Investigation of fin application effects on melting time in a latent thermal energy storage system with phase change material (PCM)

In this study, the effect of fin application for the melting time of phase change material (PCM) under artificial solar radiation was experimentally investigated. A paraffin wax in a thermal energy storage unit (TESU) was used as a phase change material (PCM). The experimental tests were performed 3, 5 and 7 fins (n) and 1, 1.5 and 2 mm fin thickness (t) with q = 800, 900 and 1000 W/m2 solar radiation in a TESU. The effects of “n” and “t” on melting time (Δt) as regards time dependent enhancement ratio (TDER) of paraffin wax was computed. The highest melting time of PCM of TESU without fins was obtained as 204 min followed by Type VII (n = 5, t = 2 mm) as 140 min under 1000 W/m2 solar radiation. The highest TDER was found as 1.82 in Type-VIII (n = 7, t = 1 mm) TESU under 1000 W/m2 solar radiation. As a result, the TDER values were increased with number of fins, whereas were decreased with fin thickness.