IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/energy/v312y2024ics0360544224031967.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Optimization of a finned multi-tube latent heat storage system using new structure evaluation indexes

Author

Listed:
  • Bie, Yu
  • Tang, Yilian
  • Liu, Weiyi
  • Hnydiuk-Stefan, Anna
  • Gupta, M.K.
  • Królczyk, Jolanta B.
  • Li, Z.

Abstract

The latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES) is one of the most promising ways of storing solar thermal energy. Since the thermal conductivity of phase change materials are low, traditional shell and tube heat exchangers tend to develop dead zones. Therefore, structural optimization is essential, and a finned multi-tube design is recommended. In this work, nineteen structures for a heat storage tank are designed to explore the influence of different specifications of heat exchange tubes and fins on heat storage/release performance. After establishing 3D physical models, ANSYS/Fluent simulation and a two-step optimization for charging and discharging processes were conducted. Among these structures, N3-M3-D10.2 emerged as the most efficient during charging process in terms of reducing the complete melting time by 25 % and increasing the 3-h heat storage volume by 2.95 times; however, it shows low performance during discharging process, especially with a 2.24 times non-uniformity factor. In the four preferred structures, the benefit-to-cost ratio of N3-M3-D10.2 is 48 %–86.6 % higher than that of the others. The results also show that the number of tubes and fins are negatively related to the melting rate, and positively related to the solidification rate. Moreover, the influence of fin diameter is greater than that of fin number and tube diameter on heat transfer rate. The novelty of this work is not only lies in both considering the charging and discharging processes, but also in using dimensionless normalized indexes and different weights based on customers’ actual requirements for optimization.

