scholarly journals Insight into Foam Pore Effect on Phase Change Process in a Plane Channel under Forced Convection Using the Thermal Lattice Boltzmann Method

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (15) ◽  
pp. 3979
Author(s):  
Riheb Mabrouk ◽  
Hassane Naji ◽  
Hacen Dhahri ◽  
Zohir Younsi

In this work, the two-dimensional laminar flow and the heat transfer in an open-ended rectangular porous channel (metal foam) including a phase change material (PCM; paraffin) under forced convection were numerically investigated. To gain further insight into the foam pore effect on charging/discharging processes, the Darcy–Brinkmann–Forchheimer (DBF) unsteady flow model and that with two temperature equations based on the local thermal non-equilibrium (LTNE) were solved at the representative elementary volume (REV) scale. The enthalpy-based thermal lattice Boltzmann method (TLBM) with triple distribution function (TDF) was employed at the REV scale to perform simulations for different porosities (0.7≤ε≤0.9) and pore per inch (PPI) density (10≤PPI≤60) at Reynolds numbers (Re) of 200 and 400. It turned out that increasing Re with high porosity and PPI (0.9 and 60) speeds up the melting process, while, at low PPI and porosity (10 and 0.7), the complete melting time increases. In addition, during the charging process, increasing the PPI with a small porosity (0.7) weakens the forced convection in the first two-thirds of the channel. However, the increase in PPI with large porosity and high Re number limits the forced convection while improving the heat transfer. To sum up, the study findings clearly evidence the foam pore effect on the phase change process under unsteady forced convection in a PCM-saturated porous channel under local thermal non-equilibrium (LTNE).

2015 ◽  
Vol 25 (5) ◽  
pp. 1214-1230 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tao Sun ◽  
Weizhong Li ◽  
Bo Dong

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to test the feasibility of lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) for numerical simulation of nucleate boiling and transition boiling. In addition, the processes of nucleate and transition boiling on vertical wall are simulated. The heat transfer mechanism is discussed based on the evolution of temperature field. Design/methodology/approach – In this paper, nucleate boiling and transition boiling are numerically investigated by LBM. A lattice Boltzmann (LB) multiphase model combining with a LB thermal model is used to predict the phase-change process. Findings – Numerical results are in good agreement with existing experimental results. Numerical results confirm the feasibility of the hybrid LBM for direct simulations of nucleate and transition boiling. The data exhibit correct parametric dependencies of bubble departure diameter compared with experimental correlation and relevant references. Research limitations/implications – All the simulations are performed in two-dimensions in this paper. In the future work, the boiling process will be simulated in three-dimensional. Practical implications – This study demonstrated a potential model that can be applied to the investigation of phase change heat transfer, which is one of the effective techniques for enhance the heat transfer in engineering. The numerical results can be considered as a basic work or a reference for generalizing LB method in the practical application about nucleate boiling and transition boiling. Originality/value – The hybrid LBM is first used for simulation of nucleate and transition boiling on vertical surface. Heat transfer mechanism during boiling is discussed based on the numerical results.


2020 ◽  
pp. 96-96
Author(s):  
Abchouyeh Asadi ◽  
Ganaoui El ◽  
Rasul Mohebbi ◽  
Mohammad Zarrabi ◽  
Omid Fard ◽  
...  

In this study, the Lattice Boltzmann Method (LBM) is employed in order to examine the fluid flow and forced convection heat transfer inside a two-dimensional horizontal channel with and without obstacles. In order to enhance the heat and thermal energy transfer within the channel, different obstacle arrangements are posed to the flow field and heat transfer with the purpose of studying their sensitivity to these changes. The results indicate that, when the value of the Reynolds number is maximum, the maximum average Nusselt numbers happens on the lower wall (Case 4). The paper extends the topic to the use of nanofluids to introduce a possibility to enhancement of the heat transfer in the channel with an array of the obstacles with forced convection. For this purpose, the AgMgO/water micropolar hybrid nanofluid is used, and the volume fraction of the nanoparticle (50% Ag and 50% MgO by volume) is set between 0 and 0.02. The results showed that, when the hybrid nanofluid is used instead of a typical nanofluid, the rate of the heat transfer inside the channel increases, especially for the high values of the Reynolds number, and the volume fraction of the nanoparticles. Increasing the volume fraction of the nanoparticles increase the local Nusselt number ( 1.17-fold). It is shown that the type of obstacle arrangement and the specific nanofluid can exerts significant effects on the characteristics of the flow field and heat transfer in the channel. This study provides a platform for using the LBM to examine fluid flow through discrete obstacles in offset positions.


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