Enhancement of PCM melting in enclosures with horizontally-finned internal surfaces

Constructal design of horizontal fins to improve the performance of phase change material rectangular enclosures

“…Insertion of metal fins [2], metal foam [3], metal powder [4], using nano PCM [5], different configurations of finned tubes [6] and micro-encapsulation of the PCM [7] are included in some of the techniques. [20]. The prediction of analytical correlations which have been derived for the rapid and slow melting regimes, were in good agreement with the numerical model except for the late stages of melting in relatively long fin cases.…”

Influence of the Fin Design on the Melting and Solidification Process of NaNO3 in a Thermal Energy Storage System

“…0.4 up to 0.7 W/(m·K) [13][14][15][16][17][18][19], makes it difficult to utilize this capacity effectively. To enhance the heat transfer into PCMs, various techniques have been suggested, like fins [17,[20][21][22], metal and graphite-compound matrices [23][24][25], dispersed high-conductivity particles inside the PCM [26,27], and micro-encapsulation [28,29].…”

Solar Thermal Energy Storage in Power Generation Using Phase Change Material with Heat Pipes and Fins to Enhance Heat Transfer

“…This limiting characteristic can be circumnavigated by adding heat transfer enhancers to the storage container and embedding the phase change material into it. Different HTE's have been investigated, such as metal foams [11], graphite matrix [12], adding of metal particles, encapsulating the phase change materials and by extending the heat transfer surface of the heat exchangers with fins [13] and short heat pipes [14]. Long heat pipes have also been suggested in thermal storage systems because of high heat transfer rates, and the heat is extracted over a larger distance especially during the critical solidification phase of the phase change material [6][7][8][9].…”