摘要：The latent heat thermal energy storage systems are widely used in several applications like solar energy systems to correct the mismatch between the available energy and demand. This paper introduces a numerical study to optimize the eccentricity of the inner flat-tube placed in a double pipe storage unit. A 2-D transient numerical model was simulated using ANSYS 17.2. The model was validated by experimental data and the results indicated a good agreement with published work. The study investigated the effects of the inner flat-tube eccentricity of a double pipe storage unit on the melting characteristics of the PCM. Twenty-four cases of various aspect ratios of the inner flat-tube (1, 0.9, 0.8, 0.7, 0.6, and 0.5) and different eccentricities (0, 0.25, 0.5, and 0.75) were simulated. The results revealed that; the higher melting rate enhancement is achieved for the circular inner tube which is 41%, 110.7%, and 218.5% for inner tube eccentricity of 0.25, 0.5, and 0.75, respectively, compared with the concentric case. Among all applied cases, the best melting performance was achieved for the circular tube with the least eccentricity.
关键词：Phase change material ; Latent heat thermal energy storage ; Flat tube ; Eccentricity ; Aspect ratio
