TY - JOUR
T1 - Solidification performance improvement of phase change materials for latent heat thermal energy storage using novel branch-structured fins and nanoparticles
AU - Zhang, Ji
AU - Cao, Zhi
AU - Huang, Sheng
AU - Huang, Xiaohui
AU - Han, Yu
AU - Wen, Chuang
AU - Honoré Walther, Jens
AU - Yang, Yan
PY - 2023
Y1 - 2023
N2 - In the present study, we propose the combination of novel branch-structured fins and Al2O3
nanoparticles to enhance the performance of a phase change material
(PCM) during the solidification process in a triple-tube heat exchanger.
The inevitable drawback of PCMs is their lower heat conductivity, which
can result in a long response time during the phase change process in
latent heat thermal storage systems. Therefore, any serious improvement
strategy needs an optimized phase change process. A mathematical model
for a two-dimensional structure composed of a PCM with paraffin RT82 and
Al2O3 nanoparticles that considers the thermal
conduction in metal fins, Brownian motion of nanoparticles, and natural
convection in a liquid phase PCM is proposed and verified based on
experimental results. The impact of various volume fractions and fin
layouts on the solidification process is discussed, involving the
evolution and deformation of solid–liquid interfaces and distribution of
isotherms and average temperature and liquid fraction curves. The
results imply that the solidification behaviour can be significantly
enhanced by the application of nanoparticles and metal fins. Compared
with the inherent structure of the heat exchanger, the solidification
time is decreased by 8.5%, 9.3%, and 10.3% for Al2O3
nanoparticles (at 2%, 5%, and 8%, respectively) only and by 83.0%,
80.7%, 80.8%, and 82.9%, respectively, for various fin layouts only.
This is attributed to increased heat transfer by thermal conduction and
natural convection. It can be concluded that the impact of the use of
fins is preferable compared to that for nanoparticles, and the benefit
of nanoparticles is limited.
AB - In the present study, we propose the combination of novel branch-structured fins and Al2O3
nanoparticles to enhance the performance of a phase change material
(PCM) during the solidification process in a triple-tube heat exchanger.
The inevitable drawback of PCMs is their lower heat conductivity, which
can result in a long response time during the phase change process in
latent heat thermal storage systems. Therefore, any serious improvement
strategy needs an optimized phase change process. A mathematical model
for a two-dimensional structure composed of a PCM with paraffin RT82 and
Al2O3 nanoparticles that considers the thermal
conduction in metal fins, Brownian motion of nanoparticles, and natural
convection in a liquid phase PCM is proposed and verified based on
experimental results. The impact of various volume fractions and fin
layouts on the solidification process is discussed, involving the
evolution and deformation of solid–liquid interfaces and distribution of
isotherms and average temperature and liquid fraction curves. The
results imply that the solidification behaviour can be significantly
enhanced by the application of nanoparticles and metal fins. Compared
with the inherent structure of the heat exchanger, the solidification
time is decreased by 8.5%, 9.3%, and 10.3% for Al2O3
nanoparticles (at 2%, 5%, and 8%, respectively) only and by 83.0%,
80.7%, 80.8%, and 82.9%, respectively, for various fin layouts only.
This is attributed to increased heat transfer by thermal conduction and
natural convection. It can be concluded that the impact of the use of
fins is preferable compared to that for nanoparticles, and the benefit
of nanoparticles is limited.
KW - Energy storage
KW - solidification
KW - Nanoparticle
KW - Branch-structured fin
KW - Phase change material
KW - Heat transfer enhancement
U2 - 10.1016/j.apenergy.2023.121158
DO - 10.1016/j.apenergy.2023.121158
M3 - Journal article
SN - 0306-2619
VL - 342
JO - Applied Energy
JF - Applied Energy
M1 - 121158
ER -