Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews xxx (xxxx) xxx–xxx

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/rser

Geometric and design parameters of fins employed for enhancing thermal

energy storage systems: a review
⁎
Ammar M. Abdulateef a,b, , Sohif Mata, Jasim Abdulateef a,b, Kamaruzzaman Sopiana,
Abduljalil A. Al-Abidia,c
a
Solar Energy Research Institute, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia
b
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Diyala, 32001 Diyala, Iraq
c
Department of HVAC Engineering, Sana’a Community College, P.O. Box 5695 Sana’a, Yemen

A R T I C L E I N F O A BS T RAC T

Keywords: The continuous increase in the level of green-house gas emissions and the depletion of fossil fuels are identified,
Fins technique as the major driving forces behind efforts to effectively utilize different sources of renewable energy. Solar
Phase-change material energy considered one of the most prospective sources of this energy. This review paper mainly focuses on the
Melting/solidification time majority of heat-transfer enhancement techniques between the phase-change material (PCM) and the heat-
PCM container
transfer fluid (HTF) based on the application of fins embedded in the PCM. This study also investigated the
Pin fin
geometrical dimensions, dimensionless numbers, and fin location through numerical and experimental works
conducted to assess the influences of these parameters on the thermal performance of PCM-latent heat thermal
energy storage (LHTES) containers. The best enhancement is achieved using the longitudinal finned
configurations because of its easy design and fabrication, especially along circumference of the cylindrical
PCM containers. The circular-finned tube was also more effective than the pinned-tube for different shell and
tube. PCMs based on heat sinks with internal pin fins were widely used for the thermal management of various
pieces of electronic products. The heat enhancement factor was effectively dependent on increasing the numbers
and dimensions of these fins. Further researches still require to explore the possible geometrical designs of fins
and their key findings, which have more effect on the thermal performance of the finned-LHTES system.

1. Introduction
Solar energy is considered, as one of the most prospective sources
of energy in many parts of the world. The characteristics of solar
energy, such as being abundant and freely available, easily and directly
utilizable, renewable and has continuity, and safe and environmentally
friendly, make solar energy an attractive alternative to fossil fuels. The
continuous increase in the level of green-house gas emissions and the
depletion of fossil fuels are identified, as the main driving forces behind
efforts to effectively utilize different sources of renewable energy. Solar
energy systems require thermal energy storage (TES) to eliminate the
mismatch between energy supply and demand. However, the main
challenge for most of these systems is the continuous power generation
during cloud transients and non-daylight hours. TES systems offer the
possibility to store high amounts of thermal energy, especially the
latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES) system at a constant or
near constant temperature depends on the temperature difference of
the phase-change material (PCM). It is required a smaller weight and
volume of material for a specific amount of energy, compared with the
conventional sensible heat thermal energy storage (SHTES) system.
The PCM loaded in LHTES systems have low thermal conductivity
(k ≤ 0.2 W/m K), which drastically affects thermal performance of
these systems. The low thermal conductivity influence reflected during
energy retrieval or withdrawal with an appreciable temperature drop
during the process.
Different techniques are adopted to improve the thermal perfor-
mance of LHTES systems, such as using an extended surface or fins,
utilizing multiple families of PCM, thermal conductivity improvement,
and micro-encapsulation of PCM [1]. The applications embedded in the
PCM, such as longitudinal, circular/annular, plate, and pin fins,
represent the base of most extended surface or fin heat-transfer
enhancement techniques, especially the techniques based on plate-
finned heat exchangers [75], pin fin heat sinks [80,81], and tree-shaped
fins [82]. Numerous researchers have developed these configurations
and studied their roles extensively in the past years. In addition, these
techniques can efficiently improve the heat-transfer rate between the

⁎
Corresponding author at: Solar Energy Research Institute, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia.
E-mail address: ammarukm@gmail.com (A.M. Abdulateef).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2017.07.009
Received 3 June 2016; Received in revised form 8 June 2017; Accepted 4 July 2017
1364-0321/ © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Please cite this article as: Abdulateef, A.M., Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews (2017), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2017.07.009
A.M. Abdulateef et al. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews xxx (xxxx) xxx–xxx

Nomenclature v velocity (m/s)

x, y, z x, y, z-component in a Cartesian coordinate system
ANN artificial neural network Z fin height (m)
Cp specific heat (kJ/kg K)
D,d diameter (m) Greek letters
Fo Fourier number
g gravity acceleration (m/s2) α thermal diffusivity of PCM (m2/s)
h heat-transfer coefficient (W/m2 K) β coefficient of volumetric expansion (1/K)
H enthalpy (J) ε emissivity, emittance
HTF heat-transfer fluid γ liquid fraction
k thermal conductivity (W/m K) η efficiency
L,l length (m) λ latent heat of fusion (kJ/kg)
LHTES latent heat thermal energy storage μ dynamic viscosity (kg/m s)
m mass (kg) ρ fluid density (kg/m3)
m mass flow rate (kg/s) τ dimensionless time
Nu Nusselt number
Pr Prandtl number Subscripts
PCM phase-change material
Ra Rayleigh number eff effective
Re Reynolds number f fluid
r tube radius (m) fin fin
SHTES sensible heat thermal energy storage i inner (inlet)
Ste Stefan number l liquid
t time (s), thickness (m) m melting
T temperature (°C or K) o outer
TTHX triplex tube heat exchanger p phase-change material
TCE thermal conductivity enhancer ref reference
Tm melting temperature (°C or K) s solid
∆T temperature difference (°C or K)

Table 1
Thermos-physical properties of the different PCM classifications.

Type of PCM Melting temperature, Tm (°C) Thermal conductivity, k (W/m Latent heat of fusion, λ (kJ/ Specific heat Capacity, Cp (kJ/kg References
K) kg) K)

Organic/paraffin
RT100 99 0.2 168 2.4 (liquid), [4]
1.8 (solid)
RT82 77.15–85.15 0.2 176 2 (liquid), [5]
(solid)
RT25-RT30 26.6 0.18 (liquid), 232 1.8 (liquid), [6]
0.19 (solid) 1.41 (solid)
Paraffin wax 32–32.1 0.224 (liquid), 251 3.26 (liquid), [6,8,9]
0.514 (solid) 1.92 (solid)
P116-Wax 46.7–50 0.277 (liquid), 209 2.89 (liquid), [7,9]
0.140 (solid) 2.89 (solid)
Organic/fatty acids
Stearic acid 41–43 1.60 (solid) 211.6 2.27 (liquid), [10–13]
1.76 (solid)
Lauric acid 41–43 1.6 211.6 2.27 (liquid), [11]
1.76 (solid)
Myristic acid 52.2 – 182.6 – [19]
Capric acid 32 0.153 (liquid) 152.7 – [14]
Inorganic/salt hydrates
CaCl2·6H2O 29.9 0.53 (liquid), 187 2.2 (liquid), [15]
1.09 (solid) 1.4 (solid)
Mg(NO3)2·6H2O 89 0.490 (liquid), 162.8 – [16]
0.611 (solid)
MgCl2·6H2O 116.7 0.570 (liquid), 168.6 2.61 (liquid), [16,17]
0.704 (solid) 2.25 (solid)
Inorganic/metallic
NaNO3 310 0.5 172 1.82 [18]
KNO3 330 0.5 266 1.22 [18]
ZnCl2 280 0.5 75 0.74 [18]
Eutectics/Inorganic
58.7% Mg (NO3). – 0.678 (solid), 132 – [1]
6H2O−41.3% MgCl2·6H2O 0.51 (liquid)
66.6% Urea−33.4% NH4Br – 0.331 (liquid), 161 – [1]
0.682 (solid)

