Experimental investigation to improve the performance of thermal storage unit with flat Microheat pipe arrays

Abstract

In this study, the experimental investigation is focused on Thermal Storage Unit (TSU) that utilizes flat Microheat pipe array as its heat transmission core. Thermal power intensity is suggested as a thorough TSU evaluation metric. Additionally, we look into how heat transfer characteristics of TSU are impacted by air side and phase change materials side length proportions. Heat transfer properties, thermal resistance distribution, and phase-change performance of phase change materials are examined. According to the findings, the rate of heat transfer among phase change materials and air was substantially enhanced by FMHPAs. On air side, the thermal resistance is almost three times higher than on the PCM side. With a storage section length of 480 mm and heating and cooling section lengths ranging from 130, 160 and 190 mm, optimal performance was achieved with 160 mm length.