Solid fraction determination in cold storage by tetra-n-butyl ammonium bromide clathrate hydrate slurry

Thermal or cold storage by phase change material slurry attracted many attentions in recent years, in which solid fraction distribution in the storage tank is an important issue due to different densities of the solid particle and carrier fluid. Tetra-n-butyl ammonium bromide (TBAB) clathrate hydrate slurry (CHS) has recently been intensively investigated for the purpose of the cold storage. In the present study, solid fraction distribution of TBAB CHS in a cold storage tank was both experimentally and numerically investigated. The different sedimentation characteristics of type A and type B TBAB CHS were identified. It was shown that high-capacity cold storage can be achieved by taking advantage of the sedimentation of type A TBAB CHS, based on which a procedure to realize it was also proposed.

► We experimentally measured the solid fraction of TBAB CHS in a cold storage tank.
► The sedimentations of type A and type B TBAB CHS were numerically investigated.
► A heterogeneous cold storage by using type A TBAB CHS was proposed.