An experimental study was performed to model the melting behaviour of a porous bed of ice in a rectangular storage tank. The ice and the storage tank were characterised by the dimensions of the tank, the ice particle geometry, the geometry of the ice store, the initial water level, and the inlet water distribution. Inlet water distributions were from above the tank, through either one or more individual rectangular openings, above the ice and smaller than the plan area of the tank, or by a nearly uniform distribution of inlet water through an inlet of the same dimensions as the tank plan area. The water outlet was located along the perimeter along the bottom of the tank. Using a laboratory-scale cool thermal energy storage tank, the effect on outlet water temperature was determined by varying the inlet water temperature, the inlet flow rate, the inlet water distribution, and the ice store geometry. The results of the study indicate that an approximately constant outlet water temperature near 0degC (32degF) is achieved by using a uniform inlet water distribution over the plan area of the tank. The uniform inlet water distribution yields a nearly constant heat transfer and ice-melting rate throughout the period of ice melt in the storage tank, with only a small increase in the outlet water temperature.

KEYWORDS: year 1995, ice, melting, properties, ice storage, energy storage, experiment, ice makers, sizing, designing, rectangular, tanks, geometry, water temperature, heat flow