2
A.M. Abdulateef et al.
PCM and the heat-transfer fluid (HTF) in LHTES systems.
This review paper mainly focuses on the role of utilizing various
configurations of fins to provide an additional heat-transfer surface,
and thus enhance the thermal performance of the LHTES system.
Exploring the possible geometrical parameters of fins and their key
findings, which significantly affect the thermal performance enhance-
ment of finned-LHTES units, is likewise an interesting direction.
2. PCM of the LHTES system
Thermal energy can be stored, as a sensible heat in a liquid or solid
medium, where the temperature of the storage material varies with the
total amount of energy stored and released. As a latent heat, the
thermal energy can be stored when the material changes from one-
phase to another during the charging and discharging process. The
temperature of the material remains constant during these transitions.
It can also be stored, as a chemical energy or product in a reversible
chemical reaction. Over the last three-decades, most of the studies
conducted on storage materials have focused on the SHTES and
LHTES systems. The LHTES technique has proven that it is the best
option for engineering applications because of its different advantages,
such as a large amount of thermal energy that can be stored in a small
volume, uniform energy storage/supply, and compactness. Morrison
and Abdel-Khalik [2] and Ghoneim [3] showed rock represents a
sensible heat storage material, which requires more than seven-times
the storage mass of paraffin (116-wax), as a PCM, five-times the storage
mass of medicinal paraffin, and more than eight-times the storage mass
of Na2SO4·10H2O to store the same amount of energy. However, most
of the PCM used, as storage media suffers from low thermal con-
ductivity (k ≤ 0.2 W/m K). This state often leads to an incomplete
melting/solidification and a significant temperature difference within
the PCM, which in some cases can cause material failure and system
overheating. Therefore, developing other enhancement techniques are
more significant to improve the thermal performance of PCM-LHTES
systems.
2.1. Classifications of the PCM-LHTES system
The phase-change material (PCMs) can be classified into three
categories: solid-solid, solid-liquid, and liquid-gas. Among these cate-
gories, solid-liquid of the PCM is considered to be the most suitable for
the LHTES system. It can be divided into organic compounds, such as
paraffin and fatty acids; inorganic compounds, such as salt hydrates
and metallic; and eutectics, such as organic-organic, inorganic-organic,
and inorganic-inorganic. All the properties of these PCM classifications
employed in the LHTES system are displayed in Table 1. The
advantages and disadvantages of these classifications are compared
and presented in Table 2 [21].
2.2. Selection criteria of the PCM-LHTES system
The main criteria that govern the selection of the PCM used in
LHTES systems including: thermodynamic, kinetic, chemical, and
economic properties [22]. For thermodynamic properties, the initial
selection of PCM requires a melting temperature within the required
operating temperature range of any system. This melting point can be
found in a domestic hot water application, in which the PCM has a
melting temperature range of 0 ℃−65 ℃. For example, the hot-side of
the LiBr/H2O absorption cooling systems, the storage with a generator
temperature is in the range of 80 ℃−120 ℃ [20], while the required
operation temperature for solar power plants based on parabolic
through collectors and direct steam generation should be not less than
150 ℃. The PCM should possess a high latent heat of fusion per unit
mass with small volume changes during the phase transition and a low
vapor pressure at an operating temperature to reduce the containment
problem. Furthermore, high thermal conductivity and high specific
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Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews xxx (xxxx) xxx–xxx
heat are much significant for these processes. For kinetic properties,
high nucleation rate is also necessary to avoid super-cooling and the
high rate of crystal growth to meet the demands of heat recovery from
the LHTES system. The chemical properties contain non-poisonous,
non-flammable, and non-explosive compounds. These properties
should have complete reversible melting and solidification cycle,
chemical stability, no chemical decomposition, and corrosion resis-
tance to construction materials. Ultimately, economic properties are
available in large quantities at low cost.
3. Geometries of PCM-LHTES containers
The geometry of the PCM container and dimensionless numbers
and the dimension parameters required for a given amount of PCM.
Each of these factors has significant effects on the heat-transfer rate of
PCM-LHTES systems. The shape and size of container must character-
ize the melting and solidification time of the PCM to ensure the long-
term performance for any engineering application, as well as the daily
insolation at the selected area if the energy source is a solar collector.
The geometrical containers used in the PCM-LHTES system can be
typically classified into: cylindrical containers (long thin heat pipe,
concentric annulus, shell and tube, and triplex tube), rectangular/
square slab container and spherical packed-bed container, as shown in
Fig. 1.
3.1. Configurations of cylindrical PCM-LHTES containers
Cylindrical geometries are considered the most promising for the
devices of commercial heat exchangers, because most engineering
systems use cylindrical pipes that have high efficiency in a minimum
volume. Four models of cylindrical PCM-LHTES container configura-
tions can be distinguished. The first is a pipe model, where the PCM
fills the shell and the HTF flows through a single pipe, as depicted in
Fig. 1a [28,34]. The second model is a cylinder, where the PCM fills the
tube and the HTF flows parallel to the tube, as shown in Fig. 1b
[24,28,31,35]. The third model is a shell and tube, as illustrated in
Fig. 1c [23,26–29,32,34,36], where the PCM fills the tube-side or in the
shell, while the HTF flows through other. The last one is triplex tube
heat exchanger (TTHX), as displayed in Fig. 1e [25,30,33], where the
PCM fills the middle tube and the HTF flows through the inner and
outer tube. Hosseini et al. [23] conducted a combined experimental
and numerical study to investigate the influences of increasing the
HTF-inlet temperature on the melting and solidification of paraffin
(RT50), as a PCM inside a shell and tube heat exchanger. The results
showed that by increasing the HTF-inlet temperature from 70 ? to 75 ?
and then to 80 ?, the theoretical efficiency rises from 81.1% to 88.4%
and from 79.7% to 81.4%, respectively. Jesumathy et al. [24] exhibited
Table 2
Comparison of the advantages and disadvantages of PCM classifications.
Type of PCM Advantages Dis-advantages
Organic Large temperature range. Low thermal conductivity.
High latent heat. Relative large volume change.
No super-cooling. Flammability.
Chemical stable.
Good compatibility with
other materials.
Inorganic High heat of fusion. Super-cooling.
High thermal Corrosion.
conductivity.
Low volume change.
Available in low cost.
Eutectics Sharp melting Lack of currently available test data
temperature. of thermos-physical properties.
High volumetric thermal
storage density.
A.M. Abdulateef et al. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews xxx (xxxx) xxx–xxx

a) Pipe model b) Cylinder model c) Shell and tube model d) Rectangular or slab model

e) Triplex tube heat exchanger

Fig. 1. Classification of commonly used PCM containers terms of the geometry and configuration.

