Intensifying the Charging Response of a Phase-Change Material with Twisted Fin Arrays in a Shell-And-Tube Storage System

Abstract

A twisted-fin array as an innovative structure for intensifying the charging response of a phase-change material (PCM) within a shell-and-tube storage system is introduced in this work. A three-dimensional model describing the thermal management with charging phase change process in PCM was developed and numerically analyzed by the enthalpy-porosity method using commercial CFD software. Efficacy of the proposed structure of fins for performing better heat communication between the active heating surface and the adjacent layers of PCM was verified via comparing with conventional longitudinal fins within the same design limitations of fin material and volume usage. Optimization of the fin geometric parameters including the pitch, number, thickness, and the height of the twisted fins for superior performance of the proposed fin structure, was also introduced via the Taguchi method. The results show that a faster charging rate, higher storage rate, and better uniformity in temperature distribution could be achieved in the PCMs with Twisted fins. Based on the design of twisted fins, it was found that the energy charging time could be reduced by up to 42%, and the energy storage rate could be enhanced up to 63% compared to the reference case of straight longitudinal fins within the same PCM mass limitations.

Solidification Enhancement in a Triple-Tube Latent Heat Energy Storage System Using Twisted Fins

“…Latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES) could consider as a passive heat control measure for related thermal applications [7,8]. The phase change material (PCM) based in the LHTES can hold the temperature at a constant value by releasing or absorbing heat during the phase change process [9][10][11]. The simple structure, high and constant performance, and no extra power spending, make the LHTES appropriate for space application [12,13].…”

“…There are limited studies in the literature on the use of twisted-fins array in latent heat storage systems. Ghalambaz et al [9,55] studied the twisted-fin array as an advanced form for increasing the phase change rate of the PCM in the shell-and-tube unit during the melting process. They stated that in a double-tube heat exchanger after optimising the geometrical parameters of the fin [9], the use of five twisted fins array improves the melting rate by 42% and the storage rate by 63% compared with the case with straight longitudinal fins using similar geometrical parameters.…”

“…Ghalambaz et al [9,55] studied the twisted-fin array as an advanced form for increasing the phase change rate of the PCM in the shell-and-tube unit during the melting process. They stated that in a double-tube heat exchanger after optimising the geometrical parameters of the fin [9], the use of five twisted fins array improves the melting rate by 42% and the storage rate by 63% compared with the case with straight longitudinal fins using similar geometrical parameters. In a triple-tube heat exchanger, they showed that the use of four twisted fins reduced the melting time and melting rate by 18% and 25%, respectively, compared with the cases of using the same number of straight fins and no-fins considering a similar PCM mass.…”

Investigation of Heat Transfer Enhancement in a Triple Tube Latent Heat Storage System Using Circular Fins with Inline and Staggered Arrangements

“…From a design perspective, the selection of adequate PCM casing and the incorporation of the proper mass/volume of the enhancement material are two crucial steps for overcoming issues of low PCM-to-demand responding rates. The high conductivity nanoparticles [26,27], extended fins [28][29][30][31][32][33][34] and porous matrices [35][36][37][38][39] are among the most famous enhancement materials. Applying fins to increase the heat-transfer area in charge is considered the most traditional technique for improving the thermal response in energy systems.…”

Natural Convection Effect on Solidification Enhancement in a Multi-Tube Latent Heat Storage System: Effect of Tubes’ Arrangement

“…Therefore, several thermal efficiency improvement methods have been developed and applied to improve the heat transfer rate in the system [13,14]. These methods include adding fins and extended surfaces [15,16], modifying the geometry [17][18][19][20], porous media [21][22][23][24], heat tubes [25][26][27][28], composing thermally high conducting particles [29,30], multiple PCMs [31,32], nanoparticles [33,34], and using the combinations of different methods [35][36][37]. To enhance the natural convection in the system, multi-HTF tubes could be used, which is also valuable regarding the weight and cost of the design [38,39].…”