A Project Report on

CFD Simulation of Thermal Energy

Storage System by Stratification
Sponsored By
ASHRAE
By
Mr. Gaurav Sonavane
Mr. Ashutosh Damdar
Mr. Tushar Patil
Mr. Vedant Shinde
Guide‘s Name
Dr. V. W. Bhatkar

Department of Mechanical Engineering

Marathwada Mitra Mandal’s
College of Engineering,
Karvenagar, Pune
[2022-23]
 Marathwada Mitra Mandal’s
College of Engineering,
Karvenagar, Pune

CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that Mr. Gaurav Sonavane, Mr. Ashutosh Damdar,

Mr. Tushar Patil, Mr. Vedant Shinde have successfully completed the Project-I

entitled “CFD Simulation of Thermal Energy Storage System by Stratification”

under my supervision, in the partial fulfillment of Bachelor of Engineering -
Mechanical Engineering of Savitribai Phule Pune University.

Date:

Place:

Dr. V. W. Bhatkar
Associate Prof. External Examiner
Dept. of Mech. Eng.
MMCOE, Pune

Dr. V. R. Deulgaonkar Dr. V. N. Gohokar

HEAD Principal
Dept. of Mech. Engg. MMCOE, Pune
MMCOE, Pune
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We take this opportunity here to thank all those who had helped us in making this project a
reality.

First of all, we express our deep gratitude to our project guide Dr. V. W. Bhatkar for
his valuable support, help & guidance from time to time during the project work. We are also
grateful to our Head of Department, Dr. V. R. Deulgaonkar and Principal Dr. V. N. Gohokar
for giving us this opportunity to present this project report.
We are highly indebted to ASHRAE for granting us this project and for his guidance
which we were privileged to receive. We convey our heartfelt gratitude to him for taking out
time from his busy schedule and leading us through this project.
Last but not the least; we would like to thank our entire teaching staff who assisted us
directly or indirectly throughout the duration of this project.

Mr. Gaurav Sonavane

Mr. Ashutosh Damdar

Mr. Tushar Patil

Mr. Vedant Shinde

 ABSTRACT
District Cooling refers to the centralized production and distribution of cooling energy. The

cooling energy is produced in a central cooling plant as chilled water and is distributed to

consumers in a closed piping circuit, also referred to as a reticulation system. This project

presents the experimental study of stratified chilled water storage tank, in which we worked

on finding different parameters of TES tank which include Thermocline thickness, Equivalent

Lost Tank Height and Figure of merit. A test rig has been developed for the study of storage

tank. Much iteration has been taken for different flow rates to study the variables. CFD

analysis of the Chilled water storage tank has been done to validate the results. The result

shows the relationship between Performance measures and flow rates.

 INDEX

Ch. No. Title Page no.

Certificate i
Acknowledgments ii
Abstract iii
1 Introduction 1
1.1 Problem Statement 1
1.2 Abstract 2
1.3 Objectives 3

1.4 Methodology 4

1.5 Sponsor Details 6

2 Literature Review 7
2.1 Introduction to District Cooling System 7
3 Numerical Study 15
3.1 Thermocline 15
3.2 Aspect Ratio 15
3.3 Volume Flow Rate of Water 16
3.4 Simulation Study 16
4 Conclusion
Appendix
 CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 PROBLEM STATEMENT

As the cooling demand is rising exponentially across the globe, the need for more

energy-efficient solutions is one of the main goals of today’s market. Technologies like

District Cooling are making a prominent place within the cooling market. District

cooling is a cost-effective technology to provide cooling to consumers from a central

plant via distribution networks improving the efficiency. For its great efficiency is a

reliable solution for densely populated area. In India, the example of a district cooling

system is in GIFT city, Ahmedabad. The first phase of this District cooling system with a

capacity of 10,000 TR has been in operation since April 2015. The district cooling

system has Thermal Energy Storage (TES) tanks with it. TES tank is a device which

stores the available cooling energy during the periods of excess generation and utilizes it

in the period when there is high cooling demand.

Our Project includes CFD Simulation of Thermal Energy Storage System by

Stratification We are going to study the thermal stratification in the DCS and different

performance measures like thermocline thickness, Figure of Merit and Equivalent Lost

Tank Height For different flow rates.

1.2 ABSTRACT

District Cooling refers to the centralized production and distribution of cooling energy.

