Saranprabhu Mani Kala

Dr. Saranprabhu Mani Kala


Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

3Years (2024-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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30 March 2024 in Applied Sciences
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
Luisa F. CabezaLuisa F. Cabeza
Luisa F. Cabeza
SKSaranprabhu Mani Kala
Saranprabhu Mani Kala
Gabriel ZsembinszkiGabriel Zsembinszki
Gabriel Zsembinszki
DFDavid Fernandez
David Fernandez
SASara Risco Amigó
Sara Risco Amigó
Emiliano BorriEmiliano Borri
Emiliano Borri
Thermal energy storage (TES) systems play a very important part in addressing the energy crisis. Therefore, numerous researchers are striving to improve the efficiency of TES tanks. The TES technology has the potential to reach new heights when the biological behavior of nature is incorporated into the design of TES tanks. By mimicking the branched vein pattern observed in plants and animals, the heat transfer fluid (HTF) tube of a TES tank can enhance the heat transfer surface area, hence improving its thermal efficiency without the need to add other enhancements of heat transfer methods. Accordingly, in this study, a unique additive-manufacturing-based bio-inspired TES tank was designed, developed, and tested. A customized testing setup was used to assess the bio-inspired TES tank’s thermal performance. A comparison was made between the bio-inspired TES tank and a conventional shell-and-tube TES tank. The latent TES system’s thermal performance was significantly enhanced by the biomimetic approach for the design of a TES tank, even before the optimization of its design. The results showed that, compared to the shell-and-tube TES tank, the bio-inspired TES tank had a higher discharging rate and needed 52% less time to release the stored heat.