Study on effect of tank and fin configurations and operating conditions on performance of thermal storage system

Abstract

The low thermal conductivity of phase change materials (PCMs) is a crucial challenge in utilizing latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES) systems. Incorporating fins into LHTES system is an effective approach to overcoming the low thermal conductivity of PCM and enhancing its performance. In the present study, computational fluid dynamics is used to investigate the effects of fin configurations and operating conditions on the performance of a shell-and-tube system assisted by fins. The heat transfer rate and liquid fraction are investigated to evaluate the thermal behavior of the proposed system. The enthalpy–porosity technique is employed to simulate the phase change. The temperature variations over time at different PCM locations are calculated and compared with the measured temperatures. The predicted results show that the fin thickness and the inlet temperature of the heat transfer fluid play a key role in reducing the melting and solidification time. The obtained results indicated that by increasing the fin thickness from 0.5 to 1 mm, the heat transfer rate increased by approximately 17%. Also, increasing the inlet temperature from 60 °C to 65 °C improved the heat transfer rate by 36.2%.