Enhanced Energy Storage Using Pin-Fins in a Thermohydraulic System in the Presence of Phase Change Material

Energy storage has been an essential topic in thermal management. With the low conductivity of phase change material, the effort is to propose the best mechanism for heat transfer. In the present paper, pin-fins are used in the hydraulic system to transfer the heat coming from wastewater management into phase change material. Different flow rates have been tested, and it was found that pin-fins can create mixing in the flow chamber allowing a large convective heat flux to move heat into the phase change material. In the present design, it was found that natural convection assists in heat transfer. Additional findings suggested that the pin-fins height influence the heat transfer process. In the current configuration, 5 mm in height pin-fins demonstrated the best heat transfer when compared to pin-fins varying from 1 mm to 6 mm, respectively.