Influence of movable inner tube on the charging performance for a horizontal latent thermal energy storage exchanger

Abstract

The charging performance of horizontal shell-and-tube latent thermal storage exchangers is significantly influenced by the position of the inner tube. However, the underlying mechanisms of the effect of inner tube movement on the charging performance remain unclear. Based on this, this paper proposed a horizontal shell-and-tube latent thermal energy storage exchanger whose inner tube is movable or Heat Exchanger with Movable Tube (MTHX), the two-dimensional simulation model of the MTHX was established, and the influence of the inner tube movement direction, speed, and range on the charging performance was studied, and finally this study obtained an optimized inner tube movement scheme for the charging process. The results indicate that the exchanger exhibits improved charging performance when the inner tube lies in the lower hemisphere region and moves up and down along the radius direction. Furthermore, increasing the velocity of inner tube movement enhances the charging rate. Additionally, the impact of the inner tube movement range on the charging performance depends on the direction of the movement. Moreover, compared to traditional horizontal shell-and-tube latent thermal storage exchangers, the implementation of the optimized inner tube movement scheme results in a 78.88 % reduction in charging time and a remarkable 348.71 % increase in average charging rate. This research presents novel directions for optimizing the charging performance of horizontal shell-and-tube latent thermal storage exchangers, thereby laying the foundation for the engineering application. The findings hold significant theoretical implications and engineering value.