0% found this document useful (0 votes)
14 views10 pages

Journal of Energy Storage

Uploaded by

Othman Otman
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
Download as pdf or txt
0% found this document useful (0 votes)
14 views10 pages

Journal of Energy Storage

Uploaded by

Othman Otman
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
Download as pdf or txt
Download as pdf or txt
You are on page 1/ 10

Journal of Energy Storage 71 (2023) 108162

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Journal of Energy Storage


journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/est

Research papers

Experimental investigation of thermal characteristics of phase change


material in finned heat exchangers
Nabeel S. Dhaidan a, b, *, Ali F. Hassan c, Asseel M. Rasheed Al-Gaheeshi a,
Fadhel Noraldeen Al-Mousawi a, b, d, Raad Z. Homod e
a
College of Engineering, University of Kerbala, Karbala, Iraq
b
College of Engineering, University of Warith Al-Anbiyaa, Karbala, Iraq
c
Qurna Technical Institute, Southern Technical University, Basra, Iraq
d
University of Kerbala, Centre for Research on Environment and Renewable Energy, Karbala, Iraq
e
Department of Oil and Gas Engineering, Basrah University for Oil and Gas, Basrah, Iraq

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: A significant challenge to the widespread use of practical latent heat energy storage systems based on phase
Melting change materials is the inherent low thermal conductivity of these materials. Inserting fins is considered one of
PCM the effective methods of heat transfer enhancement. In the present paper, an experimental investigation of the
Fins
melting process of PCM in finned and unfinned heat exchangers is conducted. The experimental setup was
Perforation
Thermal performance
constructed, and the measurement system was used to monitor the transient progress of the melting process. The
Heat exchangers heat exchanger comprises annular horizontal concentric double pipes, where the inner tube is heated by flowing
water as heat transfer fluid (HTF), and the outer shell is thermally insulated. Four configurations of fins of the
same fin/PCM volume ratio are attached to the inner tube. These configurations are longitudinal fin (LF), circular
fin (CF), longitudinal perforated fin (LPF), and circular perforated fin (CPF). The effect of inlet HTF temperatures
of 60, 70, and 80 ◦ C is tested. The experimental findings indicate that the thermal performance of finned heat
exchangers exceeds that of unfinned heat exchangers. Also, the perforated finned heat exchangers showed a
higher thermal feature than the unperforated ones. In addition, the CPF achieved the lowest melting time and the
highest melting rate, followed by LPF, CF, and LF. The maximum reductions of melting time are 71.1 %, 70.6 %,
and 70.2 % due to using CPF HE instead of UF HE for inlet HTF temperatures of 60, 70, and 80 ◦ C, respectively.

1. Introduction their ability to store and release latent heat for energy conservation and
thermal control purposes, especially in renewable energy applications
Energy is essential to the advancement of both technology and the [3,4]. Many researchers and studies have investigated numerically and
economy, where the need for energy is growing every day due to factors experimentally the improvement of the PCMs in thermal energy storage
like a growing population, a changing lifestyle, industrialisation, etc. systems. PCMs are available in various latent heat and melting points.
The exhaustion of conventional fossil fuel supplies and the associated However, the practical limitation of latent heat thermal energy systems
problems with cost and environmental pollution converts the attention for successful implementation in various applications is their low ther­
toward renewable energy resources. However, the time lag between the mal conductivity (around 0.2 W/m2 K for paraffin wax and 0.5 W/m2 K
energy source and the demand of the application imposes a limitation on for hydrated salts and eutectics). This undesirable feature leads to slow
exploiting renewable energy resources. As a result, thermal energy charging and discharging rates and causes system failure. Hence, heat
storage (TES) in the form of sensible and latent heat has grown into a transfer enhancement techniques are required for most PCM-heat
crucial component of energy management systems [1,2]. One of the exchanger applications. These techniques involve the insertion of fins
most effective methods for storing thermal energy is latent heat storage [5], dispersing of nanoparticles [6–8], using metal foams [9], etc. Mahdi
by phase changes from solid to liquid, liquid to gas, or vice versa. and Nsofor [10,11] investigated the impact of nanoparticles and fins on
Phase change materials (PCMs) have received substantial interest for the performance of the LHTES system. It was found that the insertion of

* Corresponding author at: College of Engineering, University of Kerbala, Karbala, Iraq.


E-mail address: [email protected] (N.S. Dhaidan).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.est.2023.108162
Received 31 March 2023; Received in revised form 5 June 2023; Accepted 20 June 2023
Available online 29 June 2023
2352-152X/© 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
N.S. Dhaidan et al. Journal of Energy Storage 71 (2023) 108162

Fig. 1. Schematic diagram of the experimental setup.

