1.

Analysis of geometrical and operational parameters of PCM in a fin and

tube heat exchanger (2014)(Heat and mass Transfer)
Note: Experimental work.
1. Fin and tube heat exchanger
2. solidification and melting
3. PCM = R35
4. HTF= Water
5. Investigate the effect of flow rate, inlet temperature and geometrical parameter (fin pitch)
on charging and discharging processes of the phase change material.
6. The shell side is a rectangular and a continuous spiral tube that carries the
water inside the shell.
2. Analysis of HTFs, PCMs and fins effects on the thermal performance
of shelltube thermal energy storage units (2015) (Solar Energy)
Note: Numerical Work (3D)
1. PCMs = including pure NaNO3 and a composite
of NaNO3/expanded graphite (EG)
2. HTF= synthetic oil and molten salts.
3. charging/discharging process,
4. Effects of the extended fin,
5. This study is expected to provide an apprehensive interpretation of thermal transport
mechanism and rational advices in optimizing the TES system operation.
3. An effectiveness-NTU technique for characterising a finned tubes PCM
system using a CFD model (Applied Energy)(2015)
Note: Numerical Work (2D)
1. Two dimensional mathematical model, based on the effectiveness-number of transfer units
technique.
2. Radial Fins.
3. The model applies an empirically derived P factor which defines the proportion of the heat
flow which is parallel and isothermal.
4.P factor was determined using a validated computational fluid dynamics model. This
method is used to design and optimise tube-in-tank salt based phase change thermal storage
units with finned tubes.
5. PCM = Water and salt hydrate.
4. A numerical method for PCM-based pin fin heat sinks optimization (energy
conversion and management)(2015)

Note: Numerical Work (3D)

1. Geometric optimization of PCM-based pin fin heat sinks.
2. Paraffin RT44HC is used as PCM
3. Fins are made of aluminium.
4. Taguchi method with numerical simulations is utilized for this purpose. Number of fins,
fins height, fins thickness and the base thickness are parameters which are studied for
optimization.
5. Results show that a complex relation exists between PCM and TCE volume percentages.
The optimal case strongly depends on the fins number, fins height and thickness and also the
critical temperature.
5. Close-contact melting in a horizontal cylindrical enclosure with longitudinal plate
fins: Demonstration, modeling and application to thermal storage.(Heat and mass
transfer)(2015)

Note:
1. close-contact melting (CCM) (which may significantly increase the melting rate, has not
been explored).
2. In the present experiments, a laboratory-scale three-fin unit is transparent and thus the
processes inside it are observed and recorded. Close-contact melting is achieved by supplying
heat to the outer shell of the unit: the solid phase is detached from the shell and moves in the
liquid phase.
3.A novel theoretical model includes gravity-induced rotational motion of the solid, primary
melting on a vertical fin with non-uniform temperature distribution, secondary melting at the
shell, and frictional resistance at the latter.
4. The model is validated using the experimental results, and then used for a
parametric investigation and dimensional analysis.
5. It is revealed that the melt fraction depends on the Fourier and Stefan numbers combined.

6. Constructal design of horizontal fins to improve the performance of phase change

material rectangular enclosures (Applied thermal Engineering)(2015)
Note:
1. The purpose of the current study is to determine the effect of adding horizontal fins to
improve the efficiency of a heat sink. The required time for the maximum temperature of the
heat sink to reach its critical value is maximized invoking constructal theory.
2. Degrees of freedom are the number of enclosures, horizontal fins number and heat sink
aspect ratio, while the entire surface area and the PCM content are constraints.
3. The results indicate that the best maximum safe operation time occurs in an optimum value
for the horizontal fins number.
4. The results show that for low number of enclosures, heat sinks with high aspect ratios are
superior; while, for high number of enclosures, heat sinks with low aspect ratios have better
performance.
5. Adding geometrical complexities to the heat sink will not necessarily improve the
performance of the enclosure.

7. GPU accelerated numerical study of PCM melting process in an enclosure with

internal fins using lattice Boltzmann method
1.The graphics processing units (GPU) computing
2.The melting process in PCMs was investigated for different materials of
fins and walls, number of fins, fin configurations, hot wall temperature, thermal boundary
conditions, and inclination angle of the PCM cavity.
3.Lattice Boltzmann method implemented on GPU was demonstrated as an efficient approach
to study the PCM melting process with internal fins.

