Numerical Study of Heat Transfer Enhancement by Arc-Shaped Fins in a Shell-Tube Thermal Energy Storage Unit
Latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES) technology can alleviate the mismatch between the supply and demand of solar energy and industrial waste heat, but the low thermal conductivity of phase change materials (PCMs) is an issue that needs to be solved. In this work, the effects of the bifurcated...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2022-10-01
|
| Series: | Energies |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/15/20/7799 |
| _version_ | 1797473548295471104 |
|---|---|
| author | Qicheng Chen Junting Wu Kanglong Sun Yingjin Zhang |
| author_facet | Qicheng Chen Junting Wu Kanglong Sun Yingjin Zhang |
| author_sort | Qicheng Chen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES) technology can alleviate the mismatch between the supply and demand of solar energy and industrial waste heat, but the low thermal conductivity of phase change materials (PCMs) is an issue that needs to be solved. In this work, the effects of the bifurcated fins on melting and solidification are studied, and local and global entropy generation are discussed. The radial lag time and the circumferential lag time were defined to evaluate thermal penetration and thermal uniformity. Subsequently, a novel arc-shaped fin configuration was proposed to further enhance the heat transfer. The results showed that attaching the bifurcated fins could effectively reduce the global entropy generation. Increasing the trunk fin length was beneficial to enhance the thermal uniformity and promote the melting process, while increasing the branch fin was more effective in the solidification process. Overall, thermal uniformity determined the phase change process. More importantly, the concentric arc-shaped fins significantly reduced the heat transfer hysteresis region, showed better thermal performance than straights fins, and the energy storage and release time were reduced by 52.7% and 51.6%, respectively. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T20:16:03Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f254d625eaf948e991b1772dbdd40248 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1996-1073 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T20:16:03Z |
| publishDate | 2022-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Energies |
| spelling | doaj.art-f254d625eaf948e991b1772dbdd402482023-11-24T00:01:20ZengMDPI AGEnergies1996-10732022-10-011520779910.3390/en15207799Numerical Study of Heat Transfer Enhancement by Arc-Shaped Fins in a Shell-Tube Thermal Energy Storage UnitQicheng Chen0Junting Wu1Kanglong Sun2Yingjin Zhang3School of Energy and Power Engineering, Northeast Electric Power University, Jilin 132012, ChinaSchool of Energy and Power Engineering, Northeast Electric Power University, Jilin 132012, ChinaSchool of Energy and Power Engineering, Northeast Electric Power University, Jilin 132012, ChinaSchool of Automation Engineering, Northeast Electric Power University, Jilin 132012, ChinaLatent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES) technology can alleviate the mismatch between the supply and demand of solar energy and industrial waste heat, but the low thermal conductivity of phase change materials (PCMs) is an issue that needs to be solved. In this work, the effects of the bifurcated fins on melting and solidification are studied, and local and global entropy generation are discussed. The radial lag time and the circumferential lag time were defined to evaluate thermal penetration and thermal uniformity. Subsequently, a novel arc-shaped fin configuration was proposed to further enhance the heat transfer. The results showed that attaching the bifurcated fins could effectively reduce the global entropy generation. Increasing the trunk fin length was beneficial to enhance the thermal uniformity and promote the melting process, while increasing the branch fin was more effective in the solidification process. Overall, thermal uniformity determined the phase change process. More importantly, the concentric arc-shaped fins significantly reduced the heat transfer hysteresis region, showed better thermal performance than straights fins, and the energy storage and release time were reduced by 52.7% and 51.6%, respectively.https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/15/20/7799latent heat storage unitsbifurcated finsarc-shaped finsentropy generationheat transfer enhancementFluent |
| spellingShingle | Qicheng Chen Junting Wu Kanglong Sun Yingjin Zhang Numerical Study of Heat Transfer Enhancement by Arc-Shaped Fins in a Shell-Tube Thermal Energy Storage Unit Energies latent heat storage units bifurcated fins arc-shaped fins entropy generation heat transfer enhancement Fluent |
| title | Numerical Study of Heat Transfer Enhancement by Arc-Shaped Fins in a Shell-Tube Thermal Energy Storage Unit |
| title_full | Numerical Study of Heat Transfer Enhancement by Arc-Shaped Fins in a Shell-Tube Thermal Energy Storage Unit |
| title_fullStr | Numerical Study of Heat Transfer Enhancement by Arc-Shaped Fins in a Shell-Tube Thermal Energy Storage Unit |
| title_full_unstemmed | Numerical Study of Heat Transfer Enhancement by Arc-Shaped Fins in a Shell-Tube Thermal Energy Storage Unit |
| title_short | Numerical Study of Heat Transfer Enhancement by Arc-Shaped Fins in a Shell-Tube Thermal Energy Storage Unit |
| title_sort | numerical study of heat transfer enhancement by arc shaped fins in a shell tube thermal energy storage unit |
| topic | latent heat storage units bifurcated fins arc-shaped fins entropy generation heat transfer enhancement Fluent |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/15/20/7799 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT qichengchen numericalstudyofheattransferenhancementbyarcshapedfinsinashelltubethermalenergystorageunit AT juntingwu numericalstudyofheattransferenhancementbyarcshapedfinsinashelltubethermalenergystorageunit AT kanglongsun numericalstudyofheattransferenhancementbyarcshapedfinsinashelltubethermalenergystorageunit AT yingjinzhang numericalstudyofheattransferenhancementbyarcshapedfinsinashelltubethermalenergystorageunit |