Experimental study of melting and solidification of PCM in a triplex tube heat exchanger with fins

Numerical investigation of heat transfer mechanism in a vertical shell and tube latent heat energy storage system

“…With this assumption, the two processes are the same in all essential features. However, available experiments [6,10,13] have demonstrated that natural convection also plays an important role, and differences occur during melting and solidification, thereby making the two processes highly distinct. The effect of natural convection on constrained melting of PCM within spherical containers has been conducted numerically [15] and experimentally [16].…”

“…Many studies have been conducted across a range of heat exchanger configurations: plate type heat exchangers containing PCM, small diameter tubes, double pipe, tube in tube, compact, spiral, helical coil, shell and tube heat exchanger [4][5][6][7]. Recently, triplex tube heat exchanger (TTHX) with PCM in centre tube has been proposed to provide a larger heat transfer area and improve the heat transfer rate inside the LHTES [8][9][10]. Also, various heat enhancement techniques using methods such as surface extension, encapsulated PCMs, multiple PCMs, and the use of thermal conductivity enhancement [11][12][13] have been applied in the latent heat storage system.…”

Numerical Simulation and Optimization of the Melting Process of Phase Change Material inside Horizontal Annulus

“…Most noticeable is the recent trend of the shell-and-tube LHS unit being integrated into solar thermal power systems, as seen in the applications studied by Li et al [4] and Tehrani et al [5]. Consequently, the shell-and-tube type LHS unit was the subject of a number of analytical [6][7][8][9], experimental [10][11][12][13], and numerical [14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22] studies, which focused mostly on performance enhancements at the charging/discharging-stage of the unit.…”

“…Al-Abidi et al [10] and Rathod and Banerjee [12] experimentally investigated the effect of added fins to the shell-and-tube type LHS unit and found that appropriate usage of fins had a positive impact. Yazici et al [11] studied solidification in a horizontal shell-and-tube type LHS unit and found that eccentricity in the direction that strengthens natural convection accelerated solidification.…”

Modelling of latent thermal energy storage systems

“…To do that these materials use latent heat in the storing process, so PCMs store heat with higher density and release it, when it is necessary. The biggest advantage of these materials is storing huge amount of heat energy with low temperature difference, saving energy and space [1][2][3].…”