Phase change material (PCM) is considered as one of the most effective thermal energy storage (TES) systems to balance energy supply and demand. A key challenge in designing efficient PCM-based TES systems lies in the enhancement of heat transmission during phase transition. This study numerically examines the privilege of employing twisted-fin arrays inside a shell-and-tube latent heat storage unit to improve the solidification performance. The presence of twisted fins contributes to the dominating role of heat conduction by their curved shapes, which restricts the role of natural convection but largely aids the overall heat-transfer process during solidification. The heat-discharge rate of twisted-fin configuration is increased by ∼14 and ∼55% compared to straight fin and no fin configurations—leading to a reduction in the solidification duration by ∼13 and ∼35%, respectively. The solidification front at various times has also been assessed through a detailed parametric study over the fin height, fin pitch number, and fin thickness. Over the range of values assumed, the fin height is the most dominant parameter – increasing the heat-retrieval rate from 10.0 to 11.4 W and decreasing the discharge time from above 3600 to 2880 s by varying the fin height from 2.5 to 7.5 mm.
Phase change materials are extensively studied for use in low-, mid-, and high-temperature applications due to their melting and solidification temperatures, latent heat, and thermophysical properties. This work aims to explore the energy stored, or released and their duration for the energy storage unit formed of a phase change material surrounding a tube within which a hot or cold, single or Two-Phase fluid flows, serving as a heat source or sink. The 3D axial transient thermal analysis of the energy storage unit is performed using the finite element method via a MATLAB-developed computer program. The effects of single- or Two-Phase fluid flow on temperature distribution, solidification, melting duration, and energy stored within phase ch
... Show MoreAlmost all thermal systems utilize some type of heat exchanger. In a lot of cases, evaporators are important for systems like organic Rankine cycle systems. Evaporators give a share in a large portion of the capital cost, and their cost is significantly attached to their size or transfer area. Open-cell metal foams with high porosity are taken into consideration to enhance thermal performance without increase the size of heat exchangers. Numerous researchers have tried to find a representation of the temperature distribution closer to reality due to the different properties between the liquid and solid phases. Evaporation heat transfer in an annular pipe of double pipe heat exchanger (DPHEX) filled with cooper foam is investigated numerical
... Show MoreA theoretical and experimental investigation was carried out to study the behavior of a two-phase closed thermosyphon loop (TPCTL) during steady-state operation using different working fluids. Three working fluids were investigated, i.e., distilled water, methanol, and ethanol. The TPCTL was constructed from an evaporator, condenser, and two pipelines (riser and downcomer). The driving force is the difference in pressure between the evaporator and condenser sections and the fluid returns to the heating section by gravity. In this study, the significant parameters used in the experiments were filling ratios (FR%) of 50%, 75%, and 100% and heat-input range at the evaporator section of 215-860.2 W. When the loop reached to
... Show MoreA recent study compared experimentally the hydraulic and thermal activity of twisted tape inserts for two types, metal foam twisted tape (MFTT) and traditional twisted tape (TTT), in a double pipe heat exchanger. The investigation goal of the innovatively designed MFTT is to enhance the heat transfer process, which provides a higher thermal enhancement factor over those of TTT under the same conditions. Heat transfer activity in terms of Nusselt number (
In this paper, an experimental study was conducted to enhance the thermal performance of a double-pass solar air heater (SAH) using phase change material (PCM) for thermal storage at climatic conditions of Baghdad city - Iraq. The double-pass solar air heater integrated with thermal storage system was manufactured and tested to ensure that the air heating reserved after the absence of the sun. The rectangular cavity filled with paraffin wax was used as a latent heat storage and incorporated into the lower channel of solar air heater. Experiments were carried out to evaluate the charging and discharging characteristics of two similar designed solar air collectors with and without using phase change material at a constant
... Show MoreNumerical investigation has been carried out on heat transfer and friction factor characteristics of copper-water nanofluid flow in a constant heat-fluxed tube with the existence of new configuration of vortex generator using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulation. Two types of swirl flow generator: Classical twisted tape (CTT) and Parabolic-cut twisted tape (PCT) with a different twist ratio (= 2.93, 3.91 and 4.89) and different cut depth (= 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 cm) with 2% and 4% volume concentration
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