Inherent fluctuations in the availability of energy from renewables, particularly solar, remain a substantial impediment to their widespread deployment worldwide. Employing phase-change materials (PCMs) as media, saving energy for later consumption, offers a promising solution for overcoming the problem. However, the heat conductivities of most PCMs are limited, which severely limits the energy storage potential of these materials. This study suggests employing circular fins with staggered distribution to achieve improved thermal response rates of PCM in a vertical triple-tube heat exchanger involving two opposite flow streams of the heat-transfer fluid (HTF). Since heat diffusion is not the same at various portions of the PCM unit, different fin configurations, fin dimensions and HTF flow boundary conditions were explored using computational studies of melting in the PCM triple-tube system. Staggered configuration of fin distribution resulted in significant increases in the rates of PCM melting. The results indicate that the melting rate and heat charging rate could be increased by 37.2 and 59.1%, respectively, in the case of staggered distribution. Furthermore, the use of lengthy fins with smaller thickness in the vertical direction of the storage unit resulted in a better positive role of natural convection; thus, faster melting rates were achieved. With fin dimensions of 0.666 mm × 15 mm, the melting rate was found to be increased by 23.6%, when compared to the base case of 2 mm × 5 mm. Finally, it was confirmed that the values of the Reynolds number and inlet temperatures of the HTF had a significant impact on melting time savings when circular fins of staggered distribution were included.
This paper reports an experimental study regarding the influence of vertical oscillations on the natural convection heat transfer from a vertical channel. An experimental set-up was constructed and calibrated; the vertical channel was tested in atmosphere at 25o
C. The channel-to-ambient temperature difference was varied with the power supply to the electrical heater ranging between
15W to 70W divided into five levels. Data sets were measured under different operating condition from a test rig under six vibrating velocities (VVs) levels ranging from (5-30 m/s) in addition to the stationary state. The results show that the maximum heat transfer enhancement factor (E) occurs at Rayleigh number (Ra=2.328×103 ) and vibrational Reynol
Theoretical and experimental investigations of free convection through a cubic cavity with sinusoidal heat flux at bottom wall, the top wall is exposed to an outside ambient while the other walls are adiabatic saturated in porous medium had been approved in the present work. The range of Rayleigh number was and Darcy number values were . The theoretical part involved a numerical solution while the experimental part included a set of tests carried out to study the free convection heat transfer in a porous media (glass beads) for sinusoidal heat flux boundary condition. The investigation enclosed values of Rayleigh number (5845.6, 8801, 9456, 15034, 19188 and 22148) and angles of inclinations (0, 15, 30, 45 and 60 degree). The numerical an
... Show MoreExperimental study of heat transfer coefficients in air-liquid-solid fluidized beds were carried out by measuring the heat rate and the overall temperature differences across the heater at different operating conditions. The experiments were carried out in Q.V.F. glass column of 0.22 m inside diameter and 2.25 m height with an axially mounted cylindrical heater of 0.0367 m diameter and 0.5 m height. The fluidizing media were water as a continuous phase and air as a dispersed phase. Low density (Ploymethyl-methacrylate, 3.17 mm size) and high density (Glass beads, 2.31 mm size) particles were used as solid phase. The bed temperature profiles were measured axially and radially in the bed for different positions. Thermocouples were connecte
... Show MoreThe unsteady state laminar mixed convection and radiation through inclined
cylindrical annulus is investigated numerically. The two heat transfer mechanisms of
convection and radiation are treated independently and simultaneously. The outer
cylinder was kept at a constant temperature while the inner cylinder was heated with
constant heat flux. The study involved numerical solution of the governing equations
which are continuity, momentum and energy equations using finite difference method
(FDM), where the body fitted coordinate system (BFC) was used to generate the grid
mesh for computational plane. A computer program (Fortran 90) was built to calculate
the bulk Nusselt number (Nub) after reaching steady state con
In this numerical study a detailed evaluation of the heat transfer characteristics and flow structure in a laminar and turbulent flow through a rectangular channel containing built-in of different type vortex generator has been a accomplished in a range of Reynolds number between 500 and 100,000.A modified version of ESCEAT code has been used to solve Navier-Stokes and energy equations. The purpose of this paper is to present numerical comparisons in terms of temperature, Nusselt number and flow patterns on several configurations of longitudinal vortex generator including new five cases. The structures of heat and flow were studied, using iso-contours of velocity components, vortices, temperature and Nusselt n
... Show More The purpose of this research is to investigate the effects of rotation on heat transfer using
inclination magnetohydrodynamics for a couple-stress fluid in a non-uniform canal. When the
Reynolds number is low and the wavelength is long, math formulas are used to describe the stream
function, as well as the gradient of pressure, temperature, pressure rise and axial velocity per
wavelength, which have been calculated analytically. The many parameters in the current model
are assigned a definite set of values. It has been noticed that both the pressure rise and the pressure
gradient decrease with the rise of the rotation and couple stress, while they increase with an
increase in viscosity and Hartmann nu
Many researchers used different methods in their investigations to enhance the heat transfer coefficient, one of these methods is using porous medium. Heat transfer process inside closed and open cavities filled with a fluid-saturated porous media has a considerable importance in different engineering applications, such as compact heat exchangers, nuclear reactors and solar collectors. So, the present paper comprises a review on natural, forced, and combined convection heat transfer inside a porous cavity with and without driven lid. Most of the researchers on this specific subject studied the effect of many parameters on the heat transfer and fluid field inside a porous cavity, like the angle of inclination, the presenc
... Show MoreRecently the use of nanofluids represents very important materials. They are used in different branches like medicine, engineering, power, heat transfer, etc. The stability of nanofluids is an important factor to improve the performance of nanofluids with good results. In this research two types of nanoparticles, TiO2 (titanium oxide) and γ-Al2O3 (gamma aluminum oxide) were used with base fluid water. Two-step method were used to prepare the nanofluids. One concentration 0.003 vol. %, the nanoparticles were examined. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were used to accomplish these tests. The stability of the two types of nanofluids is measured by
... Show More