CHARACTERIZATION OF LATENT THERMAL ENERGY IN A STORAGE UNIT WITH FIBONACCI-SEQUENCE-INSPIRED FINS

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Seyedmohsen_BaghaeiOskouei_MSc_thesis.pdf

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2023-1-19

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Baghaei Oskouei, Seyedmohsen

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Latent thermal energy storage (LTES) is a viable method to mitigate one of the main problems with renewable energy sources, such as solar energy, which is their intermittent nature. LTES units take advantage of the large latent heat of fusion in phase change materials (PCMs) to store a substantial amount of energy in a relatively small volume, making them efficient and economical. The major challenge with PCMs is their low thermal conductivity, eventuating long melting (charging) and solidification (discharging) times. Using extended surfaces (fins) is a popular method, with recent developments in novel designs such as tree-like and fractal fins. The complex fin configurations improve the conduction while decreasing the natural convection effects by introducing additional shear stress to the melted PCM. In the current work, a new fin design based on the Fibonacci sequence is proposed in a vertical LTES unit to improve the charging/discharging characteristic. An experimental setup is designed to observe the charging/discharging behavior based on the volume expansion method. A numerical model based on the enthalpy-porosity method is implemented to investigate the physics behind the melting/solidification. The proposed fin performed 20\% better in terms of melting time compared to longitudinal fins by introducing more dispersed natural convection-dominated regions. The average liquid PCM velocity on the melt front was studied as a parameter for evaluating the natural convection behavior. The reduction of 45\% in solidification time was established for the novel fin as well.

Subject Keywords

phase change material, nature-inspired, fractal geometry, energy

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11511/101967

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Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences, Thesis

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Citation Formats

S. Baghaei Oskouei, “CHARACTERIZATION OF LATENT THERMAL ENERGY IN A STORAGE UNIT WITH FIBONACCI-SEQUENCE-INSPIRED FINS,” M.S. - Master of Science, Middle East Technical University, 2023.