Abstract
An experimental setup has been designed to study a single cylindrical fin placed in a cylindrical enclosure filled with phase changing material (PCM). The heat flux to the fin is measured at the top of the fin. The temperature evolution at different fin heights is measured by thermocouples placed internally in the fin. The evolution of these temperatures has been studied for different heat fluxes. This provides insight in the contribution of the different fin heights to the total heat transfer to the PCM during the different stages of the melting process. As such they can be used to assess the effectiveness of the fin over its length. After approximately 6h, the fin temperature stabilizes during melting. Due to the temperature drop over the fin, the bottom temperature reached is significantly lower than the temperature at the top and the contribution of this lower part to the total heat transfer is lower as well. For heat fluxes higher than 3805±75 W/m2, the steady-state temperatures at fin locations in contact with the melting PCM are similar. For low heat fluxes, this steady-state temperature is not reached during a 12h experiment. Longer experiments are thus needed to study the steady-state behaviour at these lower heat fluxes.
Highlights
Phase change materials (PCM) are used to store thermal energy in latent heat thermal energy storage systems (LTES)
For heat fluxes higher than 3805±75 W/m2, the steady-state temperatures at fin locations in contact with the melting phase changing material (PCM) are similar. This steady-state temperature is not reached during a 12h experiment
Temperature evolution over the fin length The applied heat flux at a heating fluid temperature (HFT) of 80°C is shown in figure 2
Summary
Phase change materials (PCM) are used to store thermal energy in latent heat thermal energy storage systems (LTES). Fins are often applied to enhance the conductivity of these materials because of their simplicity, ease of fabrication, low cost and additional heat transfer surface. Based on these criteria longitudinal, circular, plate and pin fins are most often used [2]. The optimal fin volume fraction, cross-section and PCM-fill rate have been studied [3, 4] These parameters are found to influence each other and the need of an in-depth study of the fin length has been stressed [4]. The study aims to give a first insight in the fin effectiveness by discussing the temperature evolution of the fin over its length at different heat fluxes
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