Numerically analysis of a Phase-change Material in concentric double-pipe helical coil with turbulent flow as thermal storage unit in solar water heaters

Abstract

This research investigates a 3-D double-pipe helical coil heat exchanger containing Phase-Change Material (PCM) as a thermal storage system in solar water heaters. A concentric double-pipe follows the helical profile upward and creates a heat storage unit. In the unit, water in turbulent mode flows in the inner pipe as a Heat Transfer Fluid (HTF), and RT-50 is considered PCM placed in the annulus. This heat exchanger with all related conditions is modeled in Ansys Fluent 19 software, and we used the k-ε RNG turbulence model to simulate turbulent flow. For evaluating this novel model of thermal storage unit, the impact of some critical geometrical parameters, like helical pitch, inner and outer pipe diameter, and some flow parameters, such as fluid inlet temperature and Reynolds number, have been analyzed. The most important outcomes of the investigation show that inlet temperature and inner and outer pipe diameter are critical factors for the storage system's design. A 1.5 % change in inlet temperature will enhance the melting rate by 27 %. Also, by increasing the inner pipe diameter by 42 %, the melting process was improved by 92 %, while the outer pipe diameter was inversely related to the melting rate. A 20 % increase in this parameter's value showed a 52 % reduction in the melting. Moreover, the change in the helical pitch could not significantly affect the PCM melting process, and for a 300 % increase in pitch size, the melting process increases only by 0.6 %.