3. Solid cylinder in fluid flow
x ¼ x2 ; ¼0 ð45Þ
dx
dKr We consider now the filler materials as cylinders and the
x ¼ x1 ; kr ¼ hðKf  Kr Þ ð46Þ
dx fluid flows along longitudinally. In the cylinder the heat
conduction in the fluid flow direction is ignored, only leav-
ing the heat conduction in the radial direction for analysis.
Fig. 5 shows the schematic diagram.
The coupled heat transfer equations are
 
@T f @T r
qf C f V f U ¼ k r S r ð53Þ
@z @r r¼R
 
@T r 1 @ @T r
qr C r ¼ kr r ð54Þ
@t r @r @r

The initial and boundary conditions are

t ¼ 0; Tf ¼ Tr ¼ 0 ð55Þ
t > 0; z ¼ 0; T f ¼ TIðtÞ ð56Þ
@T r
r ¼ 0; ¼0 ð57Þ
@r
@T r
r ¼ R; k r ¼ hðT r  T f Þ ð58Þ
@r

Fig. 4. Model of a large plate in fluid flow ( solid thermal storage Taking the finite Laplace Transform, the governing
material; heat transfer fluid). equations become
1716 B. Xu et al. / Solar Energy 86 (2012) 1709–1724
 
@Kf @Kr 1
qf C f V f U ¼ kr Sr ð59Þ heff cs ¼ 1 ð68Þ
@z @r r¼R h
þ 4kRr
 
kr d dKr
qr C r ½Meps þ pKr ðr; pÞ ¼  r ð60Þ
r dr dr 3.4. Fluid flows inside a solid tube
The corresponding boundary conditions transform to
We consider now the thermal storage material to be a
dKr
r ¼ 0; ¼0 ð61Þ solid tube; the heat transfer fluid flows inside the tube. In
dr the tube the heat conduction in the fluid flow direction is
dKr ignored, only leaving the heat conduction in the thickness
r ¼ R; kr ¼ hðKf  Kr Þ ð62Þ
dr of the tube for analysis. Fig. 6 shows the schematic
The solutions are found to be diagram.
Kr ðr; pÞ ¼ Aðr; pÞ þ Bðr; pÞKf ðz; pÞ ð63Þ The coupled heat transfer equations for the fluid and the
solid tube are
where  
 qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi @T f @T r
qf C f V f U ¼ kr Sr ð69Þ
eps M
eps I 0 r að1eÞ p
hM @z @r r¼a
Aðr; pÞ ¼  þ   qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi  qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi ð64Þ  
p q ffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi @T r 1 @ @T r
p hI 0 R að1eÞp
þ k r krpqð1eÞ
r cr p
I 1 R að1eÞ qr C r ¼ kr r ð70Þ
 qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi @t r @r @r
