IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/appene/v235y2019icp1027-1040.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Numerical investigation of melting in a cavity with vertically oriented fins

Author

Listed:
  • Abdi, Amir
  • Martin, Viktoria
  • Chiu, Justin N.W.

Abstract

This paper investigates the effect of vertical fins, as an enhancement technique, on the heat transfer rate and energy density of a latent heat thermal energy storage system. This contributes with knowledge on the interaction of heat transfer surface with the storage material for optimizing storage capacity (energy) and power (heat transfer rate). For the assessment, numerical modeling is employed to study the melting process in a two-dimensional rectangular cavity. The cavity is considered heated isothermally from the bottom with surface temperatures of 55 ˚C, 60 ˚C or 70 ˚C, while the other surfaces are insulated from the surrounding. Aluminum and lauric acid are considered as fin/enclosure material and phase change material, respectively. Vertical fins attached to the bottom surface are employed to enhance the charging rate, and a parametric study is carried out by varying the fin length and number of fins. Thus, a broad range of data is provided to analyze the influence of fin configurations on contributing natural convection patterns, as well as the effects on melting time, enhanced heat transfer rate and accumulated energy. The results show that in addition to increasing the heat transfer surface area, the installation of vertically oriented fins does not suppress the natural convection mechanism. This is as opposed to horizontal fins which in previous studies have shown tendencies to reduce the impact of natural convection. This paper also highlights how using longer fins offers a higher rate of heat transfer and a better overall heat transfer coefficient rather than increasing the number of fins. Also, fins do not only enhance the heat transfer performance in the corresponding melting time, but also maintain similar total amount of stored energy as compared to the no-fin case. This paper discusses how this is the result of the enhanced heat transfer allowing a larger portion of sensible heat to be recovered. For example, in the case with long fins, the relative mean power enhancement is about 200% with merely 6% capacity reduction, even though the amount of PCM in the cavity has been reduced by 12% as compared to the no-fin case. Although the basis for these results stems from the principles of thermodynamics, this paper is bringing it forward with design consideration. This is because despite its importance for making appropriate comparisons among heat transfer enhancement techniques in latent heat thermal energy storage, it has not been previously discussed in the literature. In the end, the aim is to accomplish robust storage systems in terms of power and energy density.

