The numerical study shows improved heat transfer and reduced charging times in LHTES systems, highlighting the role of phase change material thickness.
The paper investigates the effects of annular fins and different phase change material thickness (t pcm ) on the thermal performance and charge/discharge times of latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES) systems. It compares liquefaction and solidification times for both low- and high-temperature PCMs. Four cases were experimentally tested under discharge conditions with inlet water temperatures of 15°C and 25°C, and mass flow rates of 0.005 and 0.01 kg/s. During charging, inlet temperatures were maintained at 70°C and 80°C. The findings indicate that the introduction of fins greatly enhances system performance. For instance, solid fraction values rose by as much as 551.4% in systems with PCM-2 and a 30 mm t pcm . Outlet water temperature was enhanced by 40.13%, 23.49%, 27.87%, and 16.15% in the four cases. Heat transfer during discharge was enhanced by as much as 150.54% for PCM-1 and 100.4% for PCM-2. Fins also reduced charging times, decreasing from 70,000 to 66,825 s and from 67,891 to 64,877 s in systems with PCM-2. Heat transfer during charging was enhanced by up to 17.7% in systems with PCM-1. The paper identifies fins as an effective LHTES system enhancement technique.
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Kavasoğulları et al. (2025) studied this question.