p
hI 0 r að1eÞ
Bðr; pÞ ¼  qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
The initial and boundary conditions are
qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi  qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi ð65Þ
p p p
hI 0 R að1eÞ þ k r að1eÞ I 1 R að1eÞ t ¼ 0; Tf ¼ Tr ¼ Ti
where I0 and I1 are modified Bessel functions. Substitute @T r
t>0: z ¼ 0; T f ¼ TIðtÞ; r ¼ b; ¼ 0; r ¼ a;
Eqs. (64) and (65) into Eq. (63): @r
 ðBðR;pÞ1ÞhS  @T r
AðR; pÞ r
qf C f V f U z
kr ¼ hðT r  T f Þ
Kf ðz; pÞ ¼ e 1 @r
BðR; pÞ  1 ð71Þ
ðBðR;pÞ1ÞhS r
qf C f V f U z
þ f ð0Þe ð66Þ Taking the finite Laplace Transform, the governing
equations become
Following the same method as in the previous analyses  
to find the weighted average time, @Kf @Kr
qf C f V f U ¼ kr Sr ð72Þ
qr C r Rqr C r q Cr L f ð0Þ @z @r r¼a
hti ¼ þ þsþ r   
hS r 4k r S r 2U qf C f e M kr d dKr
qr C r ½Meps þ pKr ðr; pÞ ¼ r ð73Þ
r dr dr
qr C r q Cr L f ð0Þ
¼ þsþ r  ð67Þ
heff S r 2U qf C f e M The corresponding boundary conditions transform to
From this equation, we find that the effective heat trans- dKr
r ¼ b; ¼0 ð74Þ
fer coefficient for a cylindrical solid is dr
dKr
r ¼ a; kr ¼ hðKr  Kf Þ ð75Þ
dr
The general solution for Kr(r, p) is found to be
 rffiffiffi  rffiffiffi
p p Meps
Kr ðr; pÞ ¼ C 1 I 0 r þ C2K 0 r  ð76Þ
a a p
where a = kr/qrCr.
The coefficients C1 and C2 are based on the boundary
conditions. From solution of Eqs. (72) and (73), it is found
that
eps M½hAðr; pÞ  Bðr; pÞ  Cðr; pÞ hAðr; pÞ
Kr ðr;pÞ ¼ þ Kf ðz; pÞ ð77Þ
p½Bðr; pÞ þ Cðr;pÞ Bðr; pÞ þ Cðr; pÞ
 rffiffiffi  rffiffiffi  rffiffiffi  rffiffiffi
p p p p
Aðr; pÞ ¼ I 1 b K0 r þ I0 r K1 b ð78Þ
a a a a
 rffiffiffi  rffiffiffi rffiffiffi  rffiffiffi
p p p p
Bðr; pÞ ¼ I 1 b hK 0 a þ kr K1 a ð79Þ
a a a a
  rffiffiffi rffiffiffi  rffiffiffi  rffiffiffi
Fig. 5. Model of a long cylinder surrounded by fluid flow ( solid p p p p
Cðr;pÞ ¼ hI 0 a  kr I1 a K1 b ð80Þ
thermal storage material; heat transfer fluid). a a a a
 B. Xu et al. / Solar Energy 86 (2012) 1709–1724 1717

