Experimental study on the thermal response of a metal foam dual phase change unit thermal storage tank

Adding fins or metal foam to phase change units can effectively enhance the heat storage efficiency of thermal energy storage (TES) tanks, thereby improving the reliability of TES tanks in coordinating renewable energy supply and demand. In this study, an experimental TES tank platform was designed and constructed to investigate how the addition of straight fins, metal foam, and straight fin/metal foam composite materials to paraffin affects the temperature response during the heat storage process. High-temperature water was selected as the heat transfer fluid (HTF) and injected from the top into the TES tank at the same paraffin fill level, and T-type thermocouples were arranged along the central axis of the phase change unit. TES tanks filled with either pure paraffin or composite phase change materials were tested by varying the HTF inlet temperature and velocity, and temperature response data were captured and recorded using a KEYSIGHT DAQ970A data logger. The results indicated that increasing the HTF inlet temperature significantly enhanced the heat storage rate while increasing the HTF inlet velocity had varying effects on different phase change units. A comprehensive analysis suggested that an inlet velocity of 1.3 m3/h (from a range of 0.8–1.8 m3/h) was reasonable. The addition of enhancement measures improved the temperature drift phenomena and effectively increased the temperature response rates and distribution uniformity. Moreover, the straight fin/metal foam composite material exhibited the best performance.