IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/energy/v215y2021ipas0360544220322192.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A numerical study on the effects of nanoparticles and stair fins on performance improvement of phase change thermal energy storages

Author

Listed:
  • Nakhchi, M.E.
  • Hatami, M.
  • Rahmati, M.

Abstract

Using nano-enhanced phase change materials is a widespread passive method to improve the melting performance, and also the storage capacity of the thermal energy storage units. In this study, the effects of CuO nanoparticles (0≤φ≤1.5%) and new proposed stair fins on the efficiency improvement of latent heat thermal energy storage units are investigated. The stair fins are arranged in both upward and downward directions from the heated walls and the stair ratio is in the range of 0.67≤b/c≤4.0. One of the vertical walls of the PCM enclosure is subject to uniform temperature and the other three walls are insulted. The numerical results show that by adding nanoparticles with volume concentration of φ=1.5% for b/c = 0.67 to the flow, the energy storage capacity is enhanced by 9.1% compared to the pure PCM with downward fins. The maximum energy storage capacity of 474.1 kJ is achieved by using descending stair fins with b/c = 4.0 and φ=1.5% which is much higher compared to the cases without nano additives. Besides, the melting performance is significantly improved by adding the nanoparticles. In fact, nanoparticles improve the thermal conductivity of the fluid and also act as a heat sink to absorb the heat from the fins. The downward fins with larger stair ratios (b/c = 4.0) perform significantly better than the upwards ones which is because of the free convection effects and the recirculations flows on the upper face of these fins.