Fig. 2. Photographic illustration of the experimental apparatus.

fins alone had a greater influence on both the charging and discharging issue by increasing the heat transfer rate between the PCM and the heat
processes. Also, Arici et al. [12] inferred that the thermal enhancement transfer fluid (HTF) in an energy storage unit. Compared with the other
of melting due to fins was higher than that due to nanoparticles. heat transfer-enhancing methods, superior thermal performance, easy
Natural convection dominates the melting process of PCM in various installation, stable operation, and low required maintenance during
cavities [13]. The annular PCM cavity heat exchangers are considered operation are the benefits of using fins [11,17]. PCM-based heat ex­
the common application of the TES systems, which suffer from over­ changers can be improved by using several types of fins, such as longi­
heating in the upper part and low melting rate in the lower part [14–16]. tudinal, radial, or circular fins.
Therefore, extended surfaces or fins are possible strategies for fixing this Hosseinizadeh et al. [18] performed an experimental and

2
N.S. Dhaidan et al. Journal of Energy Storage 71 (2023) 108162

Table 1 Numerical comparisons of the melting behaviour of three finned


Thermo-physical properties of RT-42 PCM [38], water, and other materials. horizontal annular storage systems, longitudinal-finned, annular-finned,
Properties Materials and composite-finned models, were achieved by Liu and Tao [28]. The
composite fin system combined the longitudinal and annular fins. It was
PCM Copper Water Acrylic
indicated that the composite fin model reduced melting time by 21.6 %
Solidus temperature, (◦ C) 38 – – – and 9.5 % compared to the longitudinal and annular fin models,
Liquidus temperature, (◦ C) 43 – – –
Latent heat of melting, (J/kg) 165,000 – – –
respectively. Spengler et al. [29] computationally analysed the impacts
Density, (kg/m3) 880 (solid) 8978 996 1200 of area ratios, proportions and positions of fin on the charging of lauric
760 (liquid) acid in the horizontal annular cavity. The overall charging time of the
Dynamic viscosity, (kg/m s) 0.0235 – 0.001 – horizontal position of the fin was approximately 45 % faster than that
Thermal expansion coefficient, (1/K) 0.0006 – – –
observed in the vertical fin-position system. Li et al. [30] numerically
Specific heat capacity, (J/kg K) 2000 381 4190 1260
Thermal conductivity, (W/m k) 0.2 387.6 0.66 0.188 analysed the energy and exergy characteristics of paraffin wax melting
in finned shell and tube storage units of horizontal and vertical orien­
tations. The fins were presented in various configurations, single, dou­
computational parametric study to evaluate the fins characteristics on ble, triple and quadruple. The predictions indicated that the triple fin in
the thermal behaviour of an annular storage unit. The fin’s number and vertical orientation and the double fin in horizontal orientation ach­
height increase indicated a noticeable improvement in overall thermal ieved the best thermal enhancement of 37.4 % and 30.5 % compared to
performance. In contrast, the fin thickness showed little influence on the the unfinned case. Abhinand et al. [31] conducted a computational
performance. Li and Wu [19] examined PCM’s melting and solidification analysis to determine the optimal number of fins incorporated in LHTSS.
behaviours enclosed in a longitudinal finned shell and tube storage It was found that increasing the number of fins from 4 to 15 resulted in a
system. In the case of the finned device, the charging and discharging 34.69 % increase in liquid PCM generation, followed by a 9.03 % decline
operations may be sped up by about 14 % compared to the device with further fin increments. Zhang et al. [32] inferred that the battery
without the fins. Lu et al. [20] presented an experimental study on the system performance supplied with branch fins was greater than that of
performance of a thermal energy storage unit equipped with a vertical the system with conventional straight fins. Also, adding arc fins on the
spiral-finned multi-tube in a shell using water as HTF and paraffin as inner and outer surfaces significantly enhances the performance and
PCM. Experimental findings revealed that the inlet water temperature decreases the battery temperature. Moradian et al. [33] investigated the
significantly influenced both the charging and discharging processes. In effects of using radial and conventional axial fins on the melting of PCM
contrast, little effect of water flow rate was indicated. The experimental inside a horizontal Triplex Tube Heat Exchanger (TTHX). It was shown
investigation and numerical simulation of a finned and non-finned that incorporating arc fins in the lower section of the PCM enclosure
concentric double-pipe thermal energy storage unit of two orienta­ reduced the melting time by 17.5 % compared to the base case with axial
tions were introduced by Mahdi et al. [21]. It was found that the fins fins. Also, the non-uniform distribution of radial fins enhanced the
enhanced the charging process by about 50 %. Moreover, the melting melting process. The influences of longitudinal fin number, length, and
rate of the non-finned tubes was higher in the horizontal orientation, arrangement on the thermal performance of the LHTES system were
