Abstract
The increasing use of renewable energy sources during the last two decades has increased the importance of research and development of energy storage systems. In this study, a new design of a thermal energy battery (TEB) was fabricated and experimentally investigated. This battery is composed of an aluminum finned tube heat exchanger inserted within a tank in plexiglass filled with 2.5 kg of nano-enhanced paraffin. Water was used as heat transfer fluid (HTF). To evaluate the influence of aluminum nanoparticles on the thermal behaviour of the TEB, the melting process of PCM was monitored using thermocouples. A series of experimental measurements were conducted and analysed. It was shown that the TEB's charging time is enhanced with increasing flow rate and temperature of HTF. The charging process of the TEB was found to be expedited by up to 30% using 1.0 wt% nanoparticles of aluminum with the paraffin Wax.