Numerical investigation and optimal design of partially filled sectorial metal foam configuration in horizontal latent heat storage unit

Abstract

A numerical model of a horizontal shell-and-tube latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES) unit partially filled with sectorial metal foam (MF) was established and validated. Different filling angles (θ = 60°–210°) and thicknesses (l = 7/12–11/12 lo) of the metal foam configuration were simulated to investigate their effects on the melting performance. The results illustrate that the enhancement of the melting rate caused through increasing the filling angle will rapidly slow down when the filling angle increases from 150° to 210°. Increasing the thickness of the configuration deteriorates cost performance, but the excessive reduction on the thickness conversely restricts the melting rate enhancement when increasing the filling angle. The optimal case with a ladder shape design can reduce the full melting time by 45.9 % compared with the case without metal foam. This indicates that the amount of metal foam using in the ladder shape design can be reduced by 16.8 % compared with that of the benchmark design. Therefore, the ladder shape design is a more economical strategy for the partially filled metal foam configuration in the latent heat storage unit.