while the orientation little affected the melting process with finned investigated numerically by Nie et al. [34]. It was found that the straight
tubes. Yagci et al. [22] experimentally examined the influence of fin fin showed the highest performance. Also, for the same total fins length,
geometry and its edge length ratio on the charging and discharging of the less long fins had a higher melting rate than the more short fins. Liu
PCM in a vertical annular storage unit. It was observed that the insertion and Zhang [35] applied a computational code to analyze PCM’s
of fins strengthened the melting rate at the half part of the unit. Also, charging/discharging behaviour in a triple-tube LHTES unit supplied
decreasing the fin edge lengths’ ratio reduced melting time, but it had with branch structure fins. Due to utilizing branch fins, the reductions in
little impact on the discharging time. Hassan et al. [23] conducted an charging and discharging times were 67.7 % and 74.8 %, respectively.
experimental analysis to establish the performance comparison of non- Also, utilizing branch fins reduced the charging and discharging periods
finned, longitudinal finned and circular finned configurations of shell- by 32.7 % and 52.9 %, respectively, to that registered by rectangular
and-tube heat exchangers. Utilizing longitudinal finned and circular fins.
finned configurations decreased the charging time by 55 % and 70 %, The melting process in the perforated finned heat exchanger and
respectively. Mehta et al. [24] reported a comprehensive experimental comparison with other solid finned heat exchangers was rarely discussed
analysis to assess charging and discharging characteristics in vertical in the previous articles. Karami and Kamkari [36] experimentally
shell and finned tube systems by inserting spiral fins. The results indi­ showed that the perforated fins achieved a 30 % higher Nusselt number
cated that utilizing the spiral fins decreased the charging and dis­ and 7 % lower than that shown in solid fins applied in the vertical
charging durations by 41.48 % and 22.16 %, respectively. Yang et al. LHTSU. He et al. [37] experimentally proved that the perforated spiral
[25] performed a validated computational model to assess the thermal fins achieved higher thermal performance than the solid spiral fins
performance of a finned vertical shell-and-tube storage system. The fins configuration in the vertical heat exchanger. In the present work, the
were distributed in uniform and non-uniform arrangements. It was experimental investigation of thermal features of various configurations
indicated that a 62.8 % reduction in total melting duration and a 34.4 % of finned horizontal shell-and-tube HEs is performed and compared with
decrease in temperature difference was due to utilizing a non-uniform the unfinned HEs. Four fin layouts are considered; longitudinal (solid
fin distribution compared to a uniform fin distribution. Safari et al. and perforated) fins and annular (solid and perforated) fins. The fin/
[26] assessed the combined impact of fin configuration and tube ec­ PCM volume ratio is the same for all finned configurations. The
centricity on the melting behaviour of PCM inside the shell and tube heat instantaneous PCM melting behaviour is investigated for all configura­
exchanger experimentally and computationally. It was found that the tions for various operating conditions.
melting time of the unfinned eccentric heat exchanger was reduced by
54 % compared to the concentric heat exchanger. Also, the thermal 2. Experimental setup
performance associated with the bifurcated fin configuration exceeded
that of the straight fin one. Zhang et al. [27] implemented a verified 2.1. Description of the experimental configuration
topology optimization method to assess a new design of fin used in a
shell-and-tube thermal energy storage unit. Compared to traditional fins The schematic diagram of the experimental test rig is shown in Fig. 1,
systems, an optimized fins system enhanced the thermal performance by and a photograph of the experimental apparatus is depicted in Fig. 2.
46.8 % and 47.1 % during the charging and discharging process. The experimental facility consists of a shell and tube heat exchanger

3
N.S. Dhaidan et al. Journal of Energy Storage 71 (2023) 108162

Table 2
Configuration and fins geometry of different types of finned HEs.

Table 3
Radial and angular positions of TCs in UF, LF, and LPF heat exchangers.
TCs no. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

R (mm) 19.5 26.5 33.5 19.5 26.5 33.5 19.5 26.5 33.5
ϴ (0) 90 90 90 180 180 180 270 270 270

filled with PCM, a constant temperature water bath, an automatic and flow rate are at the desirable values. The experimental setup of the
temperature controller, a multi-channel data logger, thermocouples, a unfinned heat exchanger and different types of finned heat exchangers
flowmeter, a high-speed camera and a personal computer. The HTF has been fabricated and built. The temperature distribution within the
system includes a water pump, piping system, and valves to create PCM is measured, and the instantaneous solid-liquid interface evolution
bypass and regulate water flow to ensure the water inlet temperature is recorded.