a concentric annulus cylinder to study the temperature distribution and inside the PCM. Most of the intensely studied PCM-LHTES systems are
thermal characteristics of the PCM. The influences of Reynolds number the shell and tube model, accounting for more than 70% [20]. In recent
(Re), the change in mass flow rates, as the PCM moved from the top to years, the TTHX has received significant interest from various
bottom during melting and conversely during solidification along the researchers, as a new model in the LHTES system because its
axial distances inside the container were experimentally investigated. increasing heat-transfer area is relative to that of a double-pipe heat
Mat et al. [25] numerically studied the effectiveness of three-heating exchanger. For additional details, see Table 3.
methods included: inside, outside, and both-sides heating method on a
PCM melting time to determine the heat-transfer enhancement be-
3.2. Rectangular/square PCM-LHTES containers
tween the PCM and the HTF in a TTHX. Mahfuz et al. [26] evaluated an
experimental study on the shell and tube-LHTES using paraffin wax
The rectangular model considers a main heat storage unit that is
inside the solar water heating system to analyze its thermal perfor-
related to some application felids, such as solar energy system, nuclear
mance. Energy and exergy included the total life cycle cost analyses,
reactors, and geothermal energy. References [39–42] referred to the
which were determined for the different HTF-flow rates. The total life
rectangular/square-slab configuration used in the PCM-LHTES system,
cycle cost of the container decreases with the increase of mass flow rate.
as depicted in Table 4. Arasu and Mujumdar [39] displayed numeri-
Tao et al. [27] simulated based on the enthalpy method for high-
cally investigated the melting of paraffin wax that was dispersed with
temperature molten salt-PCM using shell and tube container. The
various volumetric concentrations of aluminum (Al2O3), as a nano-
influences of inlet temperature and velocity of the HTF were examined
PCM and heated from one-side of a square enclosure with volume
during the melting process. Niyas and Muthukumar [28] exhibited
percentages of 2% and 5%, respectively. Lamberg et al. [40] presented
three-cylindrical configurations, including a pipe, cylinder, and shell
numerically and experimentally the melting of PCM in a rectangular
and tube model. The numerical results showed that for the same mass
enclosure with and without the natural convection influence. The PCM
of the PCM (paraffin RT50) and the surface area of heat-transfer, the
can be quickly closed to the maximum temperature, when the influence
shell and tube model takes a shorter time for melting. Yazici et al. [29]
of natural convection was cancelled. Stritih [41] traced experimentally
experimentally displayed the melting behavior of paraffin in a hor-
the interface position during the PCM melting in a rectangular storage
izontal shell and tube-LHTES system. The concentric and eccentric
system. The analytical solution accepted well with the experimental
orientations of the inner tube according to the center of the outer shell
results only at the beginning of PCM melting. Once melting began, the
were investigated. Eccentricity is shown to respond well in improving
location of the experimental interface was significantly ahead of the one
melting behavior because of an intensified natural convection intensity
obtained from analytical calculation. Jellouli et al. [42] heated rectan-

4
 A.M. Abdulateef et al.

Table 3
Different configurations of cylindrical PCM-LHTES containers.

References Cylindrical configurations Parameters investigated Nature of study Findings description

Hosseini et al. [23] (2014)
Jesumathy et al. [24] (2012)
Shell and tube
Concentric annulus
HTF-inlet temperature
Reynolds number and HTF mass flow
rate
Experimental/numerical/melting/
solidification
Experimental/melting/
solidification
Increasing HTF-inlet temperature rate increases heat-transfer rate and melt fraction.
Decreasing heat-transfer rate decreases melting fraction due to increase the thermal
resistance.
Increasing Reynolds number and mass flow rate increase heat-transfer rate and melt
fraction.

Mat et al. [25] (2013)
Mahfuz et al. [26] (2014)
Tao et al. [27] (2012)
Niyas and Muthukumar. [28]
(2013)
Yazıcı et al. [29] (2014)
Jian L. [30] (2008)
Triplex tube Heat flux Numerical/melting Increasing heat flux increases melting rate.
Shell and tube HTF mass flow rate, energy and exergy Experimental/melting Increasing mass flow rate decreases the total life cycle cost of the container.
Shell and tube HTF-inlet temperature and HTF mass Numerical/melting Increasing HTF-inlet temperature and mass flow rate increase heat transfer and melting
flow rate rate.
Pipe, cylinder and shell and PCM mass and heat flux Numerical/melting Increasing melting rate inside shell and tube at the same condition.
tube
Shell and tube Heat flux Experimental/melting Enhancing the PCM melting behavior.
Triplex tube HTF-inlet temperature and HTF mass Experimental/numerical/ Increasing mass flow rate increase melting rate.
flow rate melting/solidification

5
Longeon et al. [31] (2013)
Trp et al. [32] (2006)
Concentric annulus HTF injection Experimental/numerical/ Improving the melting and solidification rate.
melting/solidification
Shell and tube HTF-inlet temperature and HTF mass Numerical/melting/solidification Increasing HTF-inlet temperature and mass flow rate increase heat transfer and melting
flow rate rate.

Al-Abidi et al. [33] (2013) Triplex tube Heat flux Numerical/solidification Decreasing heat-transfer rate reduces melting fraction due to increase the thermal
resistance.
Agyenim et al. [34] (2010) Shell and tube (4 tubes) and HTF-inlet temperature in an axial, Experimental/melting Increasing melting rate inside shell and tube at the same condition.
pipe radial, and angular directions

Agyenim et al. [35] (2009) Concentric tube HTF-inlet temperature and HTF mass Experimental/melting Melting was not completed for an imposed (8 h) charge time.
flow rate

Akg¨un et al. [36] (2008) Shell and tube HTF-inlet temperature and HTF mass Numerical/melting/solidification Improving the melting and solidification rate.
flow rate

