Numerical Analysis of the Influence of Inner Tubes Arrangement on the Thermal Performance of Thermal Energy Storage Unit

Obai Younis (), Laouedj Samir, Abdeldjalil Belazreg and Naef A. A. Qasem
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Obai Younis: Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering in Wadi Addwasir, Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University, Al-Kharj 11942, Saudi Arabia
Laouedj Samir: Materials and Reactive Systems Laboratory (LMSR), Djillali Liabes University, Sidi Bel Abbes 22000, Algeria
Abdeldjalil Belazreg: Laboratoire de Physique Quantique de la Matière et Modelisation Mathematique (LPQ3M), University Mustapha Stambouli of Mascara, Mascara 29000, Algeria
Naef A. A. Qasem: Department of Aerospace Engineering and Interdisciplinary Research Center for Aviation & Space Exploration, King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia

Energies, 2023, vol. 16, issue 9, 1-16

Abstract: The container shape and arrangement of the thermal storage systems (TES) play a vital role in enhancing thermal performance. In the current investigation, the impact of inner tube dimensions and arrangements of TES on the thermal performance of a PCM-based triplex-tube latent heat storage exchanger (TTHX) is numerically analyzed. COMSOL Multiphysics commercial software was employed to obtain the numerical solution of the governing equations. Eight different cases with the same volume of PCM and various configurations of the inner tubes were investigated. The results of the current study were presented in terms of temperature contours, liquid fraction, Bejan number, average temperature, and average Nusslet number. The shortest melting time was 48 min, which was achieved by a single inner tube configuration with a quicker melting time of >62% compared to other cases. While for multi-tubes, the shortest time was 78 min, which was achieved by the configuration of three tubes (two horizontal and the third placed at the lower section) with an enhancement of melting time reduction of >12% compared to other cases, except for a single inner tube configuration. Regarding the entropy generation, the single tube configuration achieved the lower Bejan number. Therefore, single tube configuration was found to be the best option for maximizing the thermal performance of the studied TTHX.

Keywords: thermal energy storage; tubes arrangement; melting rate; entropy generation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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