The cooling energy is produced in a central cooling plant as chilled water and is

distributed to consumers in a closed piping circuit, also referred to as a reticulation

system. This project presents the experimental study of stratified chilled water storage

tank, in which we worked on finding different parameters of TES tank which include

Thermocline thickness, Equivalent Lost Tank Height and Figure of merit. A test rig has

been developed for the study of storage tank. Much iteration has been taken for different

flow rates to study the variables. CFD analysis of the Chilled water storage tank has been

done to validate the results. The result shows the relationship between Performance

measures and flow rates.

1.3 OBJECTIVES

• Study the District Cooling System and its applications.

• To Study the test rig for testing the Thermal Stratification in Thermal Energy

Storage Tank.

• To carry out CFD simulation of thermal stratification.

1.4 METHODOLOGY

The main concept behind the system is as discussed before in introduction. The study of

stratification is in the priority for this project. This is designed and manufactured as

industry standards for better results. There are refrigeration cycle, inlets and outlets,

tanks, diffusers and many more components working together to run and test the

stratification in tank 3. First of all, we have to check all the check list and follow the

steps mentioned below. These are necessary to avoid any unwanted conditions or falls

results. The chill water storage is required because as soon as we start the charging

process, we required the chill water with very low temperature let's it is 7°C. So, if we

directly supply the water from chiller to the diffuser control on flow rate and chiller

temperature is difficult. As the capacity of chiller is very small, we have to store the chill

water in Tank1. This cycle from tank1 to pump1 and chiller to again tank1 continue till

we achieve required temperature approximately 7°C. After the tank is fully filled with

required temperature we turn of this cycle and moved to next step. That is charging of

stratified chill water tank or Tank3. For this we turn on the valves V2 so that chill water

from Tank1 will come out towards pump and diffuser. V4&V5 are always on valves they

are designed to control the flow rate of water. V4 is the by-pass valve for the pump2.

This water will flow from the flow meter to the diffuser. This flow meter shows Redding

from 50 lit/hr to 350 lit/hr. This water entered into Tank3 through diffuser. We have a

double circular diffuser having circular holes on its surface of 6mm. This diffuser passes

the water with a good laminar flow in to the system that is Tank3. The chilled water with

7°C temperature slightly moves upward with the flow and the warm water in the tank

gets removed through upper diffuser. But due to the pump used in between tank1 and

diffuser, temperature of water increases slightly. In this process thermocline is formed

between these two temperature waters due to density difference this is the band where
actual conduction of heat takes place. The upper warm water is removed through upper

diffuser and gets into the tank 2. This warm water is stored in tank2. This is how the

charging cycle of the stratified chill water tank system works. In discharging of the

stratified chill water storage tank, we will supply the warm water into tank3 and chill

water which is previously in the tank will get removed. For this we will send this chill

water to the Tank2 which will act as a load for the system. By turning on the valve V7 we can

discharge the chill water through lower diffuser, as soon as the warm water entered in to

tank3. Turn on the V3 valve and then through the same system of pump and flow meter

warm water will flow. But in this situation, we opened the different valves for warm

water to get into tank through upper diffuser. We open the V8 & V9 for the same. The

heater used in the system to maintain the temperature for output in tank2. There is

mixing of warm and chill water coming from lower diffuser. To maintain the warm

temperatures, we turn on the heater and discharge process carry on. In this, warm water

gets into the tank3 through upper diffuser. This laminar flow avoids the turbulence in the

tank and thermocline layer is formed. Due to this small thermocline layer, we can

separate the rest chill water easily at the same temperature.

1.5 SPONSER DETAILS

ASHRAE
Shaping Tomorrow's Built Environment Today ASHRAE was formed as the American

Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers by the merger in 1959 of

American Society of Heating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHAE) founded in 1894 and

The American Society of Refrigerating Engineers (ASRE) founded in 1904. It is a global

society advancing human well-being through sustainable technology for the built

environment. The Society and its members focus on building systems, energy efficiency,

indoor air quality, refrigeration and sustainability within the industry. Through research,

standards writing, publishing and continuing education, ASHRAE shapes tomorrow’s-built

environment today. ASHRE society funds research projects, offers continuing education

programs, and develops and publishes technical standards to improve building services

engineering, energy efficiency, indoor air quality, and sustainable development.

 CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 INTRODUCTION TO DISTRICT COOLING SYSTEM:

District Cooling System (DCS) is a smart solution that provides cooling energy within a

centralized region. Thermal Energy Storage (TES) tank with Absorption Chillers (AC) and

electrically driven Vapor Compression Chillers (VCC) are used to generate chilled water,

which is transported to meet the substantial cooling demands for large spaces such as

industrial facilities, universities, airports, and even residential areas. The TES tank usage in

GDC helps reduce capital cost, energy cost, carbon emissions, and equipment size, and

makes for an improved chillers operation. The help of the TES tank reduces the use of

chillers during peak hours, thereby making it feasible for a higher chiller efficiency to be

utilized, removing the disparity between demand and supply of energy. In order to optimize

energy saving and reduce the cost of TES operation, an optimal chiller plant strategy is

developed. In cases of increasing demand for refrigeration during peak hours, the additional

chillers were switched over automatically. TES with district cooling system gives many

advantages when the refrigeration needs are fluctuating. One significant advantage of this

system is to reduce the required capacity of the chilling plant, as it will be designed based on

the average demand not on the peak demand. Furthermore, TES is sound way to level the

electric loads during peak load periods. We can say that TES will reduce the peak cooling

load demand by one third times the peak demand and the peak electricity demand by around

10-20%. Additionally, as chillers run at night time, when atmospheric temperature is lower

than that in daytime, chiller cycle efficiency is higher. The thermal energy in the TES can be

stored in two different ways. The first one is in form of latent heat and the other one is in the

form of sensible heat. The two ways have their own advantages and disadvantages. We will
focus on sensible heat part for this paper. Naturally stratified chilled water storage systems

store the heated and cold water in single tank by means of gravitational stratification. Due to

difference in the densities of water at different temperature, separate horizontal layers of

different temperature can be obtained in the tank. During the charging phase, cold water at

temperature of about 4°C is pumped in the tank from the bottom and due to its relatively high

density, it remains at the bottom. At the same time, the warm water, which is relatively

lighter than cold water hence at the top, is removed from the tank. Between the cold and

warm water layers, there is layer which has steep temperature gradient region is called as

thermocline. The thermocline travels in the tank up and down while charging and discharging

respectively.

Fig. 1 Layout of District Cooling System

Diffusers are used in stratified storage tank to defuse the water into it. For a good

stratification the diffuser must be used to minimize the turbulent mixing between the layers.

In charging cycle, Chilled water enters into the tank through lower diffusers and warm water

is removed from the tank through upper diffusers until the tank is fully charged. In the

Discharging cycle, the Chilled water leaves from the bottom diffuser and warm water enters

into the tank from the upper diffuser this cycle continues until the tank is fully discharged.
A thermocline is created in the tank when both different temperature water is mixing with

each other. To create the best stratification in the system the mixing of water, Thermocline

thickness and Thermal losses should be minimum and can be achieved by the appropriate

diffusers. A Stratified system stands out from other systems when the chilled water and warm

water are stored together in a single tank without using any other separate. Stratified storage

tank consists of three zones bottom of the tank there is a chilled water zone, on the top there

is a warm water zone and the intermediate zone between this is called thermocline zone

which separates this chilled and warm water. Diffusers are used in stratified storage tank to

defuse the water into it. For a good stratification the diffuser must be used to minimize the

turbulent mixing between the layers. In charging cycle, Chilled water inters in to the tank

through lower diffusers and warm water removes from the tank through upper diffusers until

the tank is fully charged. In discharging cycle, the Chilled water leaves from the bottom

diffuser and warm water inters into the tank from upper diffuser this cycle continues until the

tank is fully discharged. A thermocline is created in the tank when water at two different

temperatures does not mix with each other. To creator the best stratification in the system the

mixing of water, Thermocline thickness and thermal losses should be as minimum as possible

and can be achieved by the appropriate diffusers.

Fig. 2 Load Diagram

For the improvement of stratified chiller water tanks many experiments are taken with the

effect of the diffuser from parameters and design. The scientist showed their theories from

different diffusers with thermal efficiency. They also proved that stratified chilled water tanks

with diffuser and membrane are showing great results as 90% efficiency. For the

improvement of stratified chiller water tanks many experiments are taken with the effect of

the diffuser from parameters and design. The scientist showed his theories from different

diffusers with thermal efficiency. They also proved that stratified chilled water tanks with

diffuser and membrane are showing great results as 90% efficiency. They can also study and

identify the factors affecting thermocline thickness with the main parameters like density,

current and inlet Froude number also showed that inlet Froude number approximate no more

than 2. From the charging and discharging cycles figure of merit there are four chilled water

storage tank systems natural stratification, diaphragm, empty tank and labyrinth system. From

which the systems can get good separated with warm and cold water with figure of merit

shows results 85% to more than 95%. Also, they observed experimental tests on scale model

cylindrical stratified chilled water storage tank with radial diffuser during a complete cycle,

test results indicated that the storage tank with radial diffuser produced good thermal

performance and well stratification at flow rate corresponding to inlet Froude number of 2.

