Numerical Thermal Analysis of Shell-and-Tube Thermal Energy Storage Under the Constraint of High Cycle Temperatures

The present study focuses on conducting a thermal analysis of a heat exchanger tube used for energy storage while considering the limitation of high-temperature cycling. The latent heat thermal energy storage system (LHTES) in concentrating solar power production (CSP) is subject to limitations imposed by the outlet threshold temperatures, which caused by thermo-mechanical load. The aim of this study is to enhance the efficiency of the shell-and-tube latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES) system, while considering the limitations imposed by the desired outlet temperatures during the charging and discharging phases. The present work establishes a model of a shell-and-tube latent heat thermal energy storage system, which is transient, two-dimensional, and axisymmetric in structure. Based on the model's thermal, the first step involves doing a sensitivity analysis on the geometry parameters in relation to the performance of the LHTES. This study reveals that when the particular surface area increases, there are corresponding changes in the LHTES performance. The results of the computational technique demonstrate the effective development of a finite element method (FEM), simple model for the L316 tube with spray cooling, using the Comsol software. The study of the finite element method (FEM) involves the analysis of transient thermal and structural phenomena as distinct and dependent evaluations. The water spray used in the thermal investigation was reproduced by optimizing the heat transfer coefficient inside the inner diameter (ID) region of the tube. The effectiveness of heat transfer via resistance heating furnaces was shown by the observed ideal convergence at 50100 W/m2 ℃.