Suggested Citation

  • Abdi, Amir & Martin, Viktoria & Chiu, Justin N.W., 2019. "Numerical investigation of melting in a cavity with vertically oriented fins," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 235(C), pages 1027-1040.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:235:y:2019:i:c:p:1027-1040
    DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2018.11.025
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S030626191831732X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.apenergy.2018.11.025?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Agyenim, Francis & Eames, Philip & Smyth, Mervyn, 2010. "Heat transfer enhancement in medium temperature thermal energy storage system using a multitube heat transfer array," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 35(1), pages 198-207.
    2. Parsazadeh, Mohammad & Duan, Xili, 2018. "Numerical study on the effects of fins and nanoparticles in a shell and tube phase change thermal energy storage unit," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 216(C), pages 142-156.
    3. Yang, Xiaohu & Lu, Zhao & Bai, Qingsong & Zhang, Qunli & Jin, Liwen & Yan, Jinyue, 2017. "Thermal performance of a shell-and-tube latent heat thermal energy storage unit: Role of annular fins," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 202(C), pages 558-570.
    4. Medrano, M. & Yilmaz, M.O. & Nogués, M. & Martorell, I. & Roca, Joan & Cabeza, Luisa F., 2009. "Experimental evaluation of commercial heat exchangers for use as PCM thermal storage systems," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 86(10), pages 2047-2055, October.
    5. Abujas, Carlos R. & Jové, Aleix & Prieto, Cristina & Gallas, Manuel & Cabeza, Luisa F., 2016. "Performance comparison of a group of thermal conductivity enhancement methodology in phase change material for thermal storage application," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 434-443.
    6. Xu, Yang & Ren, Qinlong & Zheng, Zhang-Jing & He, Ya-Ling, 2017. "Evaluation and optimization of melting performance for a latent heat thermal energy storage unit partially filled with porous media," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 193(C), pages 84-95.
    7. Chiu, Justin N.W. & Martin, Viktoria, 2012. "Submerged finned heat exchanger latent heat storage design and its experimental verification," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 507-516.
    8. Longeon, Martin & Soupart, Adèle & Fourmigué, Jean-François & Bruch, Arnaud & Marty, Philippe, 2013. "Experimental and numerical study of annular PCM storage in the presence of natural convection," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 175-184.
    9. Zhang, P. & Meng, Z.N. & Zhu, H. & Wang, Y.L. & Peng, S.P., 2017. "Melting heat transfer characteristics of a composite phase change material fabricated by paraffin and metal foam," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 185(P2), pages 1971-1983.
    10. Zheng, Zhang-Jing & Xu, Yang & Li, Ming-Jia, 2018. "Eccentricity optimization of a horizontal shell-and-tube latent-heat thermal energy storage unit based on melting and melting-solidifying performance," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 220(C), pages 447-454.
    11. Fornarelli, F. & Camporeale, S.M. & Fortunato, B. & Torresi, M. & Oresta, P. & Magliocchetti, L. & Miliozzi, A. & Santo, G., 2016. "CFD analysis of melting process in a shell-and-tube latent heat storage for concentrated solar power plants," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 164(C), pages 711-722.
    12. Merlin, Kevin & Delaunay, Didier & Soto, Jérôme & Traonvouez, Luc, 2016. "Heat transfer enhancement in latent heat thermal storage systems: Comparative study of different solutions and thermal contact investigation between the exchanger and the PCM," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 166(C), pages 107-116.
    13. Tao, Y.B. & He, Y.L., 2015. "Effects of natural convection on latent heat storage performance of salt in a horizontal concentric tube," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 143(C), pages 38-46.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Mao, Qianjun & Zhu, Yuanyuan & Li, Tao, 2023. "Study on heat storage performance of a novel bifurcated finned shell-tube heat storage tank," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 263(PA).
    2. Nakhchi, M.E. & Hatami, M. & Rahmati, M., 2021. "A numerical study on the effects of nanoparticles and stair fins on performance improvement of phase change thermal energy storages," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 215(PA).
    3. Fang, Y. & Qu, Z.G. & Zhang, J.F. & Xu, H.T. & Qi, G.L., 2020. "Simultaneous charging and discharging performance for a latent thermal energy storage system with a microencapsulated phase change material," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 275(C).
    4. Bin Huang & Lin-Li Tian & Qing-Hua Yu & Xun Liu & Zu-Guo Shen, 2021. "Numerical Analysis of Melting Process in a Rectangular Enclosure with Different Fin Locations," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-17, July.
    5. Li, Tao & Zhu, Yuanyuan & Hu, Xinlei & Mao, Qianjun, 2023. "Numerical investigation of the influence of unsteady inlet temperature on heat storage performance of a novel bifurcated finned shell-tube heat storage tank," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 280(C).
    6. Madhankumar, S. & Viswanathan, Karthickeyan, 2022. "Computational and experimental study of a novel corrugated-type absorber plate solar collector with thermal energy storage moisture removal device," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 324(C).
    7. Hong, Yuxiang & Cheng, Zihao & Li, Qing & Du, Juan, 2024. "Energy storage, thermal-hydraulic, and thermodynamic characteristics of a latent thermal energy storage system with 180-degree bifurcated fractal fins," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 297(C).
    8. Safari, Vahid & Kamkari, Babak & Hooman, Kamel & Khodadadi, J.M., 2022. "Sensitivity analysis of design parameters for melting process of lauric acid in the vertically and horizontally oriented rectangular thermal storage units," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 255(C).
    9. Jana Shafi & Mikhail Sheremet & Mehdi Fteiti & Abdulkafi Mohammed Saeed & Mohammad Ghalambaz, 2023. "Computational Study of Phase Change Heat Transfer and Latent Heat Energy Storage for Thermal Management of Electronic Components Using Neural Networks," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-20, January.
    10. Mehdi Ghalambaz & Hani Abulkhair & Obai Younis & Mehdi Fteiti & Ali J. Chamkha & Iqbal Ahmed Moujdin & Abdulmohsen Omar Alsaiari, 2022. "Low-Temperature Industrial Waste Heat (IWH) Recovery Using a New Design for Fast-Charging Thermal Energy Storage Units," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-19, December.
    11. Zhao, Chunrong & Wang, Jianyong & Sun, Yubiao & He, Suoying & Hooman, Kamel, 2022. "Fin design optimization to enhance PCM melting rate inside a rectangular enclosure," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 321(C).