Ng et al. [37] (1998) Annulus Heat flux Numerical/melting Recirculation the natural convection flow during the PCM melting.
Akgun et al. [38] (2007) Shell and tube Heat flux Experimental/melting The molten PCM extended radially outward, as a conical shape.
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews xxx (xxxx) xxx–xxx
A.M. Abdulateef et al.
Table 4
Rectangular/square-slab PCM-LHTES containers.
References Parameters investigated
Arasu and Mujumdar. [39] (2012) Heat flux
Lamberg et al. [40] (2004) Heat flux
Stritih. [41] (2004) Heat flux
Jellouli et al. [42] (2007) Heat flux
gular enclosure from below. At the initial time of PCM melting, the
isotherms obtained from the numerical study revealed that conduction
dominated because the isotherms were parallel to the hot bottom side
of the enclosure. With time, the deformation of the isotherms from the
horizontal became much important, and the heat-transfer mechanism
gradually was shifted to natural convection. For years, researchers
directed considerable attention to these containers, which were simple
in geometry and boundary conditions and were appropriate for thermal
storage applications in buildings.
3.3. Spherical PCM-LHTES containers
Spherical container provides the largest volume per unit area, but
only limited studies can be found on their application in the LHTES
system, such as in packed-bed storage. Maheswari and Reddy [43]
presented a numerical study on the different sizes of spherical contain-
ers (40, 50, and 60 mm) filled with PCM or stearic acid and water
occupying the space left between the spheres. The researchers observed
the time to complete the phase transition in the sphere changes, as the
size changes and the PCM melted, as fast as than the stearic acid. Assis
et al. [44,45] studied numerically and experimentally the thermal
characteristics of (RT27), as a PCM in a spherical container filled with
98.5% solid PCM, as an initial condition of the simulation. A total of 1%
was left for PCM volume to increase during the phase transition. The
different design and operation parameters were successfully investi-
gated, and the results showed that the heat-transfer rate of the PCM
was affected by its thermal and geometrical parameters. Hosseinizadeh
et al. [46] numerically dealt with the influence of different volume
fractions of copper, as a nano-particle on an un-constrained melting
rate in a spherical container. The model was experimentally validated
with the work of Assis et al. [44]. The nano-particle increased PCMs-
thermal conductivity, compared with the conventional PCM, while the
latent heat of fusion was decreased. Tan et al. [47] conducted an
experimental and numerical investigation on the constrained PCM
melting inside a transparent spherical glass capsule. The waviness and
excessive melting of the bottom of the PCM were un-derestimated by
the experimental observation. This discrepancy was linked to the use of
a support structure to hold the sphere, which may have reduced the
heat reaching to the bottom of the sphere. Xia et al. [48] developed an
effective packed-bed-TES that contains a spherical PCM capsule. The
influences of arranging the PCM spheres and encapsulating the PCM
on the heat-transfer rate were analyzed. The researchers also observed
that random packing was the much better option than special packing
for heat storage and retrieval, and that both the material and thickness
Table 5
Configurations of spherical PCM-LHTES containers.
References Parameters investigated
Maheswari and Reddy. [43] (2013) Temperature operating
Assis et al. [44,45] (2007) (2009) Heat flux and HTF-inlet
temperature
Hosseinizadeh et al. [46] (2012) Heat flux
Tan et al. [47] (2009) Heat flux
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews xxx (xxxx) xxx–xxx
Nature of study Findings description
Numerical/melting Improving the thermal conductivity of PCM.
Experimental/numerical/ melting Improving the natural convection.
Experimental/numerical/ melting Improving the conduction heat-transfer.
Numerical/melting Improving the natural convection.
of the encapsulation had significant influences on the heat-transfer rate
of the bed-TES. For further details, see Table 5.
4. Fin enhancement techniques in the PCM-LHTES system
Most PCMs have the un-desirable property of low thermal con-
ductivity, which represents a biggest challenge in the design of PCM-
LHTES systems. Hence, various enhancement techniques have been
proposed to overcome this drawback. The majority of these techniques
are based on the fins embedded in the PCM, such as longitudinal,
circular/annular, plate, and pin fins, as shown in Fig. 2. This selection
is dependent on the simplicity, ease of fabrication, low cost of
construction, and additional heat-transfer surface [20]. The subsequent
discussions show the role of utilizing fins in heat-transfer enhancement
during the phase transition based on fin geometries.
4.1. Longitudinal fins used in the PCM-LHTES system
Many researchers have succeeded in installing longitudinal or
rectangular fins along circumference of the PCM container, accounting
for more than 60%. This development is probably due to an easy design
and fabrication and high efficiency in the heat-transfer. Gharebaghi
and Sezai [49] simulated the rectangular system with addition of
horizontal fins to the vertical heated walls for the heat-transfer
enhancement. Both the heated walls were maintained at a constant
temperature that was higher than the PCM melting point. For this
system, installing the vertical heated walls with horizontal fins were
much preferred because of increasing heat-transfer rate, compared to
horizontal heated walls with vertical fins. Al-Abidi et al. [50] experi-
mentally examined the melting and solidification processes in a TTHX
with internal-external longitudinal fins configuration. The steady and
non-steady state of the HTF-inlet temperature and the effect of change
in mass flow rates on the PCM melting were successfully investigated.
The PCM temperature gradients in the radial and angular directions
were also analyzed. Velraj et al. [51] stored the PCM in the inner tube,
which welding with internal longitudinal fins. The thermal resistance of
the liquid PCM is uniformly reduced, as the liquid PCM farthest away
from the heat-transfer surface can have maximum thermal contact with
the fins. The surface heat flux could also be increased largely with fins
number. With time, the solidification was completed, with fins was
approximately 1/n of that without fins. Rathod and Banerjee [52]
installed three-longitudinal fins along circumference of the HTF-tube
of shell and tube-LHTES system. Augmentation in the heat-transfer for
PCM melting and solidification was experimentally investigated. Castell
Nature of study Findings description
Numerical/melting Increasing phase-change rate to less melting point in
capsule.
Experimental/numerical/ melting/ Improving heat-transfer rate.
solidification
Numerical/melting Increasing the thermal conductivity of PCM and reducing
latent heat of fusions.
Experimental/numerical/ melting Improving PCM melting rate.
6
A.M. Abdulateef et al.
a) Longitudinal fins
b) Annular fins
d) Plates fins
Fig. 2. Different configurations of fins technique used in PCM-LHTES systems.
et al. [53] applied vertical-external longitudinal fins during solidifica-
tion process in the LHTES system. Heat-transfer enhancement was
successfully achieved by the vertical longitudinal fins on the HTF-side
significantly promote the natural convection. However, when the heat-
transfer coefficient was determined, the solidification time was still less
because of the augment in the heat-transfer surface. Solomon and
Velraj [54] experimentally evaluated the PCM used in the free-cooling
system during outward cylindrical solidification in a double-pipe heat
exchanger. The PCM filled in the annulus along the eight-longitudinal
uniformly spaced copper fins of different heights and air, as the HTF
passing through the inner tube. The solidification time was decreased
because of the cooling rate enhancement by longitudinal fins.
Moreover, most of the fin materials were made from copper to increase
the heat-transfer rate and the fins configuration were internal, internal-
external, and external fins emerged inside the PCM container. For
more details, see Table 6.
4.2. Circular/annular fins used in the PCM-LHTES system
Circular and annular fins are designed around circumference of the
tubes to extend the heat-transfer surface between the PCM and HTF in
different cylindrical containers. Many authors reported and utilized
these fins in LHTES systems. Mosaffa et al. [61] presented an
approximate analytical model for a shell and finned-tube employing
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews xxx (xxxx) xxx–xxx
c) Circular fins
e) Pins fins f) Tree shape fins
for air-conditioning applications. The PCM was solidified in the
cylindrical shell, as fast as in a rectangular storage having the same
volume and heat-transfer area. The solid fraction of the PCM likewise
increases quickly, when the cell aspect ratio is small. Lacroix [62]
presented a 3D-numerical model for the PCM melting in shell with
annular fins around circumference of the tube. The PCM filled in the
shell, and the HTF flowing inside the tube. A large amount of heat was
transferred through the fins along the radial direction. This enhance-
ment by fins was dependent on the moderation of mass flow rate and
small HTF-inlet temperature. Choi and Kim [17] experimentally
enhanced the heat-transfer rate by radial fins to PCM during solidifica-
tion process in cylindrical systems welded to radial fins. The tempera-
tures gradient at all radial locations were larger for a finned system,
compared with the system without fins. Jung and Boo [63] developed
an analytical model to predict the transient thermal behavior of a
finned heat pipe-assisted LHTES system under pure conduction with-
out influence of the natural convection in molten PCM. The circular fins
were attached to the heat pipes and the potassium nitrate (KNO3),
which has a phase-change temperature of 335 ℃ was used, as a PCM.
The developed model was also evaluated by comparing their numerical
results with the experimental results of a valid previous work. The
discrepancies were seen to be less than 8%. Ermis et al. [64] applied a
feed-forward back-propagation artificial neural network (ANN) algo-
rithm for thermal analysis of the phase-change in the LHTES unit with
7
A.M. Abdulateef et al. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews xxx (xxxx) xxx–xxx

Table 6
Longitudinal fin enhancement techniques in the PCM-LHTES system.

References System configurations Parameters investigated Nature of study Findings description

Gharebaghi and Sezai. [49] Rectangular Heat flux Numerical/melting Increasing heat-transfer rate because of fins.
(2007)
Al-Abidi et al. [50] (2014) Triplex tube HTF-inlet temperature and HTF Experimental/melting/ HTF-inlet temperature has more influence than HTF
mass flow rate solidification mass flow rate on the PCM.

Velraj et al. [51] (1997) Cylindrical tube Heat flux Experimental/solidification Improving cooling rate and decreasing solidification
time.
Rathod and Banerjee.[52] Shell and tube HTF-inlet temperature and HTF Experimental/melting/ Increasing heat-transfer due to increase HTF-inlet
(2015) mass flow rate solidification temperature more than HTF mass flow rate.