4
N.S. Dhaidan et al. Journal of Energy Storage 71 (2023) 108162

its solid phase. The variation in phase colours assists the visual obser­
vations and tracking of the solid-liquid interface during the melting
process.
Five different configurations of HEs were constructed; unfinned heat
exchanger (UF) and four cooper finned HEs, which are; longitudinal
finned HE (LF), longitudinal perforated finned HE (LPF), circular or
annular finned HE (CF), and circular perforated HE (CPF). The same
fins/PCM volume ratio of 4.7 % is considered for all finned HEs. The

Table 4
Radial and angular positions of TCs in CF and LPF heat exchangers.
TCs no. 1, 7, 12 2. 8, 13 3 4 9, 14 5, 10, 15 6, 11, 16

R (mm) 19.5 26.5 19.5 26.5 22.5 19.5 26.5


ϴ (0) 90 90 0 0 0 270 270

Fig. 3. Positions of TCs inside UF, LF and LPF HEs.

The PCM is involved within the annular space between the shell and
tube. The inner copper tube had 23 mm ID, 25 mm OD, and 500 mm
length. The outer acrylic shell had 70 mm ID and 80 mm OD. The acrylic
shell contains two vents for filling and emptying liquid PCM into and
from the HE, as well as accommodating any volume expansion of PCM
during the melting process. The glass wood insulator of 50 mm was used
to reduce the heat loss from the outer shell. Two acrylic sheets of 10 mm
thickness were used to enclose the test rig from the two sides and to
capture the photo of the melting process at various periods. The insu­
lator was removed for a few seconds to capture the photo. Paraffin wax
RT-42 was used as a PCM in the experiment. This paraffin was manu­
factured by the Rubitherm Company, Germany. The thermophysical
properties of RT-42, water, and other materials are explained in Table 1.
The colour of paraffin wax is transparent in the liquid phase and white in Fig. 5. Temperature distribution of PCM at a 70 ◦ C HTF inlet temperature.

Fig. 4. Positions of TCs inside CF and CPF HEs.

5
N.S. Dhaidan et al. Journal of Energy Storage 71 (2023) 108162

variation between the inlet and outlet temperatures of HTF, and the
90
uniformity of the fin distribution of LF and LPF along the axial direction.
THTF = 80 oC Therefore, the middle section of the UF, LF and LPF heat exchangers test
80
rig is selected to measure the temperature. The radial and angular po­
sitions of the nine TCs are shown in Table 3 and Fig. 3.
THTF = 70 oC In CF and CPF HEs, sixteen thermocouples (T1 to T16) were placed
70 inside the storage unit HEs, as shown in Fig. 4. The TCs were distributed
in three sections along the axis: A, B, and C. The distance between sec­
THTF = 60 oC tions A and C is 100 mm from the beginning and end of the axis length,
60 while section B lies in the middle of HE. The radial and angular positions
Temperatures, oC

of the thermocouples (T1 to T16) are shown in Table 4.

50
2.2. Experimental procedure

40
At first, the PCM leakage and horizontal position of all configurations
of HEs were checked. A cylindrical tank heated electrically provided hot
water as the HTF, which flowed inside the internal tube to provide the
30 required energy for charging the PCM. A piping system, bypass system,
and control valves supply hot water into the test rig at the required
temperature and flow rate. There are two TCs for monitoring the HTF
20 temperature at the test rig’s inlet and outlet. Three inlet HTF tempera­
0 3000 6000 9000 12000 15000 18000 21000 24000
tures are considered; 60, 70, and 80 ◦ C. At the same time, the volume
Time, s
flow rate of HTF is considered constant at 10 l/min. A rotameter and
control valves adjust the flow rate of the HTF. A digital camera (Nikon,
Fig. 6. Temperature variations of T2 (continuous) and T8 (dashed) at three inlet Coolpix B700) is used to capture and track the solid-liquid interfaces
HTF temperatures of 60, 70, and 80 ◦ C. during the melting process of PCM. The image processing technique [30]
is employed in the melting photographs to obtain the melt interface’s
evolution and estimate the melt fraction.

2.3. Uncertainty of measurements

The K-type thermocouples are pre-calibrated for the temperature


range of 0–100 ◦ C. The uncertainty in temperature measurement is
found to be ±0.1 ◦ C. Also, the errors associated with the flow rate and
length measurements are ±0.015 litters/min, and ± 0.25 mm, respec­
tively. On the other hand, the repeatability of the temperature sensors
was ensured by observing a negligible deviation in temperature through
comparison between three runs of experiments.