eps M½hAða; pÞ  Bða; pÞ  Cða; pÞ

lim
p!0 p½Bða; pÞ þ Cða; pÞ
eps M½hAða; pÞ  Bða; pÞ  Cða; pÞ
¼ lim
p!0 p½Bða; pÞ þ Cða; pÞ
ða2  b2 Þqr C r M
¼ ð88Þ
2ha
hAða; pÞ hAða; pÞ
lim ¼ lim ¼1 ð89Þ
p!0 Bða; pÞ þ Cða; pÞ p!0 Bða; pÞ þ Cða; pÞ

Finally, Eq. (77) is expressed as

eps M½hAðr; pÞ  Bðr; pÞ  Cðr; pÞ
Kr ðr; pÞ ¼
p½Bðr; pÞ þ Cðr; pÞ
hAðr; pÞ
þ Kf ðz; pÞ ð90Þ
Fig. 6. Model of a long tube with fluid flowing inside and an adiabatic Bðr; pÞ þ Cðr; pÞ
outer surface ( solid thermal storage material; heat transfer
fluid). which is further expressed as
Kr ðr; pÞ ¼ X ðr; pÞ þ Y ðr; pÞKf ðz; pÞ ð91Þ
The solutions (Eqs. (77)–(80)) have a modified Bessel where
Function K. Expansion of the function is necessary to eps M½hAðr; pÞ  Bðr; pÞ  Cðr; pÞ
have explicit expressions. However, the zero-order Bessel X ðr; pÞ ¼ ð92Þ
p½Bðr; pÞ þ Cðr; pÞ
K function has singularity at r = 0 and cannot be
expanded. Therefore, a small variable expansion is applied hAðr; pÞ
Y ðr; pÞ ¼ ð93Þ
to replace zero-order and first-order Bessel K andI func- Bðr; pÞ þ Cðr; pÞ
tions, while the third-order term is kept. The expansions
In the following analysis we will find the solution for
are as follows:
Kf(z). The transformed boundary conditions are substi-
 rffiffiffi ppffiffi
2 ppffiffi
4
p r a r a tuted into Eq. (72):
I0 r 1þ þ ð81Þ
a 4 64 @Kf
 rffiffiffi pffiffi pffiffi
3 qf C f V f U ¼ hS r ½Kr ða; pÞ  Kf ðzÞ ð94Þ
p r pa r pa @z
I1 r  þ ð82Þ
a 2 16
When the solution of Kr(r, p) is substituted into Eq. (94),
 rffiffiffi  rffiffiffi pffiffi
 rffiffiffi2 pffiffi
 rffiffiffi4
p p D2  Ln r pa p D3  2Ln r pa p it can be solved as
K0 r  D1  Ln r þ r þ r ð83Þ  ðY ða;pÞ1ÞhS 
a a 4 a 128 a
X ða; pÞ r
qf C f V f U z
 rffiffiffi pffiffi
 rffiffiffi
D4 þ 2Ln r pa
pffiffi
 rffiffiffi3
D5 þ 4Ln r pa
Kf ðz; pÞ ¼ e 1
K1 r
p 1
 ppffiffi þ r
p
þ r
p
ð84Þ Y ða; pÞ  1
a r a 4 a 64 a
ðY ða;pÞ1ÞhS r
qf C f V f U z
þe f ð0Þ ð95Þ
where D1, D2, D3, and D4 are constants.
Substituting the expansions in Eqs. (81)–(84) into Eqs. Again, according to the definition for DKf(p),
(77)–(80), A(r, p), B(r, p), and C(r, p) will be expressed in DKf ðpÞ ¼ Kf ð0; pÞ  Kf ðL; pÞ
their new format as given by Aðr; pÞ; Bðr; pÞ, and Cðr; pÞ,  
respectively, X ða; pÞ ðY ða;pÞ1ÞhS r L
¼ 1  e qf C f V f U
" pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi Y ða; pÞ  1
ðb2 p þ 8aÞ2 ðp2 b4 D5 þ 16b2 paD4 þ 64a2 þ 4b2 pðb2 p þ 8aÞLnðb p=aÞÞ  
Aðr;pÞ ¼ pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi ðY ða;pÞ1ÞhS r L
4
4096a b p=a
pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi # þ f ð0Þ 1  e qf C f V f U
ð96Þ
2b2 pðb2 p þ 8aÞðp2 r4 D3 þ 32aðpr2 D2 þ 4aD1 Þ  2ðr2 p þ 8aÞ2 Lnðr p=aÞÞ
þ pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi ð85Þ
4096a4 b p=a
rffiffiffi 2 Finally, following the same method as in the previous
p ðb p þ 8aÞ  4 2 analyses to find the weighted average time,
Bðr;pÞ ¼ 2b p kD5 þ bhp2 r4 þ 32b2 kpaD4
a 2048a3
þ32bhpar2 D2 þ 128bha2 D1 þ 128ka2 ðb2  a2 Þqr cr LMS r
 rffiffiffi  rffiffiffi limDKf ðpÞ ¼ ð97Þ
p p p!0 2aqf cf UV f
þ8b2 kpðb2 p þ 8aÞLn b  2bhðr2 p þ 8aÞLn r ð86Þ 8    
a a >
pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi d <ðb2  a2 Þ qf cf a3 hMU  2k r M hL VS r þ 2qf cf U ðb2  a2 Þ
f
ða2 p þ 8aÞða2 hp þ 8ha  4ak r pÞðb4 p2 D5 þ 16b2 paD4 þ 64a2 þ 4b2 pðb2 p þ 8aÞLnðb p=aÞÞ lim ½DKf ðpÞ ¼  2
Cðr;pÞ ¼ pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi p!0 dp >
: q c
4
4096a b p=a 16a2 qfr cfr hU 2 k r V f =LS r
ð87Þ 9

