Enhancing the melting performance in latent heat storage systems with fin-foam combination at high temperatures: Configurational optimization and economic assessment

Abstract

High-temperature latent heat thermal energy storage is restricted by the low thermal conductivity materials. To achieve rapid heat storage, a fin-foam synergistic heat transfer enhancement is proposed to break the marginal improvement of unilateral enhancement. The effect of different enhancement methods is explored by constructing 3D numerical models. The numerical result indicates the optimal fin-foam synergistic enhancement can effectively reduce the full melting time by 59.7%, compared with the smooth-foam unilateral enhancement. Further, the relationship between temperature uniformity and thermal performance has been refined. Internal fins achieve more efficient heat transfer from the tube center to the tube edge, accompanied by a 29.1% improvement in temperature uniformity of heat transfer fluid. A comprehensive index including the pump cost is established for economic assessment. The fin-foam synergistic enhancement has been proved to be the most cost-effective, achieving relatively high performance and avoiding excessive pressure drop.