Numerical study on Finned Latent Heat Storage for Tri-generation System

Abstract

Tri-generation system combines the supply of electric power, heating and cooling energy into one single system. Compared to the separated energy generation systems, the advantages lie in its higher efficiency, reliability and flexibility, as well as the reduced pollutant emissions. Yet the mismatch in system electricity and thermal demands often downgrades its effectiveness and economic merits. At this end, the adoption of thermal energy storage can be a practical means of improvement. Among the various choices, the finned latent heat storage using phase change material is distinct advantage owing to its high energy density. On the other hand, the finned latent heat storage design requires a detailed analysis of the heat transfer process. In this paper, our numerical model is introduced for use in simulating the associated complex heat transfer processes. The accuracy of the numerical model has been verified making use of the published experimental data available from the literature. Furthermore, our follow-up parametric study shows that the increase of fin thickness will improve the heat transfer performance for a given design configuration and the better heat transfer can be achieved with the reduction in fin length and fin spacing as well.