Impact of the shape and curvature of fins on a thermal energy storage unit

Abdeldjalil Belazreg; Naef A.A. Qasem; Aissa Abderrahmane; Obai Younis; Yacine Khetib; Muhyaddin Rawa; Ahmed M. Hassan

Case Studies in Thermal Engineering (Nov 2023)

Impact of the shape and curvature of fins on a thermal energy storage unit

Abdeldjalil Belazreg,
Naef A.A. Qasem,
Aissa Abderrahmane,
Obai Younis,
Yacine Khetib,
Muhyaddin Rawa,
Ahmed M. Hassan

Affiliations

Abdeldjalil Belazreg: Laboratory of Quantum Physics of Matter and Modeling, University Mustapha Stambouli of Mascara, Mascara, 29000, Algeria
Naef A.A. Qasem: Department of Aerospace Engineering and Interdisciplinary Research Center for Aviation and Space Exploration, King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, Dhahran, 31261, Saudi Arabia; Interdisciplinary Research Center for Aviation and Space Exploration, King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, Dhahran, 31261, Saudi Arabia; Corresponding author. Department of Aerospace Engineering and Interdisciplinary Research Center for Aviation and Space Exploration, King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, Dhahran, 31261, Saudi Arabia.
Aissa Abderrahmane: Laboratory of Quantum Physics of Matter and Modeling, University Mustapha Stambouli of Mascara, Mascara, 29000, Algeria
Obai Younis: Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering in Wadi Alddawasir, Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University, Saudi Arabia
Yacine Khetib: Mechanical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, 21589, Saudi Arabia; Smart Grids Research Group, Center of Research Excellence in Renewable Energy and Power Systems, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, 21589, Saudi Arabia
Muhyaddin Rawa: Smart Grids Research Group, Center of Research Excellence in Renewable Energy and Power Systems, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, 21589, Saudi Arabia; Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, 21589, Saudi Arabia
Ahmed M. Hassan: Faculty of Engineering, Future University in Egypt, New Cairo 11835, Egypt

Journal volume & issue: Vol. 51
p. 103638

Abstract

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Shortening the melting time of phase change materials is a fundamental research problem in thermal energy storage systems (TES). The present research numerically explores improving the thermal performance of a Paraffin wax shell and tube TES unit through various anchor-type fins. The main studied factors are the fin shape and curvature. Three different anchor-type fins are investigated: the inside curved (Configuration 1), outside curved (Configuration 2), and typically straight (Configuration 3). Galerkin finite element method (GFEM) is employed to model the storage unit and melting process. Results show that Configuration 2 reports the optimum anchor-type fin configuration by reducing the thermal charging time by 47 % and increasing the averaged Nusselt number by > 20 % compared to the other configurations. In addition, the lowest recorded Bejan number (the thermal irreversibility) and the fastest stored energy were also achieved by Configuration 2.

Published in Case Studies in Thermal Engineering

ISSN: 2214-157X (Online)
Publisher: Elsevier
Country of publisher: Netherlands
LCC subjects: Technology: Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General)
Website: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/case-studies-in-thermal-engineering/

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