3. Results and discussion

The experimental results of melting characteristics of paraffin (RT-


42) PCM are presented and discussed for unfinned system (UF) and
various finned systems; longitudinal fin (LF), circular annular fin (CF),
longitudinal perforated fin (LPF), and circular perforated fin (CPF).
The temperature distribution of the UF heat exchanger system was
presented in Fig. 5 for an inlet temperature of 70 ◦ C of HTF. It is shown
that the PCM temperatures at the top portion of the test section (T1 and
Fig. 7. Temperature variations of PCM at the middle plan of the lower part of T3) increase more rapidly than in the middle part (T4 and T6) and lower
unfinned and different configurations of finned heat exchangers at inlet HTF part (T7 and T9). The melting rate and temperature rise are higher at the
temperature of 70 ◦ C. initial periods due to conduction is dominated the melting process at all
parts of the unit. Then, natural convection dominates the melting at the
detailed configurations and design parameters of finned HEs and fins are top portion; therefore, the increase of T1 and T3 is at a high rate. In
introduced in Table 2. The design parameters of fins involve the fin contrast, weak conduction dominates the bottom part due to the thermal
height (h), the fin number (N), the number of holes per fin (n), and the energy being transmitted by the natural convection current toward the
axial pitch of fins (p). The thickness of all fin configurations is 2 mm. The top portion of the HE. Therefore, the rate of increase in (T7 and T9) is
perforations of LPF and CPF HEs are achieved by making holes of 3 mm slower than that of the top portion (T1 and T3) and middle part (T4 and
diameter. T6). Both conduction and convection control the heat transfer at the
The K-type thermocouples were used in this study as they have an middle portion of the storage unit. Some fluctuations in T1 are recorded
appropriate temperature range and thickness. The thermocouples are due to the great effect of the buoyancy-driven convection. The higher
distributed in each HEs to measure the transient temperature of PCM melting rate and overheating are higher in the top part. Therefore, T1
and ensure the complete melting of PCM. Fixing the TCs in their posi­ and T3 early reached the steady-state condition, followed by T4 and T6.
tions was performed using a plastic ruler as a rack of thermocouples. The In contrast, the melting rate is slow at the bottom portion leading to a
melting is considered two-dimensional in UF, LF and LPF heat ex­ considerable time required to reach the steady-state condition for T7 and
changers due to the high flow rate of the HTF (10 litters/min), small T9. On the other hand, the effect of inlet HTF temperature (THTF) on T2
and T8 is shown in Fig. 6. The thermocouples T2 and T8 have the same

6
N.S. Dhaidan et al. Journal of Energy Storage 71 (2023) 108162

UF

LF

LPF

CF

CPF

5 min 15 min 30 min

Fig. 8. Photographic observations of PCM melting of unfinned and different configuration of finned heat exchangers at inlet HTF temperature of 70 ◦ C.

radial positions, but different angular positions. The region near the TC perforations assist the movement of liquid melt and increase the heat
of T2 is controlled by natural convection. In contrast, the conduction has transmission rate. Therefore, the temperatures of perforated fins con­
dominated the region near T8. The energy transmitted by HTF depends figurations (CPF and LPF) are higher than that experienced by unper­
on its flow rate and inlet temperature. Therefore, increasing the THTF forated fins layouts (CF and LF).
accelerates the melting process, initiates the influence of natural con­ The photographic representations of the melting process for unfin­
vection early, and shortens the duration to reach the steady-state ned and different configurations of finned heat exchangers are illus­
condition. trated in Fig. 8 at various times. It is observed that the melting process of
The influence of insertion fins on the temperature distributions for finned HEs is faster than that of unfinned HE. Also, the perforated finned
different configurations of fins is illustrated in Fig. 7. Also, the tem­ HEs (LPF and CPF) showed a higher melting rate than the traditional
perature history of the unfinned case is presented for the sake of com­ finned HEs (LF and CF). The involvement of fins increases the surface
parison. All temperatures for all cases were measured at the same area of pathway materials and augments the heat transfer between PCM
position (r = 26.5 mm, θ = 270 degree), which represented T8 for UF, LF and HTF. However, the fins suppress the motion of the liquid melt and
and LPF cases and T6 for CF and CPF cases at section B referring to Fig. 4. impose some limitations on the role of natural convection. It is expected
The temperatures of all finned heat exchangers are higher than that of that the existence of perforations enhances the melt motion and de­
unfinned heat exchangers. The fins represent thermal pathways and velops the influence of natural convection. Therefore, the melting of LPF
transfer and distribute heat effectively. In addition, the adding fins in­ and CPF HEs is faster than that of LF and CF HEs.
crease the contact surface area between the PCM and extended surfaces. The time-variation of the melt fraction of PCM in different configu­
Also, it is shown that the CPF heat exchanger registers the highest rations of finned heat exchangers is presented in Fig. 9. For all cases; the
temperature among other configurations of fins. In contrast, the LF melting rate is higher in the early periods since the conduction domi­
configuration has the lowest temperatures. The existence of fins sup­ nated the melting process. Also, there is no significant difference in the
presses the movement of natural convection currents. However, the fins’ melting rate for all configurations of finned heat exchangers at initial