>
qf cf ahU ð8Mas  8af ð0Þ  3b2 MÞ þ 4ab4 MUhqf cf Ln ba =
Replace A(r, p), B(r, p), and C(r, p) in Eq. (77) by þ  2
>
ð98Þ
q c
16a2 qfr cfr hU 2 k r V f =LS r ;
Aðr; pÞ; Bðr; pÞ, and Cðr; pÞ, respectively, then
1718 B. Xu et al. / Solar Energy 86 (2012) 1709–1724

lim dpd ½DKf ðpÞ show this features as discussed above, which therefore
p!0
hti ¼  remain to be questionable.
limDKf ðpÞ Nevertheless, the current obtained corrections for the
p!0

qr C r qr C r qr C r L cases of spheres, plates, and cylinders are identical to the

¼ þ þsþ equations referenced by Schmidt and Willmott (1981),
h b22a
a2 kr 8ðb2 a2 Þ 2U qf C f
a2 ð4b2 a2 Þþb4 ½4Lnðb=aÞ3 which were originally derived by Hausen (1976) using a dif-
f ð0Þ ferent approach.
 ð99Þ
M
In this equation, we know that the effective convective 4. Energy storage solutions from lumped capacitance
heat transfer coefficient can be obtained when we lump method, corrected lumped capacitance method, and precise
the first two terms on the right-hand side: analytical method
1
heff ¼ 2 4 ð100Þ In this section we will examine the results of the energy
1 1 a3 ð4b a2 Þþab ð4Ln½b=a3Þ
h
þ kr 4ðb2 a2 Þ2 storage prediction by introducing the effective heat transfer
coefficient in the lumped capacitance method. Therefore,
Introducing the following definitions: g ¼ b=a, and results of the energy storage in the solid materials obtained
BiLC ¼ ðh=k r Þðb2  a2 Þ=ð2aÞ or further BiLC ¼ ðha=k r Þ from the lumped capacitance method (with h and Bi used),
ðb2  a2 Þ=ð2a2 Þ, Eq. (100) is further reduced to a more the corrected lumped capacitance method (with heff and
compact form: Bieff used), and the analytical method will be compared.
BiLC For the convenience of conducting the comparison, we
Bieff ¼ g4 ð4LnðgÞ3Þþ4g2 1
ð101Þ introduce the following three definitions for the general
1þ BiLC 2ðg2 1Þ3
transient heat conduction of a solid body of any shape in
Finally as a conclusion, the effective heat transfer coeffi- a fluid flow:
cients of all the four discussed structures of the solid bodies T  T1 kr t
are summarized in Table 1. hLM ¼ ; t ¼ ; ð102Þ
Ti  T1 qr C r ðV r =S r Þ2
It is easy to understand that when the tube diameter
approaches infinitely large, or g = b/a approaches 1.0, the hðV r =S r Þ heff ðV r =S r Þ
BiLC ¼ ; Bieff ¼ ð103Þ
tube will become a half of the plate (see Figs. 4 and 6). kr kr
Therefore, when g approaches to 1.0, the expression of Bieff
by Eq. (101) for a tube should be able to convert into that The general solution for the lumped capacitance tran-
for a plate. This is examined by checking the factor term sient heat conduction can be readily found in standard heat
for BiLC that is on the denominator of Eq. (101). Given g transfer textbooks:
approaching 1.0, the factor term converges to a value of hLM ¼ eBiLC t

ð104Þ
1/3, which is exactly the value as for a plate as given in
Table 1. This validates the mathematical method and our The energy stored in the filler materials is qrCrVr
analysis applied in this work. (TLM  Ti), and in dimensionless form can be reduced to
We did a similar examination to the equation given in
the book by Schmidt and Willmott (1981) for a tube, which QLM
QLM ðt Þ ¼ ¼ 1  hLM ð105Þ
they called as hollow cylinder. Their equation does not qr C r V r ðT i  T 1 Þ

