Solidification enhancement of phase change material in a triplex tube latent heat energy storage unit using longitudinal-parabolic fins

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Ahvaz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Ahvaz, Iran

Abstract

This paper numerically investigates solidification performance improvement of phase change material (PCM) in a triplex tube latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES) unit by introducing an innovative longitudinal-parabolic fin. A numerical model based on the enthalpy-porosity approach is employed to simulate the discharging process. Simulation results reveal that the longitudinal-parabolic fins outperform the conventional straight fins in effectually increasing the phase change performance of LHTES unit. The complete discharging time of triplex tube LHTES unit with the proposed fin reduced up to 38.5% compared to that of the unit with straight fins. The study also investigates the influence of geometric parameters of the designed fin to achieve superior PCM discharging efficiency. Effects of radial pitch and angular pitch of the longitudinal-parabolic fins on energy discharge time are studied through examine various cases under the constant total fins volume. Results infer that the radial pitch of parabolic fins has a moderate impact on solidification time improvement, while the angular pitch has a remarkable impact on reducing energy discharging time. Decreasing the angular pitch from 120 to 60 reduces the solidification time by 52.3%. The maximum of saving discharge time for the most efficient fin design is 61.8% in comparison with straight fins.

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AUT Journal of Mechanical Engineering
Volume 9, Issue 1
In Progress
January 2025
Pages 5-5

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