Effect of multi-tubes and eccentricity on melting performance of honeybee wax thermal energy storage system: A comprehensive numerical study and experimental validation

Abstract

When it comes to solar thermal power systems, a latent heat energy storage unit is one possible solution to the imbalance in supply and demand. On a shell-tube type heat storage system, computational and experimental research was done to determine how to charge a heat storage system using honeybee wax-biodegradable phase change material. This paper examines the impact of single, double, and triple inner heat transfer fluid tubes on the melting properties of bee wax in relation to vertical and horizontal eccentricity. Through the experimental examination of a lab-scale prototype, the computational model was verified. A computational model was used to investigate the impact of eccentricity on different configurations for the melting process. Utilizing multiple tubes significantly shortened the charging time, according to the system analysis. In a vertically downward direction, melting time reduced as eccentricity increased. Compared to the single tube concentric case, the maximum melting time reduction for the single-, double-, and triple-tube cases was 63.7%, 67.0%, and 68.34%, respectively.