Table 1
The effective heat transfer coefficients of solid thermal storage materials of different structures.
Characteristic length for Effective heat Effective lumped Lumped
lumped capacitance Biot transfer coefficient heff capacitance Biot number Bieff capacitance
number Biot number BiLC
R
Sphere 3 1 BiLC hR
1
h þ 5kRr 1 þ 35 BiLC kr 3

1 BiLC h
Plate Dx = x2  x1 Dx
1
þ ðx23kxr 1 Þ 1 þ 13 BiLC kr
See Fig. 4 for h
definition of x1, x2
R 1 BiLC hR
Cylinder 2 1
h þ 4kRr 1 þ 12 BiLC kr 2
2
b a2
1 BiLC h b2 a2
Tube with fluid 2a See Fig. 6 for
1 1 a3 ð4b2  a2 Þ þ ab4 ð4Ln½b=a  3Þ g4 ½4LnðgÞ  3 þ 4g2  1 k r 2a
inside & definition of a, b; g = b/a þ 1 þ BiLC
outside h kr 4ðb2  a2 Þ2 2ðg2  1Þ3
insulated
 B. Xu et al. / Solar Energy 86 (2012) 1709–1724 1719

Table 2
Dimensionless temperature and energy in a solid body from analytical solution ([Ozisik, 1993]).
Solid body Solution
Sphere X1 4ðsinðb m Þ  b m cosðb m ÞÞ sinðb  m r Þ 2 
hsp ðr ; t Þ ¼    ebm t
m¼1 2bm  sinðbm Þ bm r
1b m  cotðb m Þ ¼ Bi; Bi ¼ hR=k r
  
m Þ  4pðsinðb
2  X1 4 sinðb m Þ  bm cosðb m Þ  b m cosðb
m ÞÞ
Qsp ðt Þ ¼ 1  ebm t m¼1 m  sinð2b m Þ 3
2
2b b m
X1 2 b  þ Bi2 sinðb m Þ
Plate hp ðx ; t Þ ¼ m
cos½ m ð1  x Þeb2m t
b
m¼1 b 2 þ Bi2 þ Bi b m
m
m  tanðb
b m Þ ¼ Bi; Bi ¼ hDx=k r
"
#
2  X1 2 b2 þ Bi2 sinðb m Þ2
Qp ðt Þ ¼ 1  ebm t m
m
m¼1 b 2 þ Bi2 þ Bi b
" m #
X1 
2bm2
J 1 ð2bm Þ 2 t

Cylinder hcy1 ðr ; t Þ ¼
m J 0 ð2r bm Þe
4b m
m¼1 J 2 ð2b Þ Bi2 þ b
m
2 2b
0 m
m  J 1 ð2b
2b m RÞ ¼ Bi  J 0 ð2bm RÞ; Bi ¼ hR=k r
"  # !
Z 1 X1 2
2b m Þ2
J 1 ð2b 2 t 
Qcy1 ðt Þ ¼ 2ð1  h2 Þr dr ¼ 2 1  m

m e4bm

0 m Þ Bi2 þ b
m¼1 J 2 ð2b 2 2b
0 m
" #
X1 2  p
2
b m Þ
2 Gðb
Tube hcy2 ðr ; t Þ ¼ ebm t m
m ÞRðr Þ
H ðb
m¼1 2 Gðb m Þ  Bi2 þ b 2 J 2 ðgb
m Þ
m 1

Rðr Þ ¼ J 1 ðb m gÞY 0 bm r  J 0 b m r Y 1 ðb

m gÞ; Bi ¼ ha=k r
R
m Þ ¼ g r Rðr Þdr
H ðb 1
Gðbm Þ ¼ ðb
m J 1 ðb m ÞÞ2
m Þ þ BiJ 0 ðb
where the eigenvalues b m are determined from the following equation:
m J 1 ðb
½b m Þ þ BiJ 0 ðb
m ÞY 1 ðb
 gÞ ¼ ½b
m Y 1 ðb
m Þ þ BiY 0 ðb
m ÞJ 1 ðb
m gÞ
Z g m " #
2 1 X1 2 t 2 Gðb
p2 b m tÞ
 
