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Numerical Study of Heat Transfer Enhancement by Arc-Shaped Fins in a Shell-Tube Thermal Energy Storage Unit

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  • Qicheng Chen

    (School of Energy and Power Engineering, Northeast Electric Power University, Jilin 132012, China)

  • Junting Wu

    (School of Energy and Power Engineering, Northeast Electric Power University, Jilin 132012, China)

  • Kanglong Sun

    (School of Energy and Power Engineering, Northeast Electric Power University, Jilin 132012, China)

  • Yingjin Zhang

    (School of Automation Engineering, Northeast Electric Power University, Jilin 132012, China)

Abstract

Latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES) technology can alleviate the mismatch between the supply and demand of solar energy and industrial waste heat, but the low thermal conductivity of phase change materials (PCMs) is an issue that needs to be solved. In this work, the effects of the bifurcated fins on melting and solidification are studied, and local and global entropy generation are discussed. The radial lag time and the circumferential lag time were defined to evaluate thermal penetration and thermal uniformity. Subsequently, a novel arc-shaped fin configuration was proposed to further enhance the heat transfer. The results showed that attaching the bifurcated fins could effectively reduce the global entropy generation. Increasing the trunk fin length was beneficial to enhance the thermal uniformity and promote the melting process, while increasing the branch fin was more effective in the solidification process. Overall, thermal uniformity determined the phase change process. More importantly, the concentric arc-shaped fins significantly reduced the heat transfer hysteresis region, showed better thermal performance than straights fins, and the energy storage and release time were reduced by 52.7% and 51.6%, respectively.

Suggested Citation

  • Qicheng Chen & Junting Wu & Kanglong Sun & Yingjin Zhang, 2022. "Numerical Study of Heat Transfer Enhancement by Arc-Shaped Fins in a Shell-Tube Thermal Energy Storage Unit," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(20), pages 1-23, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:15:y:2022:i:20:p:7799-:d:949729
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Jesus Fernando Hinojosa & Saul Fernando Moreno & Victor Manuel Maytorena, 2023. "Low-Temperature Applications of Phase Change Materials for Energy Storage: A Descriptive Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(7), pages 1-39, March.
    2. Martin Beer & Dušan Kudelas & Radim Rybár, 2022. "A Numerical Analysis of the Thermal Energy Storage Based on Porous Gyroid Structure Filled with Sodium Acetate Trihydrate," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(1), pages 1-17, December.
    3. Yang Xu & Hang Yin & Chen He & Yong Wei & Ming Cui & Zhang-Jing Zheng, 2022. "Structure Optimization of Longitudinal Rectangular Fins to Improve the Melting Performance of Phase Change Materials through Genetic Algorithm," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(24), pages 1-21, December.

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