In this study, the energy charging mechanism is mathematically modeled to determine the impact of design modifications on the thermofluidic behavior of a phase change material (PCM) filled in a triplex tube containment geometry. The surface area of the middle tube, where the PCM is placed, is supported by single or multi-internal frustum tubes in vertical triplex tubes to increase the performance of the heating and cooling of the system. In addition to the ordinary straight triplex tubes, three more scenarios are considered: (1) changing the middle tube to the frustum tube, (2) changing the inner tube to the frustum tube, and (3) changing both the internal and central tubes to the frustum tubes. The impact of adopting the tube designs and gap width were studied. The outcomes reveal that the heat storage rates are increased for all frustum tube systems compared to the straight tube system. According to the results, the case of a gap width of 5 mm is the optimal one among the studied cases in terms of the melting time and the heat storage rate. Employing the frustum tube configuration with a 5-mm gap width would save the melting time by 25.6% and increase the rate of heat storage by 32.8% compared to the base case of straight tubes.
This study numerically intends to evaluate the effects of arc-shaped fins on the melting capability of a triplex-tube confinement system filled with phase-change materials (PCMs). In contrast to situations with no fins, where PCM exhibits relatively poor heat response, in this study, the thermal performance is modified using novel arc-shaped fins with various circular angles and orientations compared with traditional rectangular fins. Several inline and staggered layouts are also assessed to maximize the fin’s efficacy. The effect of the nearby natural convection is further investigated by adding a fin to the bottom of the heat-storage domain. Additionally, the Reynolds number and temperature of the heat-transfer fluid (HTF) are e
... Show MoreAbstract
In this paper presents two dimensional turbulent flow of different nanofluids and ribs configuration in a circular tube have been numerically investigation using FLUENT 6.3.26. Two samples of CuO and, ZnO nanoparticles with 2% v/v concentration and 40 nm as nanoparticle diameter combined with trapezoidalribs with aspect ratio of p/d=5.72 in a constant tube surface heat flux were conducted for simulation. The results showed that heat flow as Nusselt number for all cases raises with Reynolds number and volume fraction of nanofluid, likewise the results also reveal that ZnO with volume fractions of 2% in trapezoidal ribs offered highest Nusselt number at Reynolds number of Re= 30000.
Key
... Show MoreThis paper aims to study the effect of circular Y-shaped fin arrangement to improve the low thermal response rates of a double-tube heat exchanger containing Paraffin phase change material (PCM). ANSYS software is employed to perform the computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulations of the heat exchanger, including fluid flow, heat transfer, and the phase change process. The optimum state of the fin configuration is derived through sensitivity analysis by evaluating the geometrical parameters of the Y-shaped fin. For the same height of the fins (10 mm), the solidification time is reduced by almost 22%, and the discharging rate is enhanced by almost 26% using Y-shaped fins compared with the straight fins. The results demonstrate that the sol
... Show More