Numerical Investigation on the Thermal Performance Enhancement in a Latent Heat Thermal Storage Unit

The present paper describes the application of computational fluid-dynamics (CFD) for the analysis of the melting process in a single vertical shell-and-tube heat exchanger. The computations are based on a 2D axial-symmetric model that takes in account the phase change phenomenon by means of the enthalpy method. The numerical studies aimed at clarifying the importance of the different heat transfer mechanisms with a particular focus on natural convection demonstrating its fundamental importance on the phase change process by enhancing the heat transfer between HTF and solid PCM. the paper discusses the effect of two different common performance enhancement techniques: dispersion of high conductive nano-particles in the PCM and the introduction of radial fins. An extensive thermo-fluid dynamic study has been undertaken exploring the effect on the thermal performance enhancement of particle volume fraction and fins. The analysis shows that in comparison to the standard design, the performances of the LHTS unit in terms of charging time could be improved by up to 40 % for nano-particle enhancement. When fins are considered charging time can be reduced to one-third of its original value. Significant improvements are also achieved during the solidification process: discharge time is reduced of 33% with fins enhancement.