Castell et al. [53] (2008)
Solomon and Velraj. [54]
(2013)
Agyenim et al. [35] (2009)
Matt et al. [25] (2013)
Zhao and Tan. [55] (2015)
Shell and tube Heat flux Experimental/solidification Improving cooling rate because of fins.
Double pipe HTF-temperature Experimental/solidification Improving cooling rate and decreasing solidification
time.
Concentric tube HTF-inlet temperature and HTF Experimental/melting Completing the PCM melting because of longitudinal
mass flow rate fins.
Triplex tube Heat flux Numerical/melting Longitudinal fins improve melting rate.
Shell and tube HTF mass flow rate Numerical/melting/ Longitudinal fins improve the phase-change rate.
solidification

Jellouli et al. [42] (2007) Rectangular Heat flux Numerical/melting Longitudinal fins improve the PCM melting rate.
Sharifi et al. [56] (2011) Rectangular Heat flux Numerical/melting Longitudinal fins improve the heat-transfer rate.
Reddy. [57] (2007) Rectangular HTF-temperature Numerical/melting/ HTF-temperature improves the melt fraction.
solidification

Wei et al. [58] (2010) Circular tube Heat flux Experimental/melting/ Uniform temperature distribution on the PCM.
solidification

Lamberg et al. [59] (2004) Rectangular/slab HTF-temperature Numerical/melting/ Improving phase-change rate because of fins.
solidification

Akhilesh et al. [60] (2005) Rectangular Heat flux Numerical/melting Longitudinal fins improve the PCM melting rate and
stored energy.

the circular-finned tube. The heat storage through the PCM around the contributions related to designs and fabrications. For more details,
finned tube was also experimentally investigated. The authors inter- see Table 7.
ested the influence of the fin-and-flow parameter by solving the
governing equations for the HTF, pipe wall, and the PCM. The trained
4.3. Plate fins used in the PCM-LHTES system
ANN model with an absolute mean relative error of 5.58% showed
close results to the predict amount of total heat stored. The addition of
The fins of the structure plate can be made with any metallic
the circular or annular fins to the LHTES system increased the heat-
common material, such as stainless steel or aluminum, because of its
transfer rate and enhanced the liquid fraction rate during the melting
high conductivity that composes the whole system. These fins can be
and solidification process. However, some contributions were signifi-
arranged in series or in parallel to structure LHTES systems. Celador
cant to augment the enhanced thermal efficiency, especially the
et al. [69] exhibited three-modeling approaches for an innovative plate-

Table 7
Circular/annular fin enhancement techniques in the PCM-LHTES system.

References System configurations Parameters investigated Nature of study Findings description

Mosaffa et al. [61] (2012) Shell and tube/circular fin HTF-inlet temperature and HTF Analytical/solidification The PCM solidifies more quickly in the cylindrical
mass flow rate than in rectangular storage.

Lacroix. [62] (1993)
Choi and Kim. [17]
(1992)
Jung and Boo. [63]
(2014)
Ermis et al. [64] (2007)
Robak et al. [65] (2011)
Agyenim et al. [35]
(2009)
Zhang and Faghri. [66]
(1996)
Seeniraj et al. [67]
(2002)
Groulx and Ogoh. [68]
(2009)
Shell and tube/annular fin
Shell and tube/annular fin
Pipe/circular fin
Pipe/circular fin
Heat pipe
Concentric tube/ circular
fin
Shell and tube/annular fin
Shell and tube/annular fin
Cylindrical/annular fin
HTF-inlet temperature and HTF
mass flow rate
HTF-inlet temperature and HTF
mass flow rate
HTF-inlet temperature
HTF-inlet temperature and HTF
mass flow rate
Heat flux
HTF-inlet temperature and HTF
mass flow rate
Operating temperature
HTF-exit temperature
Heat flux
Numerical/melting
Experimental/solidification
Analytical/melting
Experimental/numerical/
melting
Experimental/melting
Experimental/melting
Numerical/melting
Numerical/melting
Numerical/melting
Increasing the PCM energy stored.
Improving cooling rate and temperature
distributions at all radial PCM points.
Improving the PCM thermal transient behavior.
ANN model showed a good performance to predict
the total amount of heat stored.
Fins were not effective.
Melting was not completed for an imposed (8 h)
charge time.
Significant reduction in performance due to PCM
sub-cooling.
Increasing the PCM energy stored.
Improving the PCM phase change.

8
A.M. Abdulateef et al.
finned LHTES system including: a numerical approach, a simplified
analytical approach, and a simplified numerical approach. The simpli-
fied analytical model has failed to predict the long configurations. The
simplified numerical approach was selected, as the most suitable for
design and optimization purposes for every configuration. ultimately,
these approaches accepted well with the experimental results. Ye et al.
[70] numerically analyzed the storage and energy release in a plate-
finned LHTES system with the uniform temperature on a heating and
cooling plate wall. The temperature differences for less than 20 ? play a
key role in the energy storage because of a high surface-to-volume
ratio, which allows important storage and release powers. No solidified
PCM could be seen obviously during the energy release, and a
significant vortex in the air region was formed when complete thermal
energy was released. The thermal storing process of the plate-finned
LHTES in a solar desalination system was studied numerically and
experimentally by Xu et al. [72]. The thermal storage equipment was
made of aluminum alloy to ensure their high thermal conductivity. A
PCM (RT80) filled the stacked passages with fins above the clapboard
in the storage device. Water was used, as the HTF in the numerical
model and flowed through the stacked passages with fins below the
clapboard. The experimental results indicated that the phase-change
rate was strongly based on the flow velocity and HTF-inlet temperature
during the storage and release of heat. In addition, fins in this device
enhanced the energy storage and relaxing performance; thus, the
thermal efficiency of the solar desalination unit could be reached by
continuous operation. The experimental results were closed well with
the numerical results. Rahimi et al. [73] evaluated an experimental test
to investigate the melting and solidification of the PCM in a plate-
finned tube heat exchanger. The shell side around the tubes and spaces
between the fins was filled with the PCM (RT35) allocated to store the
energy of water, which flowed inside the tubes. The results showed that
using the fins enhanced the average temperature regardless of the flow
regime, while a reduction in fin pitch did not affect this parameter
sensibly for both regimes. The melting time decreased by increasing the
HTF-inlet temperature. Saha and Dutta [74] presented a numerical
study on the melting of n-eicosane in a PCM based on the plate-finned
heat sink to find the effect of the aspect ratio of the enclosure on the
thermal performance of system. They identified the different non-
dimensional numbers, as effective parameters and found a suitable
length scale for each type of enclosure. Wang and Li [75] reviewed a
traditional design approaches for multi-stream plate-fin heat exchan-
gers and then focuses on the development of layer pattern design
methods. The finned plate technology based on the compact flat plate
heat exchangers is regarded, as the most effective heat exchanger
technology. In addition, the whole LHTES system shows a rectangular
shape, which makes space integration of the easy system, and the
Table 8
Plate fin enhancement techniques in the PCM-LHTES system.
References System configurations Parameters investigated
Celador et al. [69] Rectangular Operating temperature
(2013)
Ye et al. [70] (2011) Rectangular HTF-temperature and heat flux
Baby and Balaji. [71] Heat sink Heat flux
(2012)
Xu et al. [72] (2012). Heat sink HTF-inlet temperature and HTF
mass flow rate
Rahimi et al. [73] Shell and tube HTF-inlet temperature
(2014)
Saha and Dutta. [74] Heat sink Heat flux
(2010)
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews xxx (xxxx) xxx–xxx
manufacturing process is simple because only straight surfaces are
utilized. For additional details, see Table 8.
4.4. Pin fins used in the PCM-LHTES system
Thermal management system has become one of the most sig-
nificant considerations in the design of various pieces of electronic
devices. An effective thermal design should be able to maintain the
working temperature of electronic devices below their allowable
maximum temperature for the whole period of the normal process. A
cooling technique for electronic applications in TES systems, is
considered one of the methods that have been extensively studied over
recent years. However, a serious challenge in the design of the PCM
based on electronic cooling systems is the un-desirable property of
PCM-low thermal conductivity. To overcome this drawback, PCM
based on heat sinks with pin fins was widely utilized for the cooling
enhancement of electronic products. Pakrouh et al. [76] numerically
investigated the heat-transfer rate of pin fin heat sinks with PCMs
designed for the cooling applications of electronics. The paraffin
(RT44) as, a PCM was poured into the aluminum pin fin heat sink
container. Increasing the geometrical parameters of fins led to a
significant decrease in the base temperature and the operating time
of the heat sink. Baby and Balaji [77] conducted an experimental
investigation on the PCMs (n-eicosane and paraffin wax) based on the
aluminum pin fin heat sinks. Baseline comparisons were performed
with a heat sink filled with PCM and without any fin, and the two-
configurations obtained 33 and 72 pin fin heat sinks, respectively. The
influences of the PCM volume fraction due to the change in a large
number of uniformly distributed pin fins are largely responsible for this
enhancement in heat-transfer. Jaworski [78] presented a kind of pin fin
radiator, in which the pipes are filled with the PCM. This design
combines two significant features of the heat spreader-high heat-
transfer surface because of the large pipe numbers and high thermal
capacity, which results from the PCM. Baby and Balaji [71] exhibited a
significant comparison for the heat-transfer enhancement of the plate-
finned heat sink with a pin fin heat sink filled with n-eicosane, as a
PCM by investigating experimental tests. The researchers found that
the pin fin was more effective in stretching the duration of operating
the electronic equipment, compared with the plate-finned heat sinks.
Fok et al. [79] studied an experimental investigation on the PCM based
on pin-finned heat sinks for cooling portable electronic devices.
Moreover, pin fins made of high thermal conductivity material, such
as copper, aluminum, or porous matrix, are known to be thermal
conductivity enhancers (TCE) and are used to compensate for the
PCM-low thermal conductivity, when the latter is used alone. For
further details, see Table 9.
Nature of study Findings description
Numerical/melting/ The simplified numerical approach is the most in design,
solidification optimization, and stored energy purposes.
Numerical/melting/ Improving the heat transfer rate, the PCM storage, and
solidification release powers.
Experimental/melting Improving the heat-transfer rate.
Experimental/numerical/ Improving the PCM energy storage.
melting
Experimental/melting/ Decreasing the melting and solidification time.
solidification
Numerical/melting The effect of enclosure aspect ratio on the PCM
performance.
9
A.M. Abdulateef et al. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews xxx (xxxx) xxx–xxx

