Effect of phase change heat storage tank with gradient fin structure on solar energy storage : A numerical study
(2023) In International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 215.- Abstract
In this paper, the heat storage process of a latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES) tank is studied numerically. A new type of gradient fin is added to the heat storage process in a latent heat storage tank to improve the heat transfer performance of the internal phase change material (PCM). The numerical model is verified by the experimental data. The influences of different structures on the melting rate, temperature distribution, velocity distribution, and maximum melting rate of PCM in LHTES tank are investigated, and the influence of natural convection on the energy storage system is further quantified. The results show that the melting time can be significantly reduced by 16.9% by using the four straight fins with gradient... (More)
In this paper, the heat storage process of a latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES) tank is studied numerically. A new type of gradient fin is added to the heat storage process in a latent heat storage tank to improve the heat transfer performance of the internal phase change material (PCM). The numerical model is verified by the experimental data. The influences of different structures on the melting rate, temperature distribution, velocity distribution, and maximum melting rate of PCM in LHTES tank are investigated, and the influence of natural convection on the energy storage system is further quantified. The results show that the melting time can be significantly reduced by 16.9% by using the four straight fins with gradient shape, and the melting time can be further reduced by 41.1% by reconstruction of the gradient fin position. The deformation in the opposite direction will slow down the melting speed and extend the melting time by more than 4.66 times. The convection criterion for judging the buoyancy convection of the melt in this paper shows that natural convection is dominant in both the upper and lower part of the melt. The closer the convection coefficient is to the overall heat transfer coefficient, the better the melting efficiency and energy efficiency will be.
(Less)
- author
- Liu, Zhan LU ; Yan, Xuewen ; Liu, Zihui ; Xiao, Tian ; Huang, Xinyu ; Yang, Xiaohu and Sundén, Bengt LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2023
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Gradient fins, Latent heat storage, Partially filling, Phase change materials, Solar harvesting
- in
- International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer
- volume
- 215
- article number
- 124384
- publisher
- Pergamon Press Ltd.
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85164713489
- ISSN
- 0017-9310
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.ijheatmasstransfer.2023.124384
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- d8065109-5696-42b7-affb-e435275d4b8f
- date added to LUP
- 2023-08-23 14:02:54
- date last changed
- 2023-11-08 09:30:48
@article{d8065109-5696-42b7-affb-e435275d4b8f,
abstract = {{<p>In this paper, the heat storage process of a latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES) tank is studied numerically. A new type of gradient fin is added to the heat storage process in a latent heat storage tank to improve the heat transfer performance of the internal phase change material (PCM). The numerical model is verified by the experimental data. The influences of different structures on the melting rate, temperature distribution, velocity distribution, and maximum melting rate of PCM in LHTES tank are investigated, and the influence of natural convection on the energy storage system is further quantified. The results show that the melting time can be significantly reduced by 16.9% by using the four straight fins with gradient shape, and the melting time can be further reduced by 41.1% by reconstruction of the gradient fin position. The deformation in the opposite direction will slow down the melting speed and extend the melting time by more than 4.66 times. The convection criterion for judging the buoyancy convection of the melt in this paper shows that natural convection is dominant in both the upper and lower part of the melt. The closer the convection coefficient is to the overall heat transfer coefficient, the better the melting efficiency and energy efficiency will be.</p>}},
author = {{Liu, Zhan and Yan, Xuewen and Liu, Zihui and Xiao, Tian and Huang, Xinyu and Yang, Xiaohu and Sundén, Bengt}},
issn = {{0017-9310}},
keywords = {{Gradient fins; Latent heat storage; Partially filling; Phase change materials; Solar harvesting}},
language = {{eng}},
publisher = {{Pergamon Press Ltd.}},
series = {{International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer}},
title = {{Effect of phase change heat storage tank with gradient fin structure on solar energy storage : A numerical study}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijheatmasstransfer.2023.124384}},
doi = {{10.1016/j.ijheatmasstransfer.2023.124384}},
volume = {{215}},
year = {{2023}},
}