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

Download

Seyedmohsen_BaghaeiOskouei_MSc_thesis.pdf

Date

2023-1-19

Author

Baghaei Oskouei, Seyedmohsen

Metadata

Show full item record

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Item Usage Stats

250
views

230
downloads

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

Collections

Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences, Thesis

Suggestions

OpenMETU
Core

Effect of bypassing the heat transfer fluid on charging in a latent thermal energy storage unit Baghaei Oskouei, Seyedmohsen; Bayer, Özgür (2023-06-01) Horizontal latent thermal energy storage (LTES) systems that use phase change materials (PCMs) are popular and effective methods of alleviating the intermittency of renewable energy sources. The main issue of PCMs is their low thermal conductivity, resulting in long charging times and slow response. In this investigation, a novel method to overcome this issue is proposed by designing bypassing tubes that redirect the flow of heat transfer fluid to the bottom of the horizontal LTES tank, where the melting ra...
Exploration of carbon additives to the synthesis of Cu2Mo6S8 structures and their electrocatalytic activity in oxygen reduction reaction Sürücü, Gökhan (2021-12-01) Catalytic processes are contemplated as break point in generating alternative and sus-tainable energy platforms. The cathodic oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is an importantcatalytic system, mainly finding practice in fuel cell and metal-air battery technologies.This work presents the synthesis, structural characterization and electrocatalytic proper-ties of three different Cu2Mo6S8structures as alternative ORR electrocatalysts. The effect ofdifferent carbon additives during synthesis was studied and no pos...
DESIGN AND SIMULATION OF A DYNAMIC PCM INTEGRATED TROMBE WALL SYSTEM FOR ENSURING THERMAL COMFORT IN HIGHLY GLAZED BUILDINGS Soyer, Ege; Elias Özkan, Soofia Tahira; Department of Building Science in Architecture (2022-12-2) In building design, there is an ongoing trend of research focused on various techniques for decreasing energy consumption in buildings, which can reduce the effect of global warming. This work is inspired by the passive heating system “Trombe Wall” which consists generally of a masonry unit located at the façades, covered with a glass layer, and collects heat energy from the sun due to a black coating at the exterior side of the wall. However, it has some drawbacks: e.g., Trombe Wall is static, heavy, hard ...
Design of Electrical Submersible Pump system in geothermal wells: A case study from West Anatolia, Turkey Aydın, Hakkı; Merey, Şükrü (Elsevier BV, 2021-5-12) Geothermal is defined as one of the renewable and sustainable energy sources. The sustainability of geothermal wells is highly dependent on the pressure drive mechanism and non-condensable gas (NCG) content of the produced geothermal fluid. Pressure decline and decline of non-condensable gases are commonly observed in geothermal production wells, which is unfavorable for wells’ lifetime. Electrical Submersible Pumps (ESP) are one of the solutions for extending the lifetime of geothermal wells. In this study...
Simulation of geothermal reservoirs with high amount of carbon dioxide Küçük, Serhat; Akın, Serhat; Department of Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering (2018) Geothermal energy is always attributed as a sustainable and environmentally friendly source of energy. But in some cases, amount of the greenhouse gas emissions from geothermal fields become a big issue. Kızıldere Geothermal Field, one of the most important and large scale geothermal fields of the world, is a subject of these issues, experiencing excess amount of CO2 production rates and a rapid decline in the reservoir pressures. This study aims to construct a numerical model of the Kızıldere Geothermal Fi...

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.