Model and Simulation of a Vapor Compression Refrigeration System with Phase Change Materials for Thermal Energy Storage

Abstract

Growing demand for renewable energy has brought to light promising energy harvesting techniques. One technique that is proving to be the future of energy storage is latent heat thermal energy storage. Thermal energy storage is attractive due to its high energy storage capabilities as well as its low cost. Integrating phase change materials for thermal energy storage can aid in achieving the goal of storing high amounts of thermal energy. Using phase change materials in conjunction with vapor compression refrigeration systems and how these materials can benefit these types of systems will be the focus of discussion. The design of a model, along with key assumptions and derived equations, will be presented to understand how the model works. The use of MATLAB and ordinary differential equations to predict the performance of the system with thermal energy storage will be investigated. Upon further review, the performance of the system with thermal energy storage will be greater and reduce energy consumption as compared to conventional vapor compression refrigeration systems. When incorporating the thermal energy storage phase change material (TES-PCM) device to the vapor compression refrigeration (VCR) system, increases of the coefficient of performance (COP) for the system increased 8% for the air conditioning (AC) mode and 15% for the heat pump mode. Lastly, due to the efficacy of the TES-PCM device, annual savings of 36-72 $/kWh are obtained when the device is implemented with a typical VCR system.