Open Access

ARTICLE

Enhancement of Thermal Performance of Heat Storage Tanks by the Synergistic Effect of Fin, Metal Foam, and Nanoparticles

Rukun Hu¹, Liao Zhang¹, Wenbin Han¹, Wei Chen¹, Bo Ma¹, Xuan Liu¹, Yongzhi Lei¹, Qian Lu¹, 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:
(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Enhancement Technologies for Fluid Heat and Mass Transfer)

Frontiers in Heat and Mass Transfer https://doi.org/10.32604/fhmt.2026.081154

Received 24 February 2026; Accepted 30 March 2026; Published online 27 April 2026

Abstract

To enhance the efficiency of phase change heat storage, this study investigates the synergistic effects and parameter interactions of a coupled strategy integrating fins, metal foam, and nanoparticles. A validated numerical model is developed for a shell-and-tube heat storage unit. The influence of porosity and pore density of metal foam, as well as Al₂O₃ nanoparticle concentration, on melting behavior, heat storage rate, and fluid flow features are systematically analyzed. Results indicate that reducing porosity significantly enhances heat conduction, shortening the complete melting time by up to 53.71%. Conversely, increasing pore density markedly suppresses natural convection, reducing the average liquid velocity by 64.62% and consequently extending the melting duration. The incorporation of nanoparticles consistently improves thermal performance; specifically, a 15% concentration reduces the melting time by 25.49%. Notably, a strong synergistic interaction is revealed. The enhancement of nanoparticles is more pronounced in metal foams with lower intrinsic conductivity, yielding an average additional enhancement of 17.24%. The optimal configuration identified in this study comprises metal foam with a porosity of 0.98 and a pore density of 10 PPI, coupled with 15% nanoparticles, achieving a heat storage rate 51.47% higher than the least efficient design. These findings elucidate the underlying coupling mechanisms and provide practical guidelines for the multi-parameter optimization of high-performance composite PCM-based thermal energy storage systems.

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Keywords

Melting characteristic; fin; metal foam; nanoparticles; latent heat storage; heat transfer enhancement

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