7
N.S. Dhaidan et al. Journal of Energy Storage 71 (2023) 108162

compensates for the deterioration in the conduction, and the melting


rate decreases. The CPF configuration registers the lowest melting time.
1 In contrast, the LF had a higher melting time than other finned HEs.

0.8
CPF

LPF 1
Liquid fraction

CF
0.6 LP

0.8

0.4

Melt Fracon
0.6

0.2
0.4

0
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000 0.2
Time, s

Fig. 9. Variation of melt fraction of different configuration of finned heat ex­


0
changers at inlet HTF temperature of 70 ◦ C. 0 750 1500 2250 3000 3750 4500
Time (s)

times. After, the role of natural convection is developed and Fig. 11. Variation of melt fraction of CPF for different inlet HTF temperatures.

LF

LPF

CF

CPF

80 oC
60 oC 70 oC

Fig. 10. Photographic representations of PCM melting at 15 min of different configuration of finned heat exchangers at various inlet HTF temperatures.

8
N.S. Dhaidan et al. Journal of Energy Storage 71 (2023) 108162

configurations of finned HE, followed by LPF, CF, and LF heat ex­


changers. The maximum reductions of melting time are 71.1 %, 70.6 %,
14000
and 70.2 % due to using CPF HE instead of UF HE for inlet HTF tem­
12000
peratures of 60, 70, and 80 ◦ C, respectively. The perforation of fins as­
sists the movement of natural convection currents and reduces the
10000 melting time. The melting times of the LPF configuration were lower
than that of the LF configuration by 15.9 %, 14.8 %, and 14.3 % for inlet
Melng Time, s

8000 HTF temperatures of 60, 70, and 80 ◦ C, respectively. While using CPF HE
instead of the CF HE reduces the charging time by 12.2 %, 11.9 %, and
6000 11.6 % for the same HTF temperatures.
It is inferred that the perforated configuration of fins offers the op­
4000 portunity to enhance the melting characteristics of the PCM compared to
the unperforated configuration. Also, the fins’ perforation can be easily
2000 constructed. Therefore, it is recommended to use the perforated
configuration of fins in various designs and geometries of latent heat
0
thermal energy storage systems.
UF LF CF LPF CPF

Fig. 12. Melting time for unfinned and different configurations of finned heat
Declaration of competing interest
exchangers at different inlet HTF temperatures.

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial


interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
Table 5
Reduction percentage of melting time due to using finned heat exchangers
the work reported in this paper.
instead of unfinned heat exchangers at different inlet HTF temperatures.
Data availability
Types of finned HE THTF = 60 ◦ C THTF = 70 ◦ C THTF = 80 ◦ C

LF 63.2 % 62.8 % 62.6 % No data was used for the research described in the article.
CF 67.25 % 66.0 % 66.1 %
LPF 67.4 % 66.2 % 66.5 %
CPF 71.1 % 70.6 % 70.2 % References

