Thermal energy storage with desalination salt: lab-scale experiments and simulations

This work investigates desalination salt thermal energy storage (TES) using a benchtop air-to-salt module and a complementary CFD study of an electro-thermal concept with embedded electrical heaters. Experiments were conducted at inlet air temperatures of 200, 300, and 400 °C for charging, storage, and discharge performance of the TES module. Dimensionless analysis using the Fourier number captured consistent charge-discharge behavior across setpoints. CFD simulations (ANSYS Fluent) of an electr