Also, they found that the mixing that occurs near the inlet diffuser relies on inlet Reynolds

number and Froude number. The performance of stratified vertical cylindrical chilled water

storage tank with three inlet diffusers, small and large radial diffusers, and octagonal diffuser

with an inlet Froude number equal to unity. He revealed that all diffusers fitted out in a

storage tank produced good stratification and good thermal performance, furthermore, he

compared between three inlet diffusers to make sure which one of inlet diffusers attain higher

stratification, the results indicated that the small radial diffuser produced most mixing during
thermocline formation, the large radial diffuser produced less mixing and octagonal diffuser

produced the least mixing.

Fig. 3 Representation of Thermocline Thickness Formation

The performance of a stratified chilled water storage system serving a complex in a hot,

humid region and presents quantitative information regarding its performance on the basis of

several months of typical operating data Performance characteristics summarized include

charge and discharge cycle flow rate distributions, thermocline thickness and lost capacity as

a function of flow rate, and thermal efficiency. This case study illustrates the utilization

pattern of chilled water storage in a hot and humid. Zhaoyu and Yijie have researched about

an experimental study on the static and dynamic thermocline evolution of the water

thermocline storage tank is presented. The main conclusions are summarized as follows, once

a thermocline forms, it can stably exist for a long time while it expands continually, but its

expansion slows down with time. It shows positive correlation between the thermocline

expansion rate and the axial temperature gradient. Even though the thermal insulation is

strong, long period of settle when the thermocline exists should be avoided. During the
charging or discharging, the all-time thermocline thickness is strongly related to the initial

thermocline thickness. It remains smaller if the corresponding initial one is smaller.

Environment and presents new data on the performance of a large stratified chilled water

storage tank. Scientist Musser and Bahnfleth used the temperature profile of a full-scale

stratified chilled water TES tank for determining thermocline thickness at various charging

and discharging flow rates. TES tank performance based on evaluating the half-cycle Figure

of Merit was also conducted in the study. They also used a dimensionless cut-off temperature

on each edge of the profile to bind the region in which most of the overall temperature

change occurs. They suggested that the amount of the temperature profile to be removed

should be large enough to eliminate the effects of small temperature changes at the

thermocline’s extremes but small enough to capture most of the temperature change.

Temperature stratification within a water tank is highly desirable, and its enhancement and

maintenance lead to improving the efficiency of thermal storage tank. Specifically, a

comparison is made between the results obtained with the two methods when applied to the

estimation of the instantaneous temperature profile. This paper demonstrates that it is

possible to characterize the water temperature profile and its temporal trend in a hot water

storage tank during the thermal charge process, using a minimum number of thermocouples

(TC), with minor differences compared to experimental data. In solar thermal heating

systems, optimal stratification within the storage tank results in lower return temperatures of

the collector and reduces auxiliary heating demand. Despite the extensive research in the field

of tank stratification, a widely accepted parameter that can be used to quantify the

stratification efficiency of a thermal storage has not emerged yet. In this contribution,

existing methods to determine stratification efficiency are analyzed from a theoretical point

of view, and a new method is shown that combines advantages of the Existing approaches.

The peak electrical demand occurs in daytime due to using air conditioning systems
specialized for cooling buildings, these systems consume up to 70% of electric energy due to

high ambient temperature, this can be solved either by constructing a new power plant, or in

cooperation with neighboring utilities to compensate the shortage in power. The inherent pros

and cons of the two common (i.e. chilled water and ice storage) commercially available

thermal energy storage (TES) technologies for off-peak air conditioning applications. Case

studies on cool thermal storage have demonstrated not only savings in energy and other

operation and maintenance costs but also significant savings in initial capital costs. This

paper also examines the use of cool thermal storage equipment for gas turbine inlet air

cooling, which can positively enhance its efficiency. The aim of this paper is to review Cool

thermal storage technologies as a demand side management (DSM) tool for electric load

management and a supply side management (SSM) tool for efficient and economic power

production. Advantages of cool storage system over a conventional air conditioning system

are; As compared with a conventional air conditioning system, the refrigeration plant

capacity can be substantially reduced, as it no longer has to cope with the peak building load.

