Discharging Performance Analysis of MXene Nano-Enhanced Phase Change Material for Double and Triplex Tube Thermal Energy Storage

Abstract

The present study numerically investigates the energy and exergy analysis of solidification of phase change materials within a double tube and triple tube latent heat storage unit using ANSYS Fluent. Double tube and triple tube thermal energy storage system's thermal characteristics are examined using MXene nano-enhanced phase change material to determine system efficiency, discharged energy, heat transfer rate, exergy destruction, entropy generation number, exergetic efficiency, liquid fraction, solidification temperature contours. The result revealed that the double tube thermal energy storage with pure cetyl alcohol PCM has 14.76% lower discharge exergy than MXene-based nano-enhanced phase change material in pure solidification. In a triple tube thermal energy storage system, the solidification time for MXene-based nano-enhanced phase change material is impressively reduced by 54.76% compared to a double tube system using pure phase change material. At a Fourier number of 0.00672, MXene nano-enhanced phase change material exhibits an 11.69% higher Stefan number (St) than cetyl alcohol phase change material in a double tube thermal energy storage system. At 2400 s, pure phase change material and MXene nano-enhanced phase change material generated 3.14% and 4.88% less entropy than pure cetyl alcohol in the triple tube thermal energy storage system. During the pure solidification process in a double tube thermal energy storage system, pure cetyl alcohol experiences 7.60% higher exergy destruction compared to MXene nano-enhanced phase change material at a solidification time of 2400 s. In a triple tube thermal energy storage system, the discharging temperature for pure cetyl alcohol phase change material is 2.92% lower than that in a double tube system. Double tube thermal energy storage with pure cetyl alcohol discharged more efficiently over 2400 s. The triple tube thermal energy storage system solidified cetyl alcohol PCM 20.83% faster than pure phase change material due to MXene nanoparticles' better thermophysical properties. Thus, MXene-based nano-enhanced cetyl alcohol phase change material solidifies faster per volume in a triple tube thermal energy storage latent heat system.