Suggested Citation

  • Bie, Yu & Tang, Yilian & Liu, Weiyi & Hnydiuk-Stefan, Anna & Gupta, M.K. & Królczyk, Jolanta B. & Li, Z., 2024. "Optimization of a finned multi-tube latent heat storage system using new structure evaluation indexes," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 312(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:312:y:2024:i:c:s0360544224031967
    DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2024.133420
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360544224031967
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.energy.2024.133420?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. Zhang, P. & Xiao, X. & Meng, Z.N. & Li, M., 2015. "Heat transfer characteristics of a molten-salt thermal energy storage unit with and without heat transfer enhancement," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 758-772.
    2. Huang, Xinyu & Li, Fangfei & Guo, Junfei & Li, Yuanji & Du, Rui & Yang, Xiaohu & He, Ya-Ling, 2024. "Design optimization on solidification performance of a rotating latent heat thermal energy storage system subject to fluctuating heat source," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 362(C).
    3. Anish., R & Joybari, Mahmood Mastani & Seddegh, Saeid & Mariappan, V. & Haghighat, Fariborz & Yuan, Yanping, 2021. "Sensitivity analysis of design parameters for erythritol melting in a horizontal shell and multi-finned tube system: Numerical investigation," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 163(C), pages 423-436.
    4. Pizzolato, Alberto & Sharma, Ashesh & Maute, Kurt & Sciacovelli, Adriano & Verda, Vittorio, 2017. "Design of effective fins for fast PCM melting and solidification in shell-and-tube latent heat thermal energy storage through topology optimization," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 208(C), pages 210-227.
    5. Yang, Xiaohu & Guo, Junfei & Yang, Bo & Cheng, Haonan & Wei, Pan & He, Ya-Ling, 2020. "Design of non-uniformly distributed annular fins for a shell-and-tube thermal energy storage unit," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 279(C).
    6. Li, Gang, 2015. "Energy and exergy performance assessments for latent heat thermal energy storage systems," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 926-954.
    7. Esapour, M. & Hosseini, M.J. & Ranjbar, A.A. & Pahamli, Y. & Bahrampoury, R., 2016. "Phase change in multi-tube heat exchangers," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 1017-1025.
    8. Ge, Ruihuan & Li, Qi & Li, Chuan & Liu, Qing, 2022. "Evaluation of different melting performance enhancement structures in a shell-and-tube latent heat thermal energy storage system," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 187(C), pages 829-843.
    9. Kumar, Ashish & Saha, Sandip K., 2021. "Performance study of a novel funnel shaped shell and tube latent heat thermal energy storage system," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 165(P1), pages 731-747.
    10. Xu, Tianhao & Humire, Emma Nyholm & Chiu, Justin Ning-Wei & Sawalha, Samer, 2020. "Numerical thermal performance investigation of a latent heat storage prototype toward effective use in residential heating systems," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 278(C).
    11. Ait Laasri, Imad & Charai, Mouatassim & Mghazli, Mohamed Oualid & Outzourhit, Abdelkader, 2024. "Energy performance assessment of a novel enhanced solar thermal system with topology optimized latent heat thermal energy storage unit for domestic water heating," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 224(C).
    12. Jason Woods & Allison Mahvi & Anurag Goyal & Eric Kozubal & Adewale Odukomaiya & Roderick Jackson, 2021. "Rate capability and Ragone plots for phase change thermal energy storage," Nature Energy, Nature, vol. 6(3), pages 295-302, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Lu, Shilei & Lin, Quanyi & Liu, Yi & Yue, Lu & Wang, Ran, 2022. "Study on thermal performance improvement technology of latent heat thermal energy storage for building heating," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 323(C).
    2. 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.
    3. Hu, Zhipei & Jiang, Shuo & Sun, Zhigao & Li, Jun, 2024. "Numerical simulation of fin arrangements on the melting process of PCM in a rectangular unit," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 220(C).
    4. Jiang, Ruicheng & Qian, Gao & Li, Zhi & Yu, Xiaoli & Lu, Yiji, 2024. "Progress and challenges of latent thermal energy storage through external field-dependent heat transfer enhancement methods," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 304(C).
    5. Modi, Nishant & Wang, Xiaolin & Negnevitsky, Michael, 2023. "Experimental investigation of the effects of inclination, fin height, and perforation on the thermal performance of a longitudinal finned latent heat thermal energy storage," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 274(C).
    6. Huang, Xinyu & Li, Fangfei & Xiao, Tian & Guo, Junfei & Wang, Fan & Gao, Xinyu & Yang, Xiaohu & He, Ya-Ling, 2023. "Investigation and optimization of solidification performance of a triplex-tube latent heat thermal energy storage system by rotational mechanism," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 331(C).
    7. Sardari, Pouyan Talebizadeh & Giddings, Donald & Grant, David & Gillott, Mark & Walker, Gavin S., 2020. "Discharge of a composite metal foam/phase change material to air heat exchanger for a domestic thermal storage unit," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 148(C), pages 987-1001.
    8. Ebrahimi, A. & Hosseini, M.J. & Ranjbar, A.A. & Rahimi, M. & Bahrampoury, R., 2019. "Melting process investigation of phase change materials in a shell and tube heat exchanger enhanced with heat pipe," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 138(C), pages 378-394.
    9. Farqad T. Najim & Sami Kaplan & Hayder I. Mohammed & Anmar Dulaimi & Azher M. Abed & Raed Khalid Ibrahem & Fadhil Abbas Al-Qrimli & Mustafa Z. Mahmoud & Jan Awrejcewicz & Witold Pawłowski, 2022. "Evaluation of Melting Mechanism and Natural Convection Effect in a Triplex Tube Heat Storage System with a Novel Fin Arrangement," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-34, September.
    10. Wang, Jiahao & Liu, Xiaomin & Desideri, Umberto, 2024. "Performance improvement evaluation of latent heat energy storage units using improved bi-objective topology optimization method," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 364(C).
    11. Xinguo Sun & Jasim M. Mahdi & Hayder I. Mohammed & Hasan Sh. Majdi & Wang Zixiong & Pouyan Talebizadehsardari, 2021. "Solidification Enhancement in a Triple-Tube Latent Heat Energy Storage System Using Twisted Fins," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-23, November.
    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. Huang, Ransisi & Mahvi, Allison & James, Nelson & Kozubal, Eric & Woods, Jason, 2024. "Evaluation of phase change thermal storage in a cascade heat pump," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 359(C).
    14. Tang, Yong & Wang, Zhichao & Zhou, Jinzhi & Zeng, Chao & Lyu, Weihua & Lu, Lin & Yuan, Yanping, 2024. "Experimental study on the performance of packed-bed latent thermal energy storage system employing spherical capsules with hollow channels," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 293(C).
    15. Jayathunga, D.S. & Karunathilake, H.P. & Narayana, M. & Witharana, S., 2024. "Phase change material (PCM) candidates for latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES) in concentrated solar power (CSP) based thermal applications - A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 189(PB).
    16. Liu, Sijia & Winter, Michaela & Lewerenz, Meinert & Becker, Jan & Sauer, Dirk Uwe & Ma, Zeyu & Jiang, Jiuchun, 2019. "Analysis of cyclic aging performance of commercial Li4Ti5O12-based batteries at room temperature," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 173(C), pages 1041-1053.
    17. 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).
    18. Nomura, Takahiro & Zhu, Chunyu & Nan, Sheng & Tabuchi, Kazuki & Wang, Shuangfeng & Akiyama, Tomohiro, 2016. "High thermal conductivity phase change composite with a metal-stabilized carbon-fiber network," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 1-6.
    19. Zhao, Yaohua & Liu, Zichu & Quan, Zhenhua & Jing, Heran & Yang, Mingguang, 2022. "Experimental investigation and multi-objective optimization of ice thermal storage device with multichannel flat tube," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 195(C), pages 28-46.
    20. Wang, Zeyu & Diao, Yanhua & Zhao, Yaohua & Chen, Chuanqi & Wang, Tengyue & Liang, Lin, 2023. "Experimental and numerical studies of thermal transport in a latent heat storage unit with a plate fin and a flat heat pipe," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 275(C).

    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:energy:v:312:y:2024:i:c:s0360544224031967. 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.journals.elsevier.com/energy .

    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.