Experimental validation of a numerical model for an internal melt ice-on-coil thermal storage tank

An internal melt ice-on-coil thermal storage tank was instrumented and tested over various inlet conditions of secondary fluid temperature and flow rate in a full-scale heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) laboratory. Five charging/discharging cycle tests were performed. The measured data for one typical charging/discharging cycle were used to validate a numerical model developed for analyzing internal melt ice-on-coil ice storage tanks. The validation analysis was based on the secondary fluid temperature leaving the tank, the secondary fluid heat transfer rates, the inventory of ice, the temperature of the secondary fluid at four representative locations along the coil, the temperature of the water and the ice at three representative locations inside the tank, and secondary fluid pressure drop through the tank. In general, good agreement was found between the predicted and the measured data.