Table 9
Pin fin enhancement techniques in the PCM-LHTES system.

References System configurations Parameters Nature of study Findings description

investigated

Pakrouh et al. [76] (2015) Heat sink Heat flux Numerical/melting Enhancement in heat-transfer rate.
Baby and Balaji. [77] Heat sink Heat flux Experimental/numerical/ Enhancement in heat-transfer rate.
(2013) solidification
Jaworski. [78] (2012) Radiator Heat flux Experimental/numerical/ Improving cooling rate.
solidification

Baby and Balaji. [71]
(2012)
Fok et al. [79] (2010)
Rajabifar et al. [80]
(2016)
Srikanth and Balaji. [81]
(2017)
Heat sink Heat flux Experimental/melting Improving heat-transfer rate in a pin fin heat sink
was highly than plate fin.
Heat sink Heat flux Experimental/melting Fins improve heat-transfer rate.
Micro pin fin heat sinks with nano- Heat flux Numerical/melting Improving heat-transfer rate by nano-
encapsulated encapsulated on PCM.
Heat sink with discrete heating Heat flux Experimental/melting Enhancing heat-transfer rate on the PCM.

Fig. 3. Schematic representation of a) U-tube, b) U-tube with in-line fins, c) U-tube with staggered fins, and d) festoon design in the PCM-LHTES system.

Table 10
Different types of fin enhancement techniques in the PCM-LHTES system.

References System configurations Parameters Nature of study Findings description

investigated

Sciacovelli et al. [82]
(2015)
Liu et al. [83] (2005)
Liu et al. [84] (2005)
Kurnia et al. [85] (2013)
Shell and tube/tree shape fin Heat flux Numerical/solidification Improving the PCM thermal behavior and
the efficiency of the LHTES system.
Shell and tube/spiral twisted Heat flux Experimental/melting Increasing melting rate and decreasing the
pre-melting time.
Shell and tube/spiral twisted Heat flux Experimental/ Increasing the cooling rate and natural
solidification convection.
U-tube, U-tube with in-line fin, U-tube with Heat flux Numerical/melting/ Novel festoon channel improves the heat
staggered fin and a novel festoon channel. solidification transfer rate.

Humphries and Griggs. Rectangular/straight fin Operating Numerical/melting Increasing heat-transfer rate.
[86] (1977) temperature

4.5. Different types of fins used in the PCM-LHTES system

Table 11
Fin materials used by some previous researchers for PCM heat-transfer enhancement. A few cases of fins in a new design and configurations have been
reported by authors, as an efficient method to enhance the charge and
Geometry of fin References Materials discharge performance of LHTES systems. Sciacovelli et al. [82]
simulated the use of two-kinds of tree-shaped fins including: a single
Longitudinal fin Mat et al. [25], Al-Abidi et al. [33,89], Agyenim Copper
et al. [35]
bifurcation and a double bifurcation configuration, to optimize and
Circular fin Tay et al. [97], Agyenim et al. [35] Copper accomplish the maximum performance of the LHTES system. The
Choi and Kim. [17] Steel results indicated that the discharge efficiency increases to 24% when
Plate fin Celador et al. [69] Aluminum the optimal fins with two-bifurcations are used. The optimal fin design
Pin fin Tay et al. [97] Copper
also depends on the operating time of this system; a short operating
Baby and Balaji. [77] Aluminum
time of the Y-shaped fins with wide angles between the branches are
preferable. Liu et al. [83,84] designed and tested new spiral twisted fins

10
 A.M. Abdulateef et al.

Table 12
Effects of the dimensions and dimensionless parameters in the PCM-LHTES system.

References System configurations PCM process Effects of number and dimension Effects of dimensionless of fins Findings description
of fins

No L t

Hosseini et al. [87] (2015)
Tiari et al. [88] (2015)
Al-Abidi et al. [89] (2013)
Ismail et al. [90] (2001)
Pakrouh et al. [76] (2015)
Mat et al. [25] (2013)
Shell and tube/ annular Melting/ 8 Cpl ∆ T Increasing the Stefan number decreases the melting time. Increasing the
√ ste =
fin solidification λ length of fin decreases the solidification time.
Finned heat pipe Melting 10-20 √ Increasing the length of fin leads to decrease temperature difference
within the PCM. No. of fin do not have a significant effect.
TTHX/longitudinal fin Melting 8 √ √ Cpl ∆ T Increasing the dimensions and No. of fin decrease the melting time.
ste =
λ Increasing the Stefan number decreases the PCM melting time.
Cylinder/axial fin Solidification 4–5 √ √ No. of fin and dimension improve the solidification rate and solid mass
fraction.
Heat sink/pin fin Melting √ √ √ Increasing the dimensions and No. of fin decrease the PCM melting time.
TTHX/longitudinal fin Melting 8 √ Cpl ∆ T Increasing the length of fin increases melting rate. Increasing the Stefan
ste =
λ number increases the melting rate.

