Fin-Metal Foam Hybrid Structure for Enhancing Solid–Liquid Phase Change

Abstract

There is considerable evidence that thermal energy storage through solid–liquid phase change is of great importance for tackling the problems of intermittence and randomness in solar energy utilization. To improve the thermal energy storage efficiency, a hybrid structure of fin and metal foam is proposed and designed. To assess the thermal characteristics of the fin-metal foam hybrid structure for thermal energy storage and release, a well-established experimental system is developed. Thermal energy charging/discharging performance for the hybrid structure is experimentally evaluated by the full melting time, temperature response, and melting front evolution. For comparison, three thermal energy tubes filled with fin, metal foam, and pure phase changer material are also studied. Results demonstrate that fin-metal foam hybrid structure is capable of accelerating phase change process. An up to 85.4% (and 76.7%) reduction in full melting (and solidification) time is achieved by the hybrid structure, compared with the bare tube. Besides, fin-metal foam tube leads the way of increasing temperature response rate by maximally 8.13 and 5.71 times higher for melting and solidification.