Suggested Citation

  • Nakhchi, M.E. & Hatami, M. & Rahmati, M., 2021. "A numerical study on the effects of nanoparticles and stair fins on performance improvement of phase change thermal energy storages," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 215(PA).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:215:y:2021:i:pa:s0360544220322192
    DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2020.119112
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360544220322192
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.energy.2020.119112?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hemmat Esfe, Mohammad & Hajmohammad, Hadi & Toghraie, Davood & Rostamian, Hadi & Mahian, Omid & Wongwises, Somchai, 2017. "Multi-objective optimization of nanofluid flow in double tube heat exchangers for applications in energy systems," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 160-171.
    2. Qiu, Lin & Ouyang, Yuxin & Feng, Yanhui & Zhang, Xinxin, 2019. "Review on micro/nano phase change materials for solar thermal applications," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 140(C), pages 513-538.
    3. Abdi, Amir & Martin, Viktoria & Chiu, Justin N.W., 2019. "Numerical investigation of melting in a cavity with vertically oriented fins," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 235(C), pages 1027-1040.
    4. Kalbasi, Rasool & Afrand, Masoud & Alsarraf, Jalal & Tran, Minh-Duc, 2019. "Studies on optimum fins number in PCM-based heat sinks," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 171(C), pages 1088-1099.
    5. Kim, Hyeongmin & Kim, Jinhyun & Cho, Honghyun, 2017. "Experimental study on performance improvement of U-tube solar collector depending on nanoparticle size and concentration of Al2O3 nanofluid," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 1304-1312.
    6. Hosseinzadeh, Mohammad & Sardarabadi, Mohammad & Passandideh-Fard, Mohammad, 2018. "Energy and exergy analysis of nanofluid based photovoltaic thermal system integrated with phase change material," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 636-647.
    7. Al-Jethelah, Manar & Tasnim, Syeda Humaira & Mahmud, Shohel & Dutta, Animesh, 2018. "Nano-PCM filled energy storage system for solar-thermal applications," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 126(C), pages 137-155.
    8. Sivashankar, M. & Selvam, C. & Manikandan, S. & Harish, Sivasankaran, 2020. "Performance improvement in concentrated photovoltaics using nano-enhanced phase change material with graphene nanoplatelets," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 208(C).
    9. Mahdi, Jasim M. & Mohammed, Hayder I. & Hashim, Emad T. & Talebizadehsardari, Pouyan & Nsofor, Emmanuel C., 2020. "Solidification enhancement with multiple PCMs, cascaded metal foam and nanoparticles in the shell-and-tube energy storage system," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 257(C).
    10. Xu, Yang & Li, Ming-Jia & Zheng, Zhang-Jing & Xue, Xiao-Dai, 2018. "Melting performance enhancement of phase change material by a limited amount of metal foam: Configurational optimization and economic assessment," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 212(C), pages 868-880.
    11. Rathore, Pushpendra Kumar Singh & Shukla, Shailendra Kumar, 2020. "An experimental evaluation of thermal behavior of the building envelope using macroencapsulated PCM for energy savings," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 1300-1313.
    12. Pirasaci, Tolga, 2020. "Investigation of phase state and heat storage form of the phase change material (PCM) layer integrated into the exterior walls of the residential-apartment during heating season," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 207(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Zhang, Chenyu & Wang, Ning & Xu, Hongtao & Fang, Yuan & Yang, Qiguo & Talkhoncheh, Fariborz Karimi, 2023. "Thermal management optimization of the photovoltaic cell by the phase change material combined with metal fins," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 263(PA).
    2. Liu, Zichu & Quan, Zhenhua & Zhao, Yaohua & Jing, Heran & Wang, Lincheng & Liu, Xin, 2022. "Numerical research on the solidification heat transfer characteristics of ice thermal storage device based on a compact multichannel flat tube-closed rectangular fin heat exchanger," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 239(PD).
    3. Mateusz Marcinkowski & Dawid Taler, 2021. "Calculating the Efficiency of Complex-Shaped Fins," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(3), pages 1-14, January.
    4. Rusin, Krzysztof & Ochmann, Jakub & Bartela, Łukasz & Rulik, Sebastian & Stanek, Bartosz & Jurczyk, Michał & Waniczek, Sebastian, 2022. "Influence of geometrical dimensions and particle diameter on exergy performance of packed-bed thermal energy storage," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 260(C).
    5. Mohammad Ghalambaz & S.A.M. Mehryan & Mahboobeh Mahdavi & Obai Younis & Mohammad A. Alim, 2021. "Evaluation of the Melting Performance in a Conical Latent Heat Thermal Unit Having Variable Length Fins," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-20, March.
    6. Muhammad Saqib & Rafal Andrzejczyk, 2023. "A review of phase change materials and heat enhancement methodologies," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Energy and Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 12(3), May.
    7. Tavakoli, Ali & Farzaneh-Gord, Mahmood & Ebrahimi-Moghadam, Amir, 2023. "Using internal sinusoidal fins and phase change material for performance enhancement of thermal energy storage systems: Heat transfer and entropy generation analyses," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 205(C), pages 222-237.
