Comparison of pinned and finned tubes in a phase change thermal energy storage system using CFD

Tay, N.H.S.; Bruno, Frank; Belusko, Martin

doi:10.1016/j.apenergy.2012.10.040

Cited by 166 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…They concluded that the CFD model developed can accurately predict the behavior of the thermal storage system during charging and discharging. Also Tay et al [4] conducted experimental validation for a CFD model for tubes coiled in a phase change thermal energy storage system during solidification. They used three CFD model; first having pins embedded on a tube with HTF flowing in it and a PCM surrounding the tube.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Analysis of the effect of eccentricity and operational parameters in PCM-filled single-pass shell and tube heat exchangers

et al. 2016

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a b s t r a c tIn the present study, melting behavior of RT50 as a phase change material in a shell and tube heat exchanger is considered. Therefore the effects of parameters including a geometrical property (eccentricity) and flow specifications (mass flow rate and inlet temperature of heat transfer fluid) on different decisive parameters of the PCM are investigated. The selected parameters which are critical for every storage systems are liquid fraction, melting time and thermal storage performance. Enthalpy porosity method is used for the modeling of phase change process and pure conduction and natural convection are considered in the simulation. The differential governing equations are solve using SIMPLE algorithm in which momentum and energy equation are discretized employing QUICK differentiating scheme. The grid size and the time step were chosen after careful examination of the independency of the results to these parameters. The details of the process progression are presented via temperature contours and streamlines. The study declares that the initial stages as well as ending portion of melting process are dominated by weak mechanism of conduction. Results show that the average temperature of the PCM isn't a function of eccentricity as long as there is solid PCM above the inner tube. Generally by increasing the eccentricity the rate of heat transfer and average temperature at the last stages of melting process increases. The Results indicated that although increasing eccentricity and inlet temperature of the heat transfer fluid influences the rate of heat transfer in the heat exchanger especially when both variations are considered simultaneously, mass flow rate does not leave such a significant impression on the rate even in eccentric cases.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Analysis of the effect of eccentricity and operational parameters in PCM-filled single-pass shell and tube heat exchangers

et al. 2016

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“…The shape and position of the fin is crucial to achieve good heat transference. Most of the studies are focused on simple geometries, being longitudinal straight fins [19,20,21] and circular fins [22] the most studied geometries. Some studies had shown a better performance from longitudinal fins [23] rather than circular.…”

Section: Thermal Conductivity Enhancement Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Performance comparison of a group of thermal conductivity enhancement methodology in phase change material for thermal storage application

et al. 2016

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a b s t r a c tPhase change materials (PCM) are able to store thermal energy when becoming liquids and to release it when freezing. Recently the use of PCM materials for thermal energy storage (TES) at high temperature for Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) technology has been widely studied. One of the main investigated problems is the improvement of their low thermal conductivity. This paper looks at the current state of research in the particular field of thermal conductivity enhancement (TCE) mechanisms of PCM to be used as TES. This work considers a numerical approach to evaluate the performance of a group of TCE solutions composed by particular configurations of two of the principal TCE systems found on the literature: finned pipes and conductive foams. The cases are compared against a single PCM case, used as reference. Three different grades of graphite foams have been studied, presenting a charge time 100 times lower than the reference case for the same capacity. For fins two materials are analyzed: carbon steel and aluminum. The charge times of fin cases are from 3 to 15 times faster, depending on the amount and type of material employed. The internal mechanisms are analyzed to understand the results and locate possible improvement.

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“…For a fully thermal storage unit, increasing the heat transfer area is often applied to improve the heat transfer between the HTF and PCM (Jegadheeswaran and Pohekar, 2009). For example, embedding the internal (Zhang and Faghri, 1996) or external (Zhang and Faghri, 1996;Castell et al, 2008;Tay et al, 2013) fins on the tubes to extend the heat transfer area, which is simple, easy handling and low cost of construction. The geometric dimensions of the fins such as the length and thickness were also investigated (Tay et al, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Analysis of HTFs, PCMs and fins effects on the thermal performance of shell–tube thermal energy storage units

2015

Solar Energy

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Comparison of pinned and finned tubes in a phase change thermal energy storage system using CFD

Cited by 166 publications

References 29 publications

Analysis of the effect of eccentricity and operational parameters in PCM-filled single-pass shell and tube heat exchangers

Analysis of the effect of eccentricity and operational parameters in PCM-filled single-pass shell and tube heat exchangers

Performance comparison of a group of thermal conductivity enhancement methodology in phase change material for thermal storage application

Analysis of HTFs, PCMs and fins effects on the thermal performance of shell–tube thermal energy storage units

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