[1] S.D. Sharma, K. Sagara, Latent heat storage materials and systems: a review,
The influence of HTF temperatures on the melting process of finned International Journal of Green Energy 2 (1) (2005) 1–56.
HEs at 15 min can be illustrated in Fig. 10. Three inlet HTF temperatures [2] M. Salem, M.F. Alavi, I. Mahariq, O. Accouche, M. El Haj Assad, Applications of
thermal energy storage in solar organic rankine cycles: a comprehensive review,
of 60, 70, and 80 ◦ C are considered. It is clearly shown that increasing Frontiers in Energy Research 9 (2021), 766292.
the HTF temperature will increase the amount of transferred energy [3] S. Ali, S.P. Deshmukh, An overview: applications of thermal energy storage using
from HTF into PCM. Therefore, the melting rate increases and the time phase change materials, Material Today Proceeding 26 (2) (2020) 1231–1237.
[4] R. Chaturvedi, A. Islam, K. Sharma, A review on the applications of PCM in thermal
required for complete melting decreases. In addition, the melt fraction of storage of solar energy, Material Today Proceeding,43(1) (2021), pp. 293–297.
PCM in the CPF heat exchanger (as an example) for various HTF tem­ [5] N.S. Dhaidan, J.M. Khodadadi, Improved performance of latent heat energy storage
peratures is presented in Fig. 11. The same trend is expected for other systems utilizing high thermal conductivity fins: a review, Journal of Renewable
and Sustainable Energy 9 (3) (2017), 034103.
finned HEs. Initially, the melting rate is high due to conduction- [6] N.S. Dhaidan, Nanostructures assisted melting of phase change materials in various
dominated heat transfer. After, the melting rate decreases because of cavities, Appl. Therm. Eng. 111 (2017) 193–212.
the increase in thermal resistance of the growing liquid melt. However, [7] K. Tofani, S. Tiari, Nano-enhanced phase change materials in latent heat thermal
energy storage systems: a review, Energies 14 (13) (2021) 3821.
the development of the natural convection role and the fins’ existence [8] N.S. Dhaidan, S.A. Kokz, F.L. Rashid, A.K. Hussein, O. Younis, F.N. Al-Mousawi,
decrease the decline in the melting rate. Review of solidification of phase change materials dispersed with nanoparticles in
The time required for complete melting for UF and different con­ different containers, Journal of Energy Storage 51 (2022), 104271.
[9] M. Aramesh, B. Shabani, Metal foam-phase change material composites for thermal
figurations of fins at various inlet temperature of HTF is presented in
energy storage: a review of performance parameters, Renew. Sust. Energ. Rev. 155
Fig. 12. Moreover, the percentage of melting time reductions due to (2022), 111919.
using various configurations of finned heat exchangers instead of [10] J.M. Mahdi, E.C. Nsofor, Melting enhancement in triplex-tube latent thermal
unfinned heat exchangers are presented in Table 5 for different inlet energy storage system using nanoparticles-fins combination, Int. J. Heat Mass
Transf. 109 (2017) 417–427.
temperatures of HTF. [11] J.M. Mahdi, E.C. Nsofor, Solidification enhancement of PCM in a triplex-tube
thermal energy storage system with nanoparticles and fins, Appl. Energy 211
(2018) 975–986.
4. Conclusions [12] M. Arıcı, E. Tütüncü, Ç. Yıldız, D. Li, Enhancement of PCM melting rate via internal
fin and nanoparticles, Int. J. Heat Mass Transf. 156 (2020), 119845.
The experimental investigation of thermal characteristics of PCM [13] N.S. Dhaidan, J.M. Khodadadi, Melting and convection of phase change materials
in different shape containers: a review, Renew. Sust. Energ. Rev. 43 (2015)
melting in unfinned and finned annular heat exchangers is performed. 449–477.
Five configurations of the heat exchangers are considered, which are [14] W.A. Dukhan, N.S. Dhaidan, T.A. Al-Hattab, Experimental investigation of the
unfinned (UF), longitudinal finned (LF), circular finned (CF), longitu­ horizontal double pipe heat exchanger utilized phase change material, IOP
Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering 671 (1) (2020), 012148.
dinal perforated finned (LPF), and longitudinal perforated finned (CPF) [15] M. Azad, D. Groulx, A. Donaldson, Melting of phase change materials in horizontal
heat exchangers. The same fin/PCM volume ratio is considered for all annuli, Journal of Energy Storage 42 (2021), 103096.
finned heat exchangers. The findings showed that the melting rate of [16] W.A. Dukhan, N.S. Dhaidan, T.A. Al-Hattab, F.N. Al-Mousawi, Phase-change of
paraffin inside heat exchangers: an experimental study, Int. J. Environ. Sci.
various configurations of finned heat exchangers is higher than that of
Technol. 19 (4) (2022) 3155–3164.
unfinned heat exchangers. The melting rate is high in the initial periods [17] F. Agyenim, N. Hewitt, P. Eames, M. Smyth, A review of materials, heat transfer
due to the conduction-dominated melting process. Then, the melting and phase change problem formulation for latent heat thermal energy storage
rate deteriorates. The existence of fins and the development of the systems (LHTESS), Renew. Sust. Energ. Rev. 14 (2010) 615–628.
[18] S. Hosseinizadeh, F. Tan, S. Moosania, Experimental and numerical studies on
natural convection rate compensates for the decline of the melting rate. performance of PCM-based heat sink with different configurations of internal fins,
Also, the highest melting rate is for the CPF heat exchanger among other Appl. Therm. Eng. 31 (17–18) (2011) 3827–3838.