11
Guo and Zhang. [91] Shell and tube/annular fin Solidification √ √ Increase No. of fin and thickness decrease the PCM solidification time.
(2008)
Shatikian et al. [92,93] Rectangular/longitudinal Melting √ √ √ No. of fin and dimension improve the melting rate.
(2005) (2008) fin

Liu et al. [83] (2005) Shell and tube/spiral Melting √ √ √ No. of fin and dimension improve the melting rate.
twisted

Zhang and Faghri. [66] Shell and tube/ Melting √ √ √ Re = v − Low Reynolds number increases the fin efficient. No. of fin and
(1996) longitudinal fin dimension increase the liquid fraction.

Saha and Dutta. [74] Heat sinks /plate fin Melting √ √ hd gβ ∆ Tl 3 Cpl ∆ T kt A single correlation of Nu with Ra is not applicable for all aspect ratios of
Nu = , R= , ste = , τ=
(2010) k αv λ ρCp l 2 enclosure with melt convection taken into account.
Erek et al. [94] (2005) Shell and tube/ circular Melting/ √ √ Re = v − Reynolds number improves heat-transfer rate. Increasing the dimensions
fin solidification decreases the PCM melting and solidification time.
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews xxx (xxxx) xxx–xxx
A.M. Abdulateef et al.
a) TTHX-PCM without fins b) TTHX-PCM with longitudinal fins
Fig. 4. Cross-sectional views of the TTHX with and without longitudinal fins.
attached to the inner tube, while the PCM was stored in the outer tube.
The inner tube was worked, as an electrical heating rod for supplying
the heat to the PCM. In the pre-melting period, a conduction control-
ling the temperature distributions in the PCM with fins was more
uniform than those without fins. The fins improved the equivalent
thermal conductivity during the pre-melting period, and this increase
started decreasing with time. Once the melting began, the equivalent
thermal conductivity started augmenting once again. However, the
solidification rate not only enhanced the conduction heat-transfer, but
also the natural convection, which prevailed at earlier stages. Kurnia
et al. [85] numerically analyzed the various configuration designs of the
PCM-LHTES system and the HTF, including U-tube, U-tube with in-
line fins, U-tube with staggered fins, and a novel festoon design, as
depicted in Fig. 3. The results showed that a novel festoon channel
design yields an enhanced heat-transfer rate for both the melting and
solidification process. The use of an extended surface is one of the
possible strategies for improving the heat-transfer rate between the
PCM and the HTF. The different innovative designs of the fins have
contributed to enhancing the charging and discharging of the PCM and
increasing the efficient performance in LHTES systems. The studies on
the many shapes or designs of the fins, which may be significant in the
future, have been ignored. For more details, see Table 10.
5. Optimal fin parameters/materials used in the PCM-LHTES
system
Numerous parameters and materials play a significant role in the
optimum thermal performance for different configurations of fin
design, including geometrical dimensions, such as length, width, and
thickness and dimensionless numbers, such as Reynolds number (Re),
Nusselt number (Nu), Rayleigh number (Ra), Stefan number (Ste), and
Fourier number (Fo). Moreover, the fin should be made of highly
conductive material, such as copper, aluminum, and iron, to increase
the heat-transfer between the HTF and the PCM, as displayed in
Table 11.
a) Control-PCM without fins b) Control-PCM with circular fins
Fig. 5. Cross-sectional views of the control system with and without fins.
12
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews xxx (xxxx) xxx–xxx
5.1. Effects of the dimensions and dimensionless parameters in the
PCM-LHTES system
Experimental and numerical studies have been conducted to exam-
ine the thermal characteristics of PCM-LHTES systems. Some authors
included investigating the influences of geometrical dimensions and
added the number of fins on the PCM melting/solidification process in
their analysis [87–94]. They found that the dimensions of fins could
steadily enhance the heat-transfer rate with phase-change behavior but
only beyond some point [89]. However, increasing the number of fins
per unit length also improved much the heat-transfer of heat exchangers,
and thus energy is stored and released. For some researchers, adding fin
numbers could not significantly enhance heat-transfer rate [35,88].
Consequently, applying these aspects together (fins number with
dimensions) leads to obtaining the most efficient fins in these applica-
tions. This influence is attributed to the increase in the fins number,
which would lead to only a marginal improve in the heat-transfer rate
and produce only little enhancement in the phase transition because of
the hampering influence on the buoyancy-driven flows during melting
and solidification processes. On the other hand, various correlations
have been developed regarding the thermal performance of the PCM-
LHTES system, including dimensionless numbers in given parametric
domains [25,66,87,89,92,93]. The results were shown to improve
significantly: the melting and solidification rate, melted volume fraction,
and temperature profile. Pakrouh et al. [76] presented a pin fin heat sink
inserted in the PCM, their results illustrated that the increase in the fins
number and their thickness and height lead to a decrease in base
temperature with operating time. Hosseini et al. [87] conducted
numerically and experimentally the influence of height fin and Stefan
number on the thermal performance of a shell and tube. The point
temperature of the PCM in the higher fin is more than the similar point
in the shorter fin. Increasing the Stefan number and fin height decrease
the melting time, which is more pronounced for greater Stefan numbers.
Tiari et al. [88] studied the influences of heat pipe spacing, fin length/
numbers, and natural convection on the performance of the storage unit.
Increasing the number of heat pipes (decreasing the heat pipe spacing)
leads to the increase of melting rate and the decrease of base wall
temperature. However, the increase of fin length results in the decrease
of the temperature difference within the PCM, and the fins number does
not have a significant influence on the system. Al-Abidi et al. [89]
analyzed a different design and operation parameters, including fin
length, TTHX materials, number of fins, fin thickness, Stefan number,
and PCM unit geometry. The influence of fin thickness was small,
compared with the fin length and fins number, which have a strong
influence on the melting time. Ismail et al. [90] examined the influence
of axial fins during the solidification process for the different heights of
the fins, the fins number, fin thickness, and aspect ratios of the annular
spaces, showing that the use of fins significantly improved the heat-
transfer rate. For additional details, Table 12 provides the mathematical
definitions of the common dimensionless numbers and the dimension
parameters used to study PCM-LHTES systems and their significance for
the phase-change process.
c) Control-PCM with longitudinal fins
A.M. Abdulateef et al. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews xxx (xxxx) xxx–xxx

a) Pinned tube b) Circular finned tube c) Plain tube

Fig. 6. Cross-sectional views of the plain tube with and without fins.

Table 13
Comparison of some PCM-LHTES systems with and without fins.

References Geometry system Fin dimensions Melting time Solidification time Enhancement percentage Total energy (kJ)
(min) (min) (%)

Al-Abidi et al. [33,89] TTHX No fin 110 250 45 (melting) 196.123 (stored)
(2013) 36 (solidification) 153.66
(released)
Longitudinal fin (No. of fin 8, L = 480 50 90 302.528 (stored)
mm, t = 1 mm, and copper material). 212.409
(released)

Agyenim et al. [35] Concentric tube No fins Not complete 80 9035 (stored)
(2009) (8 h) 4977.8
(released)
Longitudinal fin (No. of fin 8, L = 950 400 130 68 (melting) 12429.2 (stored)
mm, t = 1 mm, and copper material). 61 (solidification) 8813.1
(released)

Circular fin (No. of fin 8, D = 134 mm, t Not complete 100 10418.2 (stored)
= 1 mm, and copper material). (8 h) 7293.1
(released)
Tay et al. [97] (2013) Plain tube No fin 250 Accepted -
Pin fin (No. of fin 16, L = 40 mm, D = 97 Good 39 (melting) -
9.5 mm, and copper material).
Circular fin (No. of fin 5, t = 1 mm, D = 99 Better 40 (melting) -
92 mm, and copper material).

