Research on the energy discharging performance of Y-shaped fin

Abstract

Y-shaped fin can break through the limitation of heat transfer lag and have great potential in improving the heat storage performance of the latent heat storage (LHS). In this paper, the transient solidification model of Y-shaped fin heat exchanger is established and numerically simulated. The transient temperature curves, liquid fraction, temperature response characteristics, and temperature gradient changes of Y-shaped fin and straight fin were compared. The results show that the Y-shaped fin improves the overall temperature response speed and makes the temperature distribution more uniform. The influence of fin size on solidification was discussed in a longer range of width ratio and length ratio, and the influence of changing branch angle on solidification was considered. Combined with the Response Surface Method (RSM), the fin structure was optimized. The results show that the width ratio has the greatest impact on solidification. When space permits, the smaller the width ratio, the shorter the solidification time. For the model in this paper, the optimal value is 1/3. The length ratio and branching angle have little effect on solidification process. With the increase of them, the solidification time decreases first and then increases, so there is an optimal value. It is recommended that the optimal length ratio is 1.59 and the optimal branching angle is 64.49°. The solidification time corresponding to the optimized structure is saved 71.5% compared with the straight fin and 44.1% compared with the initial shape.