    8. Kassianne Tofani & Saeed Tiari, 2021. "Nano-Enhanced Phase Change Materials in Latent Heat Thermal Energy Storage Systems: A Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-34, June.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Xinguo Sun & Jasim M. Mahdi & Hayder I. Mohammed & Hasan Sh. Majdi & Wang Zixiong & Pouyan Talebizadehsardari, 2021. "Solidification Enhancement in a Triple-Tube Latent Heat Energy Storage System Using Twisted Fins," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-23, November.
    2. Mahdi, Jasim M. & Mohammed, Hayder I. & Hashim, Emad T. & Talebizadehsardari, Pouyan & Nsofor, Emmanuel C., 2020. "Solidification enhancement with multiple PCMs, cascaded metal foam and nanoparticles in the shell-and-tube energy storage system," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 257(C).
    3. Yang, Moucun & Moghimi, M.A. & Loillier, R. & Markides, C.N. & Kadivar, M., 2023. "Design of a latent heat thermal energy storage system under simultaneous charging and discharging for solar domestic hot water applications," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 336(C).
    4. Köse Murathan, Eda & Manioğlu, Gülten, 2020. "Evaluation of phase change materials used in building components for conservation of energy in buildings in hot dry climatic regions," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 162(C), pages 1919-1930.
    5. Rostami, Sara & Afrand, Masoud & Shahsavar, Amin & Sheikholeslami, M. & Kalbasi, Rasool & Aghakhani, Saeed & Shadloo, Mostafa Safdari & Oztop, Hakan F., 2020. "A review of melting and freezing processes of PCM/nano-PCM and their application in energy storage," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 211(C).
    6. Wang, Zhifeng & Wu, Jiani & Lei, Dongqiang & Liu, Hong & Li, Jinping & Wu, Zhiyong, 2020. "Experimental study on latent thermal energy storage system with gradient porosity copper foam for mid-temperature solar energy application," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 261(C).
    7. Shahsavar, Amin & Goodarzi, Abbas & Mohammed, Hayder I. & Shirneshan, Alireza & Talebizadehsardari, Pouyan, 2020. "Thermal performance evaluation of non-uniform fin array in a finned double-pipe latent heat storage system," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 193(C).
    8. Dai, Renkun & Li, Wei & Mostaghimi, Javad & Wang, Qiuwang & Zeng, Min, 2020. "On the optimal heat source location of partially heated energy storage process using the newly developed simplified enthalpy based lattice Boltzmann method," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 275(C).
    9. Jana Shafi & Mikhail Sheremet & Mehdi Fteiti & Abdulkafi Mohammed Saeed & Mohammad Ghalambaz, 2023. "Computational Study of Phase Change Heat Transfer and Latent Heat Energy Storage for Thermal Management of Electronic Components Using Neural Networks," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-20, January.
    10. Zhang, Ji & Cao, Zhi & Huang, Sheng & Huang, Xiaohui & Liang, Kun & Yang, Yan & Zhang, Haoran & Tian, Mi & Akrami, Mohammad & Wen, Chuang, 2022. "Improving the melting performance of phase change materials using novel fins and nanoparticles in tubular energy storage systems," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 322(C).
    11. Mohammad Ghalambaz & Hayder I. Mohammed & Jasim M. Mahdi & Amir Hossein Eisapour & Obai Younis & Aritra Ghosh & Pouyan Talebizadehsardari & Wahiba Yaïci, 2021. "Intensifying the Charging Response of a Phase-Change Material with Twisted Fin Arrays in a Shell-And-Tube Storage System," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-19, March.
    12. Pu, Liang & Zhang, Shengqi & Xu, Lingling & Ma, Zhenjun & Wang, Xinke, 2021. "Numerical study on the performance of shell-and-tube thermal energy storage using multiple PCMs and gradient copper foam," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 174(C), pages 573-589.
    13. Fang, Y. & Qu, Z.G. & Zhang, J.F. & Xu, H.T. & Qi, G.L., 2020. "Simultaneous charging and discharging performance for a latent thermal energy storage system with a microencapsulated phase change material," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 275(C).
    14. Safari, Vahid & Kamkari, Babak & Hooman, Kamel & Khodadadi, J.M., 2022. "Sensitivity analysis of design parameters for melting process of lauric acid in the vertically and horizontally oriented rectangular thermal storage units," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 255(C).
    15. Mohammad Ghalambaz & S.A.M. Mehryan & Hassan Shirivand & Farshid Shalbafi & Obai Younis & Kiao Inthavong & Goodarz Ahmadi & Pouyan Talebizadehsardari, 2021. "Simulation of a Fast-Charging Porous Thermal Energy Storage System Saturated with a Nano-Enhanced Phase Change Material," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-20, March.
    16. Zhou, Yuekuan, 2022. "Demand response flexibility with synergies on passive PCM walls, BIPVs, and active air-conditioning system in a subtropical climate," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 199(C), pages 204-225.
    17. Yousef, Mohamed S. & Sharaf, Mohamed & Huzayyin, A.S., 2022. "Energy, exergy, economic, and enviroeconomic assessment of a photovoltaic module incorporated with a paraffin-metal foam composite: An experimental study," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 238(PB).
    18. Kaya, Hüseyin & Arslan, Kamil & Eltugral, Nurettin, 2018. "Experimental investigation of thermal performance of an evacuated U-Tube solar collector with ZnO/Etylene glycol-pure water nanofluids," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 329-338.
    19. Hu, Nan & Li, Zi-Rui & Xu, Zhe-Wen & Fan, Li-Wu, 2022. "Rapid charging for latent heat thermal energy storage: A state-of-the-art review of close-contact melting," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    20. Yu, Qinghua & Chen, Xi & Yang, Hongxing, 2021. "Research progress on utilization of phase change materials in photovoltaic/thermal systems: A critical review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:215:y:2021:i:pa:s0360544220322192. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/energy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.