Open Access

ARTICLE

Enhancement of Heat Discharging in Thermal Storage Tanks by Combining Curved Fins and Nanoparticles

Bo Ma¹, Xujun Gao¹, Wei Chen¹, Yongzhi Lei¹, Liao Zhang¹, Ge Yao¹, Anfan Shang¹, Xuan Liu¹, Yuanji Li², Xiaohu Yang^2,*
1 Research Center of Energy Solution, PowerChina Northwest Engineering Corporation Limited, Xi’an, China
2 Institute of the Building Environment & Sustainability Technology, School of Human Settlements and Civil Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, China
* Corresponding Author: Xiaohu Yang. Email:

Energy Engineering https://doi.org/10.32604/ee.2026.080848

Received 16 February 2026; Accepted 21 April 2026; Published online 19 May 2026

Abstract

Latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES) using phase change material (PCM) is an effective technique to buffer the fluctuating supply of renewable energy and improve its overall utilization. Aiming to further accelerate the phase change heat transfer rate and maximize renewable energy deployment, this work investigates the synergistic enhancement effect achieved by coupling non-uniformly distributed curved fins with Al₂O₃ nanoparticles in a horizontal shell-and-tube storage configuration. A two-dimensional numerical model was constructed to systematically evaluate the impacts of fin quantity and nanoparticle doping concentration on the transient solidification behavior. The results demonstrate that increasing the number of fins dramatically shortens the complete solidification time: from 2043 s in the finless case to only 168 s when 12 fins are installed, which corresponds to a 91.78% reduction. Incorporating nanoparticles further expedites solidification by raising the effective thermal conductivity of the PCM; however, excessive nanoparticle loading suppresses natural convection and leads to diminishing marginal gains. Importantly, the coupling benefit between fins and nanoparticles becomes more pronounced as the fin density increases. The optimum performance is achieved with the combination of 12 fins and 3% nanoparticles, which elevates the average heat release rate by 526.9% compared to the reference case with three-fin configuration and 0% nanoparticles. This study clarifies the complementary roles of extended surfaces and high-conductivity additives and provides quantitative guidance for the design of high-performance LHTES units.

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Keywords

Heat transfer enhancement; solidification characteristic; finned tube; nanoparticles

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