Research and Analysis on the Performance of Embedded Heat Pipe Solar Phase Change Accumulator Considering Different Phase Change Materials

With the rapid development of the economy, China has entered a new era, and the process of urbanization and the realization of the great power dream cannot be separated from resources such as coal, oil, and natural gas. Various regions have begun to pay attention to sustainable development, strengthen measures for energy conservation and emission reduction, and reduce the demand for fossil fuels such as coal and oil. At the same time, due to China’s large population, high resource consumption, unreasonable consumption structure, and backward energy resource utilization technology, there is a need for sustainable, stable, and relatively inexpensive energy supply. This article proposes optimization measures from the model structure side and the phase change material side based on the horizontal shell tube solar phase change thermal storage, and designs an embedded heat pipe solar phase change thermal storage. In the design process, factors such as material selection, layout, and structure of the heat pipe need to be considered to ensure optimal performance of the embedded heat pipe solar phase change heat storage. Finally, the performance of solar phase change thermal storage was experimentally studied using Ansys Fluent software. The results show that the addition of fins has a significant impact on the melting of phase change materials during the phase change heat storage process. The use of annular spiral fins can significantly enhance the heat transfer process, shorten the melting and solidification time of phase change materials, and thus reduce the heat storage and release time. A certain proportion of graphite and paraffin can be added appropriately to make composite phase change materials to increase thermal conductivity and improve heat transfer efficiency.