Thermal Management of the Melting Process in a Latent Heat Triplex Tube Storage System Using Different Configurations of Frustum Tubes

Abstract

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.

Recent Breakthroughs and Improvements in Phase Change Material Melting in a Triple-Tube Thermal Storage Unit

“…Tiji et al [84] analyzed the energy charging process to investigate the influence of design alterations on the thermofluidic behavior of a PCM in a triplex tube. This was done to investigate how design changes affect a phase change material's thermofluidic behavior (PCM).…”

“…Materials that contain pores. Most investigations have demonstrated that increasing the heat transfer surface increases the amount of heat transfer between the phase change material and working fluid [68][69][70][71][72][73]. Because of its ease of production, cheap cost, and simplicity, using fins is the most effective method for increasing heat transfer in phase-change materials.…”

“…This is due to the fact that producing fins requires very little effort. Outer fins, inner fins, circular fins, and longitudinal fins are only few of the several types of fins that may be used to improve the impact of conduction in phasechange materials [68]. Numerous pieces of research have been done that concentrate on the use of fins as a means of improving the rate at which heat is transferred inside latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES) systems.…”

Numerical Study of the Effect of Air Bubble Location on the PCM Melting Process in a Rectangular Cavity

“…In order to create a novel phase change material for the storage of thermal energy, nano fluids were added to PCMs. The researchers discovered that by enhancing heat conductivity by adding Nano fluid to PCM, the melting process could be completed more quickly [22][23][24][25][26][27]. The authors claim that they are unaware of any prior research on the subject of evaluating the impact of an air bubble on the melting process of paraffin wax (PCMs) despite the fact that there have been several studies on the melting of PCMs in cylindrical cells.…”

Evaluation of the solidification process in a double‐tube latent heat storage unit equipped with circular fins with optimum fin spacing

“…21 Although PCMs have engaged the researcher's interest, they regularly suffer from low thermal conductivity and low thermal diffusion rates, prohibiting their widespread usage. 22 To solve this problem, scholars have been examining different techniques such as nanoparticle distribution within the heat transfer fluid (HTF), 23,24 channel modification, 25,26 the use of extended surfaces, 27,28 and composite PCMs 29,30 to improve thermophysical properties of the PCM. 31 For this issue, Khajuria et al 32 examined the effect of channel geometry on the heat transfer enhancement of a specific type of bio-PCM (honeybee wax) as a heat storage medium encompassed in the double pipe heat exchanger.…”