8. Improving the efficiency of photovoltaic cells using PCM infused graphite and
aluminium fins.(solar Energy)(2015)
Note:Experimental.
1.The purpose of this paper is to assess, through experiment and Matlab modelling, whether
the use of phase change material (PCM)infused graphite with an external finned heat sink is
viable as a method of PV thermal regulation. The effect four different thermal regulation
techniques (cases A, B, C and D) on the thermal performance, point-based efficiency and
overall efficiency of a PV panel have been
studied.
2.These four cases are case A, the PV panel with no thermal regulation, case B, the PV panel
with 30 mm thick PCM infused graphite attached to the rear, case C, the PV with a finned
heat sink attached to the rear and case D, the PV panel with a combination of PCM infused
graphite and finned heat sink. Special attention has been paid to the effect that the infusion of
PCM into graphite has on the thermal regulation effects of the PCM itself.
3.The experimental setup consisted of two mono-crystalline silicon solar panels linked
independently to a computer, which recorded the power generated from each solar panel, as
well as the temperature at the front and rear of each panel.
4.Out of the four thermal regulation techniques, case D was the most effective at increasing
overall efficiency of the PV panel, with the greatest overall efficiency increase of 12.97.
9. Lattice Boltzmann application on the PCM solidification within a
rectangular finned container (applied Thermal Engineering)

1.This work presents an application of lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) for solidification of
phase change material (PCM) within a rectangular finned container. To do this, an implicit
lattice Boltzmann method is applied into two rectangular containers.
2.The rate of solidification is extremely controlled by containers material. Also, it is
confirmed that the current LBM effectively saves the running time several times compared to
finite volume method.

10. Maximization of performance of a PCM latent heat storage system

with innovative fins (Applied Energy)(2015)
Note: Numerical
1. In this paper the use of tree shaped fins is proposed to enhance the performance of a shelland-tube LHTES unit.
2. The geometry of Y-shaped fins with one and two bifurcations are optimized through the
combined use of CFD modelling and response surface method.
3.The results show that an increase of 24% of the system efficiency can be achieved by the
optimized unit.
.
4. This work presents for the first time a shape optimization strategy for the improvement
of a system involving transient operating conditions. This is a key feature of the paper and an
innovative effort to tackle optimization problems involving energy systems that show
unsteady state behaviour.

11. Melting and solidification of PCM enhanced by radial conductive fins and
nanoparticles in cylindrical annulus (Energy Conservation and management)(2016)
1.In this study, the melting and solidification of a PCM within three various horizontal
annulus configurations including two circular cylinders, one elliptical cylinder in a circular
cylinder and one finned cylinder in a circular cylinder are investigated numerically in terms
of the aspect ratio and the orientation of the ellipse and the number of fins.
2. Different volume fractions of the copper nanoparticles are added to the base PCM to
examine the effect of nano-particles on the heat transfer rate.
3.Results indicate natural convection plays important roles in the melting process where the
melting rate at the bottom section of the annulus is lower than that at the top section.
4. By using the vertical-oriented tube instead of the circular one the melting rate increases.
5.Adding nanoparticles to the base PCM enhances the melting and solidification rate

6.Inserting fins leads to the significant enhancement of the melting and solidification rate.
7.It is more efficient during the solidification process due to the suppression of the natural
convection effect during the melting process.

12. Numerical investigation of PCM melting process in sleeve tube with internal fins
(Energy conservation and management)(2016)
Note : Numerical
1. To analyze the impact of fin geometry (including fin-length, fin-ratio and the angle
between neighbor fins) and outer tube conductivity on PCM melting process;
2. The influence of the natural convection in the horizontal sleeve-tube unit within the
longitudinal fins is further examined.
3. Results shows that small fin-ratio can reduce melting time, but not remarkably; the angle
between neighbor fins has little impact on melting process,
4. Optimization of the angle between neighbor fins to reduce melting time in the full-scale
unit.
5.The outer tube conductivity has great impact on melting process whether considering the
natural convection or not.

13.Thermal performance enhancement of shell and tube Latent Heat Storage Unit using
longitudinal fins (Applied thermal engineering)(2015)

1.Significant augmentation in the heat transfer rate of PCMs is possible by installation of

longitudinal fins. The augmentation in heat transfer for a shell and tube type LHSU is
estimated by carrying out experimental analysis with three longitudinal
fins installed on the heat transfer fluid (HTF) tube.
2.The heat transfer augmentation is established in terms of melting and solidification time for
varying fluid inlet temperatures and flow rates of heat transfer fluid

(HTF).
3.Experimental results show that the heat transfer augmentation is more sensitive to increase
in
HTF inlet temperature as compared to increase in mass flow rate of HTF. Solidification time
has been observed to reduce up to 43.6% by installation of three fins.