Effect of Y-shaped fins on the performance of shell-and-tube thermal energy storage unit

Abdeldjalil Belazreg; Aissa Abderrahmane; Naef A.A. Qasem; Ndolane Sene; Sahnoun Mohammed; Obai Younis; Kamel Guedri; Navid Nasajpour-Esfahani; Davood Toghraie

Case Studies in Thermal Engineering (Dec 2022)

Effect of Y-shaped fins on the performance of shell-and-tube thermal energy storage unit

Abdeldjalil Belazreg,
Aissa Abderrahmane,
Naef A.A. Qasem,
Ndolane Sene,
Sahnoun Mohammed,
Obai Younis,
Kamel Guedri,
Navid Nasajpour-Esfahani,
Davood Toghraie

Affiliations

Abdeldjalil Belazreg: Laboratoire de Physique Quantique de la Matière et Modélisation Mathématique (LPQ3M), University of Mustapha Stambouli of Mascara, Mascara, Algeria
Aissa Abderrahmane: Laboratoire de Physique Quantique de la Matière et Modélisation Mathématique (LPQ3M), University of Mustapha Stambouli of Mascara, Mascara, Algeria; Corresponding author.
Naef A.A. Qasem: Department of Aerospace Engineering and Interdisciplinary Research Center for Membranes and Water Security, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran, 31261, Saudi Arabia
Ndolane Sene: Department of Mathematics, Institut des Politiques Publiques, Dakar Fann, Senegal
Sahnoun Mohammed: Laboratoire de Physique Quantique de la Matière et Modélisation Mathématique (LPQ3M), University of Mustapha Stambouli of Mascara, Mascara, Algeria
Obai Younis: Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering in Wadi Addwasir, Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz, Saudi Arabia; Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Khartoum, Sudan
Kamel Guedri: Mechanical Engineering Department, College of Engineering and Islamic Architecture, Umm Al-Qura University, P.O. Box 5555, Makkah 21955, Saudi Arabia
Navid Nasajpour-Esfahani: Laboratoire de Physique Quantique de la Matière et Modélisation Mathématique (LPQ3M), University of Mustapha Stambouli of Mascara, Mascara, Algeria; Department of Aerospace Engineering and Interdisciplinary Research Center for Membranes and Water Security, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran, 31261, Saudi Arabia; Department of Mathematics, Institut des Politiques Publiques, Dakar Fann, Senegal; Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering in Wadi Addwasir, Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz, Saudi Arabia; Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Khartoum, Sudan; Mechanical Engineering Department, College of Engineering and Islamic Architecture, Umm Al-Qura University, P.O. Box 5555, Makkah 21955, Saudi Arabia; Georgia Institute of Technology, Department of Material Science and Engineering, 771 Ferst Dr NW, Atlanta, GA 30332, United States; Department of Mechanical Engineering, Khomeinishahr Branch, Islamic Azad University, Khomeinishahr, Iran
Davood Toghraie: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Khomeinishahr Branch, Islamic Azad University, Khomeinishahr, Iran; Corresponding author.

Journal volume & issue: Vol. 40
p. 102485

Abstract

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Phase change materials (PCMs) are well known for their inherent poor thermal characteristics, which consequently results in limited thermal efficiency for thermal energy storage systems (TESS). The current work numerically attempts to improve the thermal efficiency of TESS by employing Y-shaped fins with nano-enhanced PCM (NePCM). The NePCM is contained inside the cylindrical TESS, while water, as heat transfer fluid (HTF), is pumped through inner pipes. Three different configurations of the TESS were studied and compared; case 1: the reference case (with no fins), case 2: with two Y-shaped fins attached to the tubes, and case 3: with four Y-shaped fins attached to the tubes. The finite element method is employed to discretize the system's governing equations. Besides the influence of the TESS configuration, the impact of HTF temperature (338 and 348 K) and the volume fraction of the nanoparticles (0–0.08) were also addressed. The evolution of temperature contours and liquid fraction of the three different configurations under the two different HTF temperatures are discussed and analyzed. The findings revealed that using nanoparticles with 8 vol% enhanced the thermal conductivity during melting by 19%. The melting process was accelerated by 87% when the HTF temperature was higher (348 K). Finally, TESS with four Y-shaped fins was found to be the most effective as it achieved a 48% melting time reduction compared to the base case (case 1).

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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