Abstract:
We present numerical investigations on a thermal energy stor-
age (TES) system using organic phase change materials (PCMs)
of RT42 for energy recovery from a heat source. To enhance the
heat transfer rate, five types of parallel fins with different oblique
angles of 0◦, ±15◦ and ±30◦ are proposed. A transient numeri-
cal model is developed to simulate the PCM melting process with
considering natural convection. The simulation settings are well
validated by the experimental tests. The contours of melting frac-
tion with natural convection driven flow are clearly performed
and compared. The level of enhancement is determined by the
average melting fraction of PCM domain varying with time. The
angled fins show better performance than the ‘No Fin’ one. En-
hancement ratio is also introduced to qualify the oblique angle
effect. Results indicate that PCMs with −15◦ fins melt faster
than the other types and has a maximum 10% improvement on
the basic case of ‘No Fin’. As the angle of fins increases to −30◦
or +30◦, the enhancement decreases.
Description:
Papers presented at the 13th International Conference on Heat Transfer, Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics, Portoroz, Slovenia on 17-19 July 2017 .
