Inherent fluctuations in the availability of energy from renewables, particularly solar, remain a substantial impediment to their widespread deployment worldwide. Employing phase-change materials (PCMs) as media, saving energy for later consumption, offers a promising solution for overcoming the problem. However, the heat conductivities of most PCMs are limited, which severely limits the energy storage potential of these materials. This study suggests employing circular fins with staggered distribution to achieve improved thermal response rates of PCM in a vertical triple-tube heat exchanger involving two opposite flow streams of the heat-transfer fluid (HTF). Since heat diffusion is not the same at various portions of the PCM unit, different fin configurations, fin dimensions and HTF flow boundary conditions were explored using computational studies of melting in the PCM triple-tube system. Staggered configuration of fin distribution resulted in significant increases in the rates of PCM melting. The results indicate that the melting rate and heat charging rate could be increased by 37.2 and 59.1%, respectively, in the case of staggered distribution. Furthermore, the use of lengthy fins with smaller thickness in the vertical direction of the storage unit resulted in a better positive role of natural convection; thus, faster melting rates were achieved. With fin dimensions of 0.666 mm × 15 mm, the melting rate was found to be increased by 23.6%, when compared to the base case of 2 mm × 5 mm. Finally, it was confirmed that the values of the Reynolds number and inlet temperatures of the HTF had a significant impact on melting time savings when circular fins of staggered distribution were included.
In this numerical study a detailed evaluation of the heat transfer characteristics and flow structure in a laminar and turbulent flow through a rectangular channel containing built-in of different type vortex generator has been a accomplished in a range of Reynolds number between 500 and 100,000.A modified version of ESCEAT code has been used to solve Navier-Stokes and energy equations. The purpose of this paper is to present numerical comparisons in terms of temperature, Nusselt number and flow patterns on several configurations of longitudinal vortex generator including new five cases. The structures of heat and flow were studied, using iso-contours of velocity components, vortices, temperature and Nusselt n
... Show MoreShell-and-double concentric tube heat exchanger is one of the new designs that enhance the heat transfer process. Entransy dissipation is a recent development that incorporates thermodynamics in the design and optimization of heat exchangers. In this paper the concept of entransy dissipation is related to the shell-and-double concentric tube heat exchanger for the first time, where the experiments were conducted using hot oil with temperature of 80, 100 and 120°C, flow rate of cold water was 0.667, 1, and 1.334 kg/m3 respectively and the temperature of inlet cold water was 20°C. The entransy dissipation rate due to heat transfer and to fluid friction or pressure drop was studied.
Many researchers used different methods in their investigations to enhance the heat transfer coefficient, one of these methods is using porous medium. Heat transfer process inside closed and open cavities filled with a fluid-saturated porous media has a considerable importance in different engineering applications, such as compact heat exchangers, nuclear reactors and solar collectors. So, the present paper comprises a review on natural, forced, and combined convection heat transfer inside a porous cavity with and without driven lid. Most of the researchers on this specific subject studied the effect of many parameters on the heat transfer and fluid field inside a porous cavity, like the angle of inclination, the presenc
... Show MoreRecently the use of nanofluids represents very important materials. They are used in different branches like medicine, engineering, power, heat transfer, etc. The stability of nanofluids is an important factor to improve the performance of nanofluids with good results. In this research two types of nanoparticles, TiO2 (titanium oxide) and γ-Al2O3 (gamma aluminum oxide) were used with base fluid water. Two-step method were used to prepare the nanofluids. One concentration 0.003 vol. %, the nanoparticles were examined. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were used to accomplish these tests. The stability of the two types of nanofluids is measured by
... Show MoreThe steady state laminar mixed convection and radiation through inclined rectangular duct with an interior circular tube is investigated numerically for a thermally and hydrodynamicaly fully developed flow. The two heat transfer mechanisms of convection and radiation are treated independently and simultaneously. The governing equations which used are continuity, momentum and energy equations. These equations are normalized and solved using the Vorticity-Stream function and the Body Fitted Coordinates (B.F.C) methods. The finite difference approach with the Line Successive Over-Relaxation (LSOR) method is used to obtain all the computational results. The (B.F.C) method is used to generate the grid of the problem. A computer program (Fortran
... Show MoreExperimental and numerical studies have been conducted for the effect of injected air bubbles on the heat transfer coefficient through the water flow in a vertical pipe under the influence of uniform heat flux. The investigated parameters were water flow rate of (10, 14 and 18) lit/min, air flow rate of (1.5, 3 and 4) lit/min for subjected heat fluxes of (27264, 36316 and 45398) W/m2. The energy, momentum and continuity equations were solved numerically to describe the motion of flow. Turbulence models k-ε was implemented. The mathematical model is using a CFD code Fluent (Ansys15). The water was used as continuous phase while the air was represented as dispersed. phase. The experimental work includes design, build and instrument a test
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