Variable mass energy transformation and storage (VMETS) system using NH3–H2O as working fluid, Part 1: Modeling and simulation under full storage strategy

This paper presents a new variable mass energy transformation and storage (VMETS) system using ammonia–water solution (NH3–H2O) as working fluid. The system has a wide range of working temperature. It can be used to shift load with a diurnal energy storage system for cooling in summer, heating in winter, or hot water supplying all year long. It can also be used to store refrigerating energy for various industrial and commercial applications. The key to the system is to regulate the chemical potential by controlling the refrigerant mass fraction in the working fluid with respect to time. As a result, by using a solution storage tank and an ammonia storage tank, the energy transformation and storage can be performed at the desirable time to provide low cost cooling and heating efficiently. As the first part of our study, this paper presents the principle and dynamic models of the VMETS system and performs the numerical simulation when the system works in the cooling and heating modes, respectively, under the full storage strategy. The simulation predicts the dynamic behavior of the VMETS system under various operation conditions and shows that the VMETS system for cooling in summer is also suitable for heating in winter or for hot water supplying all year long by adjusting the initial solution concentration. The energy conversion efficiency of the system is larger than that of conventional thermal energy storage (TES) systems, especially under the condition of system operation for heating or hot water supplying in the heating mode. These simulation results are very helpful for detailed design and control of the system. To investigate the system performance under the partial storage strategy, modeling and numerical simulation will be performed in a subsequent paper.