Effect of copper metal foam proportion on heat transfer enhancement in the melting process of phase change materials

2021 ◽  
pp. 117778
Author(s):  
Zilong Wang ◽  
Hua Zhang ◽  
Binlin Dou ◽  
Guanhua Zhang ◽  
Weidong Wu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Phase Change ◽  
Heat Transfer Enhancement ◽  
Phase Change Materials ◽  
Metal Foam ◽  
Melting Process ◽  
Transfer Enhancement ◽  
Copper Metal ◽  
Effect Of Copper

Melting Process Expedition of Phase Change Materials via Silicone Oil

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarvenaz Sobhansarbandi ◽  
Fatemeh Hassanipour
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Phase Change ◽  
Heat Transfer Enhancement ◽  
Phase Change Materials ◽  
Silicone Oil ◽  
Storage Systems ◽  
Ccd Camera ◽  
Melting Process ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Transfer Enhancement

This paper presents a novel method of heat transfer enhancement and melting process expedition of phase change materials (PCMs) via silicone oil for the application in thermal energy storage systems. Sudden spot heating/cooling of the PCM causes a non-uniform melting process and in some cases the volume expansion/contraction. To avoid this malfunction, silicone oil can be applied in these systems to increase convective heat transfer (stirring effect). The feasibility of this method is investigated by two experimental analysis, one by having the mixture in a cylindrical container and one in a cubic container. The results from the images taken by Charge-Coupled Device (CCD) camera in the first analysis show a uniform melting process of the PCM. In the second analysis, the comparison is made for the two parallel setups with and without the silicone oil with the same operating conditions. The results show that in the system that lacks silicone oil, the paraffin starts melting after around 11 minutes from the heater start-up, while this time is around 6 minutes in the system with silicone oil. The effectiveness of silicone oil in enhancing the heat transfer rate is shown by a temperature rise of around 10 °C in the container. Applying PCMs in conjunction with silicone oil in various thermal storage systems for heating/cooling applications specifically in solar thermal collectors, enables heat transfer enhancement and consequently heat storage directly on the system.

Melting of Phase Change Materials With Volume Change in Metal Foams

2010 ◽  
Vol 132 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhen Yang ◽  
Suresh V. Garimella
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Nusselt Number ◽  
Phase Change ◽  
Volume Change ◽  
Phase Change Materials ◽  
Metal Foam ◽  
Melting Process ◽  
Metal Foams ◽  
Volume Shrinkage ◽  
Two Temperature

Melting of phase change materials (PCMs) embedded in metal foams is investigated. The two-temperature model developed accounts for volume change in the PCM upon melting. Volume-averaged mass and momentum equations are solved, with the Brinkman–Forchheimer extension to Darcy’s law employed to model the porous-medium resistance. Local thermal equilibrium does not hold due to the large difference in thermal diffusivity between the metal foam and the PCM. Therefore, a two-temperature approach is adopted, with the heat transfer between the metal foam and the PCM being coupled by means of an interstitial Nusselt number. The enthalpy method is applied to account for phase change. The governing equations are solved using a finite-volume approach. Effects of volume shrinkage/expansion are considered for different interstitial heat transfer rates between the foam and PCM. The detailed behavior of the melting region as a function of buoyancy-driven convection and interstitial Nusselt number is analyzed. For strong interstitial heat transfer, the melting region is significantly reduced in extent and the melting process is greatly enhanced as is heat transfer from the wall; the converse applies for weak interstitial heat transfer. The melting process at a low interstitial Nusselt number is significantly influenced by melt convection, while the behavior is dominated by conduction at high interstitial Nusselt numbers. Volume shrinkage/expansion due to phase change induces an added flow, which affects the PCM melting rate.

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