9
N.S. Dhaidan et al. Journal of Energy Storage 71 (2023) 108162

[19] Z. Li, Z. Wu, Analysis of HTFs , PCMs and fins effects on the thermal performance of [29] F.C. Spengler, R.D. Oliveski, L.A.O. Rocha, C. Biserni, Effect of extended surfaces
shell–tube thermal energy storage units, Solar Energy122 (2015), pp. 382–395. on lauric acid melting process in annular cavities, Journal of Energy Storage 46
[20] B. Lu, Y. Zhang, D. Sun, Z. Yuan, S. Yang, Experimental investigation on thermal (2022), 103867.
behavior of paraffin in a vertical shell and spiral fin tube latent heat thermal energy [30] J. Li, Z.R. Abdulghani, M.N. Alghamdi, K. Sharma, H. Niyas, H. Moria,
storage unit, Appl. Therm. Eng. 187 (2021), 116575. A. Arsalanloo, Effect of twisted fins on the melting performance of PCM in a latent
[21] M.S. Mahdi, A.F. Hasan, H.B. Mahood, A.N. Campbell, A.A. Khadom, A.A. Karim, heat thermal energy storage system in vertical and horizontal orientations: energy
A.O. Sharif, Numerical study and experimental validation of the effects of and exergy analysis, Appl. Therm. Eng. 219 (2023), 119489.
orientation and configuration on melting in a latent heat thermal storage unit, [31] S. Abhinand, A. Sharma, H.B. Kothadia, Performance analysis of PCM melting in a
Journal of Energy Storage 23 (2019) 456–468. fin-assisted thermal energy storage system–a numerical study, International
[22] O.K. Yagci, M. Avci, O. Aydin, Melting and solidification of PCM in a tube-in-shell Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer 144 (2023), 106747.
unit: effect of fin edge lengths’ ratio, Journal of Energy Storage 24 (2019), 100802. [32] F. Zhang, F. Lu, B. Liang, Y. Zhu, H. Gou, K. Xiao, Y. He, Thermal performance
[23] A.K. Hassan, J. Abdulateef, M.S. Mahdi, A.F. Hasan, Experimental evaluation of analysis of a new type of branch-fin enhanced battery thermal management PCM
thermal performance of two different finned latent heat storage systems, Case module, Renew. Energy 206 (2023) 1049–1063.
Studies in Thermal Engineering 21 (2020), 100675. [33] A. Moradian, M. Ameri, S. Majidi, Melting expedition in horizontal triplex tube
[24] D.S. Mehta, B. Vaghela, M.K. Rathod, J. Banerjee, Thermal performance heat exchangers via radial and combined radial-axial fins, Journal of Energy
augmentation in latent heat storage unit using spiral fin: an experimental analysis, Storage 56 (2022), 106129.
Journal of Energy Storage 31 (2020), 101776. [34] C. Nie, S. Deng, J. Liu, Numerical investigation of PCM in a thermal energy storage
[25] X. Yang, J. Guo, B. Yang, H. Cheng, P. Wei, Y.L. He, Design of non-uniformly unit with fins: consecutive charging and discharging, Journal of Energy Storage 29
distributed annular fins for a shell-and-tube thermal energy storage unit, Appl. (2020), 101319.
Energy 279 (2020), 115772. [35] F. Liu, G. Zhang, Study on melting and solidification performances improvement of
[26] V. Safari, H. Abolghasemi, L. Darvishvand, B. Kamkari, Thermal performance phase change material using novel branch fin structure, Journal of Energy Storage
investigation of concentric and eccentric shell and tube heat exchangers with 63 (2023), 107097.
different fin configurations containing phase change material, Journal of Energy [36] R. Karami, B. Kamkari, Investigation of the effect of inclination angle on the
Storage 37 (2021), 102458. melting enhancement of phase change material in finned latent heat thermal
[27] T. Zhang, G. Lu, X. Zhai, Design and experimental investigation of a novel thermal storage units, Appl. Therm. Eng. 146 (2019) 45–60.
energy storage unit with phase change material, Energy Rep. 7 (2021) 1818–1827. [37] F. He, B. Yan, J. Zou, C. Hu, X. Meng, W. Gao, Experimental evaluation of the effect
[28] Y.K. Liu, Y.B. Tao, Experimental and numerical investigation of longitudinal and of perforated spiral fins on the thermal performance of latent heat storage units,
annular finned latent heat thermal energy storage unit, Sol. Energy 243 (2022) Journal of Energy Storage 58 (2023), 106359.
410–420. [38] Rubitherm GmBH, www.rubitherm.de.

10

You might also like