Effects of Metal Fin Structures on the Thermal Behaviour of a PCM Enclosure

Phase change material (PCM) is widely applied in thermal storage, especially in latent heat thermal energy systems (LHTES). However, PCM is usually limited with a poor thermal conductivity that is needed to be enhanced in real applications. In this study, a visual experimental study was built to observe thermal characteristic of PCM in an enclosure with enhanced metal fin structures. In particular, two fins structures including the traditional plate fin and tree-shape fin were tested to study the effects of fin structures under the same metal volume fraction. The results showed that metal fins embedded in PCM improved the thermal conductivity and temperature uniformity of PCM. In comparison to the traditional plate fin, the tree-shape fin has obvious advantages in promoting both the overall thermal conductivity and natural convection during the melting process.