Table 14
Formulas that determine the efficiency for the common configurations of fins. .

Geometry of fins Formula of efficiency Study papers Description

Triangular fin η = L 2h /kt – Selecting the proper fin length is very significant, because the fin efficiency decreases with the increase in fin
Circular fin 1 [35,61,62,64] length due to the decrease in fin temperature. Fin design optimization problems lead to expensive
η = (L + t ) h /kt
2 computational costs and an intrinsic difficulty emerges from the transient behavior of a PCM-LHTES
Rectangular fin η = (L +
1
t) h /kt [25,35,41,42,49–60] system.
2
Pin fin η = (L +
1
D) 2h /kD [71,77–81]
4

5.2. Fin location used in PCM-LHTES systems
Currently, two-types of LHTES systems can be distinguished. The
first type is the system packed with PCM, which transfers heat with a
hot/cold-HTF and is used in solar water heaters, waste heat recovery
systems, and space-based power plants. The second type is the system
packed with PCM, which transfers heat with a hot/cold-boundary wall
and is used in electronic cooling. The fin position in these systems is
where no HTF is present at the PCM-side, but the PCM transfers the
heat with HTF. The fin location is commonly dependent on the relative
heat-transfer coefficient (h). This phenomenonis attributed to the
enhance of thermal fin efficiency, compare with the decrease in heat-
transfer coefficient [95]. The thermal conductivity of the HTF is low
(e.g., air) then the major thermal resistance is experienced in the HTF-
side rather than in the PCM-side [62]. Therefore, the resistance is
concentrated on improving the forced convective heat-transfer inside
the HTF-tube by internal longitudinal fins. In recent years, PCM based
on heat sinks, where the PCM was packed between the pin or plate fins
have been widely studied, especially for cooling electronic devices. In
such devices, heat sinks with vertical fins emerge from the top heated
surface [96], heat sinks with horizontal fins emerge from the vertical
heated surface, in which portions of the fin tips are immersed in PCM
and heat sinks with vertical fins emerge from the heated bottom surface
[92,93]. In most applications of the LHTES system, the heat-transfer

13
A.M. Abdulateef et al.
coefficient of the PCM-side is less than that of the HTF -side.
Consequently, the melting and solidification process of PCM strongly
depends on the configuration and orientation of the fins in PCM-
LHTES systems.
5.3. Comparisons with and without fins in the PCM-LHTES system
The different configurations of cylindrical PCM containers without
fins are displayed in Table 3. Many researchers are concerned with
determining the optimal fin design that has the capability to improve
the phase-change rate and make much uniform the PCM-temperature
distributions. Al-Abidi et al. [33,89] numerically displayed the TTHX
with and without internal-external longitudinal fins, as depicted in
Fig. 4. The melting and solidification time of the PCM (RT82)
minimized using fins to 50 and 90 min, respectively. The fins number,
fin length, fin thickness, Stefan number, TTHX-material, and PCM-unit
geometry were found to enhance the heat-transfer rate. Agyenim et al.
[35] compared three-experimental configurations, a concentric tube
system with no fins and an augmented with circular and longitudinal
fins, as presented in Fig. 5. The system with longitudinal fins provided
the most performance with increasing thermal response during the
charging process and reduced sub-cooling during the discharging
process. Furthermore, the circular-finned system did not enhance the
heat-transfer to the PCM over that in the control system sufficient to
warrant further development. Tay et al. [97] simulated the PCM-
LHTES system, including the plain tubes, which contained the HTF
modified to accommodate the techniques of the pin and the circular
fins attached to the tube, as illustrated in Fig. 6. Comparisons were
based on the solidification process. The finned tube design was found to
yield better average effectiveness and shorter phase-change duration
(25% faster in terms of the phase-change duration) because of the large
heat-transfer area of the finned tube design, compared with the pinned
tube design. Overall, the finned tube provides higher heat-transfer
rates than the pinned tube without affecting the overall energy density.
Consequently, the best enhancement, as reported in the literature was
achieved using the longitudinal finned configuration in a concentric
tube of the PCM-LHTES system because of the significant enhance-
ment of the melting rate with the marginal sub-cooling during
solidification. Moreover, the circular-finned embedded enhancement
technique is more effective than the pinned tube for the different shell
and tube geometries because it is designed around circumference of the
shell and is attached effectively to the PCM. For further details, see
Table 13.
5.4. Efficiency of fins with different configurations
Fin efficiency represents the actual heat-transfer rate to an ideal
heat-transfer rate for the same fin. The formulas that determine the
efficiency for the common configurations of fins are shown in Table 14
[98]. An important consideration in the design of finned surfaces is
selecting the proper fin length, because the fin efficiency decreases with
the increase in fin length due to the decrease in fin temperature [99].
The analysis adopts a certain fin geometry design, and subsequently the
effects on the performance of PCM-LHTES systems are evaluated
through numerical studies using the enthalpy and effective heat
capacity methods. Few attempts have been made to optimize the fin
design for maximizing the thermal performance of LHTES systems
[100,101]. The fin design optimization presents two-intrinsic difficul-
ties. First, fin design optimization problems lead to expensive compu-
tational costs. Second, an intrinsic difficulty emerges from the transient
behavior of these systems. For future work, finding a new model of fin
design is significant to improve the heat-transfer rate in PCM-LHTES
units, which contain less material and are more efficient than the
familiar configurations of fins, such as the triangular fin [102].
14
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews xxx (xxxx) xxx–xxx
6. Conclusions
In recent years, PCM-LHTES systems have been widely interested,
including their system design, optimization processes, phase transient
behavior, and heat-transfer enhancement techniques. This review
targets to provide a significant information on the limitations and
features of extended surface and to enable further analysis in the heat-
transfer fields within the melting and solidification process of PCM.
The major problem is that, most of the PCMs have poor thermal
conductivities (k ≤ 0.2 W/m K). The majority of the enhancement
techniques are based on the applications of fins inserted in the PCM,
such as longitudinal, circular/annular, plate, and pin fins. The best
enhancement was achieved using the longitudinal finned configura-
tions because of its simplicity, easy fabrication, and low construction
cost. The circular-finned tube was also more effective than the pinned
tube for the different shell and tube. The geometrical parameters of fins
must be carefully selected to optimize the thermal performance of
PCM-LHTES systems. Therefore, the heat-transfer rate factor is
dependent almost on the increase of the fins number followed by other
dimensions. The addition of fins number per unit length produces
further heat-transfer area and thus energy is stored and released.
Sometimes, the fins number could not enhance significantly the
thermal response of the PCM. However, the fin location was found
commonly based on the relative heat-transfer coefficient, if the PCM
transfers the heat with the HTF. This phenomenon is attributed to the
increase in fin efficiency with the decrease in heat-transfer coefficient.
The location of the fins in the LHTES units with no HTF is obviously at
the PCM-sides. Moreover, fin design optimization presents two-intrin-
sic difficulties. First, fin design optimization problems lead to expensive
computational cost. Second an intrinsic difficulty emerges from the
phase transient behavior of the PCM-LHTES system. For future
research finding a new model of the fin is significant to enhance the
heat-transfer rate, which contain less material and are more efficient
than the familiar configurations of fins, such as the triangular fin.
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