Investigation on the thermal performance of honeycomb bionic fin latent heat thermal energy storage units

IF 5 2区工程技术 Q1 ENGINEERING, MECHANICAL

International Journal of Thermal Sciences Pub Date : 2025-09-29 DOI:10.1016/j.ijthermalsci.2025.110333

Yu Yang , Kun Zhang , Liangbi Wang , Qiang Zhang , Kewei Song , Guangtian Shi

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

A novel latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES) unit with honeycomb structure (HCS) fins is proposed to improve the thermal performance. The effects of geometric parameters, including fin thickness ratio and the number of layers, on the solidification process of phase change materials (PCM) were investigated by numerical simulation. The results showed that the novel HCS finned LHTES unit significantly increases the solidification rate of PCM, leading to a more uniform temperature distribution. The HCS finned unit has the shortest solidification time and the highest heat transfer rate when it is compared to the plate finned, tree-shaped finned, and spider web finned structures. The three-layer HCS finned LHTES unit with a fin thickness ratio of 1:1:1 is considered the benchmark LHTES unit. Compared with the benchmark unit, the LHTES unit with a six-layer finned unit increases the average heat transfer rate by 30 %, but it also decreases the fin efficiency by 8.1 % due to the increasing conduction thermal resistance. Correspondingly, the LHTES unit with the optimal fin thickness ratio of 3:2:1 can increase the heat transfer rate by 14 % and shorten the solidification time by 12.7 %, respectively. In addition, the copper fin has the highest thermal conductivity and exhibits the best performance when it is compared with the aluminum, aluminum alloy, and steel fins. Thus, this study can provide a theoretical basis and technical reference for the optimal design of high-performance LHTES units.

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蜂窝仿生翅片潜热蓄热装置热性能研究

为了提高潜热储热性能，提出了一种新型的蜂窝翅片潜热储热装置。通过数值模拟研究了翅片厚度比和层数等几何参数对相变材料凝固过程的影响。结果表明，新型HCS翅片LHTES装置显著提高了PCM的凝固速度，使PCM的温度分布更加均匀。与板翅片、树形翅片和蜘蛛网翅片结构相比，HCS翅片装置具有凝固时间最短和传热速率最高的特点。三层HCS翅片LHTES装置，翅片厚度比为1:1:1，被认为是基准LHTES装置。与基准装置相比，带六层翅片的LHTES装置平均换热率提高了30%，但由于导热阻增加，翅片效率降低了8.1%。相应的，最佳翅片厚度比为3:2:1的LHTES机组，传热率提高14%，凝固时间缩短12.7%。此外，与铝、铝合金和钢翅片相比，铜翅片具有最高的导热性和最佳的性能。因此，本研究可为高性能超高压热电机组的优化设计提供理论依据和技术参考。

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来源期刊

International Journal of Thermal Sciences 工程技术-工程：机械

CiteScore

8.10

自引率

11.10%

发文量

531

审稿时长

55 days

期刊介绍： The International Journal of Thermal Sciences is a journal devoted to the publication of fundamental studies on the physics of transfer processes in general, with an emphasis on thermal aspects and also applied research on various processes, energy systems and the environment. Articles are published in English and French, and are subject to peer review. The fundamental subjects considered within the scope of the journal are: * Heat and relevant mass transfer at all scales (nano, micro and macro) and in all types of material (heterogeneous, composites, biological,...) and fluid flow * Forced, natural or mixed convection in reactive or non-reactive media * Single or multi–phase fluid flow with or without phase change * Near–and far–field radiative heat transfer * Combined modes of heat transfer in complex systems (for example, plasmas, biological, geological,...) * Multiscale modelling The applied research topics include: * Heat exchangers, heat pipes, cooling processes * Transport phenomena taking place in industrial processes (chemical, food and agricultural, metallurgical, space and aeronautical, automobile industries) * Nano–and micro–technology for energy, space, biosystems and devices * Heat transport analysis in advanced systems * Impact of energy–related processes on environment, and emerging energy systems The study of thermophysical properties of materials and fluids, thermal measurement techniques, inverse methods, and the developments of experimental methods are within the scope of the International Journal of Thermal Sciences which also covers the modelling, and numerical methods applied to thermal transfer.