Numerical analysis of a cool-thermal storage system with a thermal conductivity enhancer operating under a freezing condition

Enhancing the cooling process of water in a cool-thermal storage system is investigated in this paper. The system is utilized to cool air during on-peak power consumption hours to save energy. The system consists of parallel plates filled with water and triangular corrugated fins. A finite element model for the system is used to predict the cooling time of water for different water's initial temperatures, and also to study the effect of fins design on the cooling process. The result indicates that the aspect ratio of the triangular fin has a significant effect the cooling process of water, and cooling rate increases for the aspect ratio greater or less than 0.75. Temperature contours, average water temperature, and Nusselt number are presented for the cooling process.