Qcy2 ðt Þ ¼  
ð1  hcy2 Þr dr ¼ 1  e bm m

m Þ
H 2 ðb
ðg2  1Þ2 1 ðg2  1Þ2 m¼1 m Þ  Bi2 þ b
Gðb 2 J 2 ðgb
m Þ
m 1

Fig. 7. Comparison of results from analytical method, lumped capacitance method (with Bi used), and corrected lumped capacitance method (with Bieff
used) for spheres at different Biot numbers.
1720 B. Xu et al. / Solar Energy 86 (2012) 1709–1724

Fig. 8. Comparison of results from analytical method, lumped capacitance method (with Bi used), and corrected lumped capacitance method (with Bieff
used) for plates at different Biot numbers.

Fig. 9. Comparison of results from analytical method, lumped capacitance method (with Bi used), and corrected lumped capacitance method (with Bieff
used) for cylinders at different Biot numbers.
 B. Xu et al. / Solar Energy 86 (2012) 1709–1724 1721

Fig. 10. Comparison of results from analytical method, lumped capacitance method (with Bi used), and corrected lumped capacitance method (with Bieff
used) for tubes at different Biot numbers.
1722 B. Xu et al. / Solar Energy 86 (2012) 1709–1724

Fig. 10 (continued)
 B. Xu et al. / Solar Energy 86 (2012) 1709–1724
When the heat transfer coefficient h in the definition of
BiLC is replaced by the effective heat transfer coefficient heff
as analyzed above in Section 3, we can obtain the corrected
dimensionless temperature hLM, as well as the corrected
dimensionless heat QLM .
The analytical solutions for the transient heat conduction
of solid bodies in a fluid can be found in textbooks (Kakac,
1993; Ozisik, 1993). For all the discussed solid bodies of dif-
ferent shapes in this study, the equations for dimensionless
temperatures and heat storage/discharge are listed in Table
2. The definitions of the general Bi used in analytical solu-
tions for different cases are also given in Table 2.
Fig. 7 shows the dimensionless heat absorbed/released
in a solid body versus time determined from the lumped
capacitance method, corrected lumped capacitance
method, and analytical method for a sphere. At a small
Biot number, 0.1, the curves of the dimensionless energy
storage from all three methods agree very well, which ver-
ifies that the lumped capacitance method is valid at small
Biot numbers. At a Biot number of 1.0, the corrected
lumped capacitance method agrees with the analytical solu-
tion very well, while the curve from the lumped capacitance
method has a significant discrepancy with the analytical
solution. When the Biot number is 10.0 or 100, the discrep-
ancy between the results from the corrected lumped capac-
itance method and the analytical method increases slightly,
but is still acceptable. However, the lumped capacitance
method predicts a very different energy storage and is thus
unacceptable.
Fig. 8 shows the dimensionless heat absorbed/released
in a solid body versus time as determined by the lumped
capacitance method, corrected lumped capacitance
method, and analytical method for a plate in a fluid flow.
The results show similar features: at a small Biot number,
0.1, the curves of the dimensionless energy storage from
all three methods agree very well. At a Biot number of
1.0, the corrected lumped capacitance method agrees with
the analytical solution very well, while the curve from the
lumped capacitance method has a significant discrepancy.
When the Biot number increases to 10.0 and 100, the dis-
crepancy between the results from the corrected lumped
capacitance method and the analytical method increases
slightly but is less significant compared to the results from
the case of the sphere. Similarly, the results from the
lumped capacitance method are greatly different from
those of both the corrected lumped capacitance method
and the analytical method, and are thus unacceptable.
The dimensionless heat absorbed/released in a solid
body versus time as determined by the lumped capacitance
method, corrected lumped capacitance method, and precise
analytical method shown in Fig. 9 are for a cylinder in a
fluid flow. The results are very similar regarding the com-
parison among the three methods. Again, the discrepancies
between the results from the corrected lumped capacitance
method and the analytical method are generally small and
acceptable. However, the results from the lumped capaci-
