Experimentation on Novel Phase Change Material, Fin and Metal Foam Embedded Thermal Energy Storage for Simultaneous Charging‐Discharging

ABSTRACT The shell‐tube heat exchanger using phase change material (PCM) is widely employed in thermal energy storage and transfer systems, but is often limited by extended charging/discharging durations. To address this, a novel shell‐and‐tube thermal energy storage featuring dual‐side discharging and single‐side charging has been designed, fabricated, and tested under three unique configurations: PCM only, PCM with fins, and PCM with both fins and metal foam. Tests were conducted across charging‐only, discharging‐only, and simultaneous charging‐discharging modes. The foam‐fin with PCM setup demonstrated superior performance, storing approximately 24% and 51% more energy during charging than the fin with PCM and pure PCM cases, respectively. It also achieved the highest combined energy storage and output, surpassing the fin with PCM case by 52% and 56%, and the pure PCM case by 126.5% and 261%, respectively. Parametric analysis also showed that an increase in the charging fluid inlet temperature significantly enhanced both energy storage and output. On the other hand, a rise in the inlet temperature of the discharging fluid led to a modest increase in stored energy, whereas a notable drop in energy output. Given its rapid thermal response and superior performance, the proposed foam‐fin with PCM integrated thermal storage is highly suitable for rooftop integration to address the variability of solar energy effectively.