Incorporation of Spiral fins for improvement of discharging rate in Latent Heat Storage Unit
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24237/djes.2025.18403Keywords:
Latent Heat Storage Unit (LHSU), Shell and Tube, Phase Change Material (PCM), Spiral fins, DischargingAbstract
Latent Heat Storage Units (LHSUs) are widely used for low-temperature thermal applications, but their energy retrieval rate during solidification is restricted by the low thermal conductivity of most phase change materials (PCMs). Enhancing heat transfer during discharging is therefore essential for improving system efficiency and enabling practical solar thermal integration. This study experimentally evaluates the effectiveness of spiral fins in augmenting the discharging rate of a shell-and-tube LHSU filled with stearic acid as PCM and water as the heat transfer fluid (HTF). A custom-developed test rig with adjustable orientation (vertical, horizontal, and inclined) was fabricated, and temperature measurements were captured using 45 K-type thermocouples distributed over five axial planes within the annular PCM region. Discharging experiments were performed at an HTF inlet temperature of 28 °C and 5 LPM flow rate. The results confirm that spiral fins substantially accelerate solidification, reducing the time required to reach an average PCM temperature of 35 °C by 26.5%, 25.96% and 24.37% at the middle section for vertical, horizontal, and inclined orientations, respectively. For the entire annulus, the reduction ranged from 17.2% to 19.58%, demonstrating orientation-independent enhancement. The dominance of conduction during solidification minimizes buoyancy-driven convective effects, making spiral fins a reliable design feature for practical installations irrespective of mounting angle. The findings validate spiral fins as a robust heat transfer enhancement method for LHSUs and provide experimental insights for system optimization in real-world thermal energy storage applications.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Digant S. Mehta, Manish K. Rathod, Jyotirmay Banerjee
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