tance method are greatly different from those of both the
1723
corrected lumped capacitance method and the analytical
method when the Biot number is larger than 1.0, and there-
fore should not be used in the thermal energy storage
analysis.
For a tubular rod in a fluid flow, the results are shown in
Fig. 10a–d for four diameter ratios defined as g = b/a. Even
though the ratio, g, varies, the discrepancy of the results
from the corrected lumped capacitance method and the
analytical method is very small under all the investigated
Biot numbers, 0.1–100. Again, the results from the lumped
capacitance method are very different from those of both
the corrected lumped capacitance method and the analyti-
cal method when the Biot number is larger than 1.0. With
the increase of the ratio, g, this difference becomes more
significant. This is rational as when the ratio, g, increases,
the tube becomes thicker and thus the lumped capacitance
method will cause more inaccuracy.
From Figs. 7–10, it is necessary to point out that in the
very beginning stage, when t* is very small, Q* is also very
small. Therefore, the difference of the Q* results due to the
corrected lumped capacitance method and analytical solu-
tion is significant, compared relatively to the absolute Q*.
With a slight increase of time, this difference, compared
to the absolute value of Q*, quickly becomes insignificant,
which is less than 5% of Q* for all the cases even if Bi is as
large as 100. In fact, for thermal energy storage applica-
tions, the very initial stage of time is not of interest. The
energy charge and discharge processes usually need a suffi-
ciently long time. Therefore, it is believed that the corrected
lumped capacitance method provides sufficient accuracy
for energy storage applications.
5. Conclusions
1. This work discusses a very typical and general issue of
using an effective heat transfer coefficient in the lumped
capacitance method to precisely predict the energy stor-
age in solid thermal energy storage material. The work is
of great significance to the simplification and effective-
ness of the analysis of the heat transfer and energy stor-
age in packed-bed thermal energy storage systems.
2. The effective heat transfer coefficients were derived in
the current analysis for spherical particles, structured
solid thermal storage materials of a flat plate, a cylinder
that heat transfer fluid flowing longitudinally around it,
and a tube where heat transfer fluid flows inside. Using
the effective heat transfer coefficients to replace the
actual heat transfer coefficient in the lumped capacitance
method, the energy storage in the solid material was cal-
culated. It has been verified that the results from the
corrected lumped capacitance method for the energy
storage in solid filler materials of different shapes is very
close to what was obtained from the analytical solution.
It is therefore reliable to recommend that the equations
of the effective heat transfer coefficients from this analy-
sis be used in the analysis of energy storage in the future.
1724 B. Xu et al. / Solar Energy 86 (2012) 1709–1724
3. It is necessary to note that there are certain restrictions
in the current method. First of all, in the generic energy
balance analysis, as described in Eqs. (1) and (3), the
axial heat conduction in the heat transfer fluid and solid
material is ignored. This means that the analyzed plate,
cylinder, and tube in the current analysis only have one-
direction heat conduction, perpendicular to the fluid
flow direction. The heat conduction in the direction of
fluid flow is neglected. Under most circumstances, this
treatment is sufficiently accurate. However, if the heat
transfer fluids are metallic liquids and if the solid ther-
mal storage materials are highly conductive metals,
which are not common for thermal storage application,
the discrepancy may be significant and specific analysis
or experiment is expected to address the issue for a
future study.
Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to the support by the US
Department of Energy, National Renewable Energy Labo-
ratory, under DOE Award Number DE-FC36-08GO18155,
and the US Solar Thermal Storage LLC.
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