Thermal Characterization of Lauric Acid and Stearic Acid Binary Eutectic Mixture in Latent Heat Thermal Storage Systems with Tube and Fins

In order to obtain the suitable phase change material（PCM） with low phase change temperature and improve its heat transfer rate, experimental investigation was conducted. Firstly, different mass ratios of lauric acid（LA） and stearic acid（SA） eutectic mixtures were prepared and characterized by differential scanning calorimetry（DSC）. Then, the performance of eutectic mixture during charging process under different fin widths in vertical condition, and performance during charging and discharging processes under different inlet temperature heat transfer fluid（HTF） in horizontal condition were investigated, respectively. The results revealed that the LA-SA eutectic mixture had the suitable phase change temperature and desired latent heat for low-temperature water floor heating system. Wide fins and high inlet temperature HTF significantly enhanced the transfer rate and decreased the melting time.

Enhanced heat transfer in a heat exchanger square-duct with discrete V-finned tape inserts

The article presents an experimental and numerical study on thermal performance enhancement in a constant heatfluxed square-duct inserted diagonally with 45° discrete V-finned tapes(DFT).The experiments were carried out by varying the airflow rate through the tested square duct with DFT inserts for Reynolds number from 4000 to 25000.The effect of the DFT with V-tip pointing upstream at various relative fin heights and pitches on heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics was experimentally investigated.Both the heat transfer and pressure drop were presented in terms of Nusselt number and friction factor respectively.Several V-finned tape characteristics were introduced such as fin- to duct-height ratio or blockage ratio(R_B=e/H = 0.075,0.1,0.15 and 0.2),fin pitch to duct height ratio(R_P= P/H=0.5,1.0,1.5 and 2.0) and fin attack angle,α = 45°.The experimental results reveal that the heat transfer and friction factor values with DFT inserts increase with the increment of R_B but the decrease of R_P.The inserted square-duct at R_B = 0.2 and R_P = 0.5 provides the highest heat transfer and friction factor while the one with R_B= 0.1 and R_P= 1.5 yields the highest thermal performance.Also,a numerical simulation was conducted to investigate the flow structure and heat transfer mechanism inside the tested duct with DFT inserts.