The chiller plant operates at 100% of its rated capacity, throughout its period of operation in

the cool storage system, therefore, the plant works at its optimum efficiency, unlike

conventional systems, which operate on part load for most of their working life. Cool storage

systems shift the refrigeration electricity load to the night time and the ambient temperatures

at night time are substantially lower than those in the day time. Consequently, there is an

improvement in chiller efficiency and a constant generating load can be maintained, ensuring

efficient use of the plant, compared with the day time operation. The larger air temperature

difference over the air handling units allows a reduction in circulated air volume, results in

smaller air handling units; smaller piping, air handlers and ductwork; less electrical

equipment and wiring and also reduces the size and cost of ductwork. Hasnain reported that

the most sophisticated and cost-efficient system in load management has been the resurgence
of cool storage technology. The cooling system can be operated during off-peak night-time

hours at low cooling loads using cold ambient temperature. Instead of using a compressor,

cooling may be provided during the day at high peak by the circulation of the coolant

medium. The simplest form of cool TES makes use of chilled water as the storage medium.

TES tank has a distinct separation mechanism between cold and warm water, which is

obtained either by providing physical barriers in tanks or by using natural stratification.

Physical barrier separation has been implemented with the labyrinth, baffle, and membrane

based on the maze mechanism. In contrast, the natural process is achieved in thermally

stratified systems, which permit the warm water to float on the top of cold water. Majid,

Muhammad and Hampo states that analysis of the operation of the plant revealed that there

was a 48.9% decrease in the average thermocline thickness and a 2.16% increase on the

average half FOM for the period of January through October 2019. This reveals that the

stratified TES tank experienced an upgrade in its performance efficiency. This upgrade might

have resulted from an improved general operation of the DGC plant or the replacement or

servicing of components like the chillers. It can be suggested that the decrease in thermocline

thickness may be as a result of less mixing in the hot and cold region of the fluid, thereby

improving the quality of stored energy in the TES tank. The substantial decrease of

thermocline thickness led to an increase in the tank’s half FOM because a thinner thermocline

thickness translates to the less fluid mixture in the stratified tank, which results in a higher

1/2 FOM. Based on the result, it can be concluded that Graph Pad Prism software provides a

less ambiguous technique with less computational time in understanding the behavior of the

temperature profile of a full-scale TES tank at any time of operation.

 CHAPTER 3

NUMERICAL STUDY

3.1 Thermocline

Mixing of chilled water and hot water is the main important cause of capacity loss stratified

tank. Heat transfer between hot and cold water through the thermocline region. The principal

of higher temperature water being less dense hence it moves upward. The lower temperature

water being dense hence heavier remains at bottom. These properties allows for separation to

occur between these low and high temperature. Thermocline thickness is one of the most

important part in stratification system. Highly stratified system is inversely proportional with

thickness of thermocline. Hence high stratification system has a narrow thermocline and

minimum temperature difference. Where low stratification system have a thick thermocline

region with higher temperature difference. Stable thermocline also reduces the amount of

heat transferred between warm and cold water inside the tank.

3.2 Aspect ratio

Appropriate design of chilled water tank can help in better stratification along with control of

temperature difference, fluid velocity and thermocline region. Hence aspect ratio is calculated

for better stratification of chilled water. Aspect ratio is the ratio of tank height to the tank

diameter. It can be seen that mixing of hot and cold water increases with the reduction of the

tank aspect ratio. Thermocline thickness is inversely proportional to the aspect ratio of the

tank, from iteration we found that having aspect ratio 5.

Aspect ratio = Tank Height / Tank Diameter

3.3 Volume Flow rate of water

The volume of water that passes through a given surface per unit time. The first author

Karim has developed a stratified chilled water storage system. He also investigated the effect

of flow rate on storage efficiency of chilled water tank. The efficiency of stratification

decreased at higher flow rate due to increased mixing. Maximum volume flow rate of water

in our system is 300 lit/hr

3.4 Simulation Study

ANSYS Fluent was used to simulate the Thermal Energy Storage Tank. We have drawn 2D

surface model of out tank in ANSYS. The meshing method used is ‘All Quad’ mesh due to its

accuracy of results. Primarily, we have divided our model into two faces to assign them

different temperatures.

Five named selections were given:

1) Inlet

2) Outlet

3) Wall

4) Hot water

5) Cold water

In Fluent we opened the boundary conditions and turned-on Energy Equation so that we can

assign temperature conditions. Then we add material as ‘Water liquid’. In Boundary

condition tab we assign the conditions to different named selections. Then in Initialization

tab, we choose Standard initialization and assign different temperature water conditions to

Hot and Cold-water zones. Then clicking on the Initialize button we start the initialization.

Finally in Run Calculations tab we click on check case button to check weather our all

conditions are correct or not. After that, click on Calculate button to start the solver to
process. Once the calculations are done, the pop-up will come saying Calculations completed.

Click ok. Now open the Results tab to post process the results. In this window we assign the

variable which we want to display. In this, we display the temperature distribution across the

tank surface. The results are shown in the below photos. The thermocline thickness coming

from the simulation is 60mm.