Efficient simulation strategy for PCM-based cold-energy storage systems

This paper proposes a computationally efficient simulation strategy for cold thermal energy storage (TES) systems based on phase change material (PCM). Taking as a starting point the recent design of a TES system based on PCM, designed to complement a vapour-compression refrigeration plant, the new highly efficient modelling strategy is described and its performance is compared against the pre-existing one. The need for a new computationally efficient approach comes from the fact that, in the near future, such a TES model is intended to be used in combination with the model of the own mother refrigeration plant, in order to address efficient, long-term energy management strategies, where computation time will become a major issue. Comparative simulations show that the proposed computationally efficient strategy reduces the simulation time to a small fraction of the original figure (from around 1/30th till around 1/120th, depending on the particular choice of the main sampling interval), at the expense of affordable inaccuracy in terms of the PCM charge ratio.