    12. Zhang, Ji & Cao, Zhi & Huang, Sheng & Huang, Xiaohui & Liang, Kun & Yang, Yan & Zhang, Haoran & Tian, Mi & Akrami, Mohammad & Wen, Chuang, 2022. "Improving the melting performance of phase change materials using novel fins and nanoparticles in tubular energy storage systems," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 322(C).
    13. Dai, Renkun & Li, Wei & Mostaghimi, Javad & Wang, Qiuwang & Zeng, Min, 2020. "On the optimal heat source location of partially heated energy storage process using the newly developed simplified enthalpy based lattice Boltzmann method," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 275(C).
    14. Ewelina Radomska & Lukasz Mika & Karol Sztekler & Lukasz Lis, 2020. "The Impact of Heat Exchangers’ Constructions on the Melting and Solidification Time of Phase Change Materials," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(18), pages 1-44, September.
    15. Sardar Bilal & Maryam Rehman & Samad Noeiaghdam & Hijaz Ahmad & Ali Akgül, 2021. "Numerical Analysis of Natural Convection Driven Flow of a Non-Newtonian Power-Law Fluid in a Trapezoidal Enclosure with a U-Shaped Constructal," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-17, August.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Liu, Yang & Zheng, Ruowei & Li, Ji, 2022. "High latent heat phase change materials (PCMs) with low melting temperature for thermal management and storage of electronic devices and power batteries: Critical review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    2. Kirincic, Mateo & Trp, Anica & Lenic, Kristian, 2021. "Influence of natural convection during melting and solidification of paraffin in a longitudinally finned shell-and-tube latent thermal energy storage on the applicability of developed numerical models," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 1329-1344.
    3. Guo, Junfei & Liu, Zhan & Du, Zhao & Yu, Jiabang & Yang, Xiaohu & Yan, Jinyue, 2021. "Effect of fin-metal foam structure on thermal energy storage: An experimental study," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 172(C), pages 57-70.
    4. Shahsavar, Amin & Al-Rashed, Abdullah A.A.A. & Entezari, Sajad & Sardari, Pouyan Talebizadeh, 2019. "Melting and solidification characteristics of a double-pipe latent heat storage system with sinusoidal wavy channels embedded in a porous medium," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 171(C), pages 751-769.
    5. Kasper, Lukas & Pernsteiner, Dominik & Schirrer, Alexander & Jakubek, Stefan & Hofmann, René, 2023. "Experimental characterization, parameter identification and numerical sensitivity analysis of a novel hybrid sensible/latent thermal energy storage prototype for industrial retrofit applications," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 344(C).
    6. Mostafavi Tehrani, S. Saeed & Shoraka, Yashar & Diarce, Gonzalo & Taylor, Robert A., 2019. "An improved, generalized effective thermal conductivity method for rapid design of high temperature shell-and-tube latent heat thermal energy storage systems," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 694-708.
    7. Merlin, Kevin & Soto, Jérôme & Delaunay, Didier & Traonvouez, Luc, 2016. "Industrial waste heat recovery using an enhanced conductivity latent heat thermal energy storage," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 183(C), pages 491-503.
    8. Zhang, Chengbin & Li, Jie & Chen, Yongping, 2020. "Improving the energy discharging performance of a latent heat storage (LHS) unit using fractal-tree-shaped fins," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 259(C).
    9. Janusz T. Cieśliński & Maciej Fabrykiewicz, 2023. "Thermal Energy Storage with PCMs in Shell-and-Tube Units: A Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(2), pages 1-35, January.
    10. Zheng, Zhang-Jing & Yang, Chao & Xu, Yang & Cai, Xiao, 2021. "Effect of metal foam with two-dimensional porosity gradient on melting behavior in a rectangular cavity," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 172(C), pages 802-815.
    11. Zheng, Zhang-Jing & Cai, Xiao & Yang, Chao & Xu, Yang, 2022. "Improving the solidification performance of a latent heat thermal energy storage unit using arrow-shaped fins obtained by an innovative fast optimization algorithm," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 195(C), pages 566-577.
    12. Xu, Yang & Li, Ming-Jia & Zheng, Zhang-Jing & Xue, Xiao-Dai, 2018. "Melting performance enhancement of phase change material by a limited amount of metal foam: Configurational optimization and economic assessment," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 212(C), pages 868-880.
    13. Zhanjun Guo & Wu Zhou & Sen Liu & Zhangyang Kang & Rufei Tan, 2023. "Effects of Geometric Parameters and Heat-Transfer Fluid Injection Direction on Enhanced Phase-Change Energy Storage in Vertical Shell-and-Tube System," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(17), pages 1-21, August.
    14. Sardari, Pouyan Talebizadeh & Mohammed, Hayder I. & Giddings, Donald & walker, Gavin S. & Gillott, Mark & Grant, David, 2019. "Numerical study of a multiple-segment metal foam-PCM latent heat storage unit: Effect of porosity, pore density and location of heat source," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 189(C).
    15. Zhangyang Kang & Wu Zhou & Kaijie Qiu & Chaojie Wang & Zhaolong Qin & Bingyang Zhang & Qiongqiong Yao, 2023. "Numerical Simulation of an Indirect Contact Mobilized Thermal Energy Storage Container with Different Tube Bundle Layout and Fin Structure," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-13, March.
    16. Zhang, Shuai & Li, Ying & Yan, Yuying, 2024. "Hybrid sensible-latent heat thermal energy storage using natural stones to enhance heat transfer: Energy, exergy, and economic analysis," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 286(C).
    17. Longeon, Martin & Soupart, Adèle & Fourmigué, Jean-François & Bruch, Arnaud & Marty, Philippe, 2013. "Experimental and numerical study of annular PCM storage in the presence of natural convection," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 175-184.
    18. Choi, Sung Ho & Sohn, Dong Kee & Ko, Han Seo, 2021. "Performance enhancement of latent heat thermal energy storage by bubble-driven flow," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 302(C).
    19. Yang, Xiaohu & Yu, Jiabang & Xiao, Tian & Hu, Zehuan & He, Ya-Ling, 2020. "Design and operating evaluation of a finned shell-and-tube thermal energy storage unit filled with metal foam," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 261(C).
    20. Hou, Yujie & Chen, Hua & Liu, Xiuli, 2022. "Experimental study on the effect of partial filling of copper foam on heat storage of paraffin-based PCM," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 192(C), pages 561-571.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:235:y:2019:i:c:p:1027-1040. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/405891/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.