A concrete heat accumulator for use in solar heating systems - a mathematical model and experimental verification

The article presents a numerical model of the concrete heat accumulator for solar heating systems. Model uses control volume finite element method with an explicit solution method for time integration. The use of an explicit method is an essential advantage in the simulation of time-dependent changes in temperature of the air at the accumulator inlet. The study compares the results of numerical model calculations of the accumulator heating with experimental measurements and with computational fluid dynamics modeling. The comparison shows a good correlation between the results of calculation using the model and the results of measurements.