A composite phase change material thermal buffer based on porous metal foam and low-melting-temperature metal alloy

2020 ◽  
Vol 116 (7) ◽  
pp. 071901 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tianyu Yang ◽  
Jin Gu Kang ◽  
Patricia B. Weisensee ◽  
Beomjin Kwon ◽  
Paul V. Braun ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Phase Change ◽  
Melting Temperature ◽  
Phase Change Material ◽  
Metal Foam ◽  
Porous Metal ◽  
Metal Alloy ◽  
Composite Phase Change Material ◽  
Change Material

STUDY ON SOLIDIFICATION OF PHASE CHANGE MATERIAL IN FRACTAL POROUS METAL FOAM

Fractals ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 23 (01) ◽  
pp. 1540003 ◽  
Author(s):  
CHENGBIN ZHANG ◽  
LIANGYU WU ◽  
YONGPING CHEN
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Phase Change ◽  
Pore Structure ◽  
Phase Change Material ◽  
Fractal Structure ◽  
Metal Foam ◽  
Porous Metal ◽  
Solid Matrix ◽  
Transfer Model ◽  
Change Material

The Sierpinski fractal is introduced to construct the porous metal foam. Based on this fractal description, an unsteady heat transfer model accompanied with solidification phase change in fractal porous metal foam embedded with phase change material (PCM) is developed and numerically analyzed. The heat transfer processes associated with solidification of PCM embedded in fractal structure is investigated and compared with that in single-pore structure. The results indicate that, for the solidification of phase change material in fractal porous metal foam, the PCM is dispersedly distributed in metal foam and the existence of porous metal matrix provides a fast heat flow channel both horizontally and vertically, which induces the enhancement of interstitial heat transfer between the solid matrix and PCM. The solidification performance of the PCM, which is represented by liquid fraction and solidification time, in fractal structure is superior to that in single-pore structure.

Numerical Simulation of Melting in Metal Foam/Paraffin Composite Phase Change Material Using a Physically More Reasonable Macroscale Model

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuanpeng Yao ◽  
Huiying Wu
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Phase Change ◽  
Phase Change Material ◽  
Metal Foam ◽  
Phase Interface ◽  
Change Model ◽  
Composite Phase Change Material ◽  
Convection Dominated ◽  
Change Material ◽  
Change Problem

Abstract In this work, a macroscale model for melting phase change of metal foam/paraffin composite phase change material (MFPC) is developed by employing the enthalpy-porosity method and volume averaging technique. Both cases of varied and unvaried paraffin density during phase change are investigated in the model, and diffusion dominated interstitial heat exchange between paraffin and metal foam is considered along with the convection dominated interstitial heat transfer. The visualization experiments on melting phase change of copper foam/paraffin composite are carried out to validate the developed phase change model. It is found that with consideration of varied density of paraffin, the developed model can effectively solve the real melting problem of MFPC when metal foam is initially filled with solid paraffin. If the Boussinesq approximation is employed (i.e., unvaried paraffin density is considered during phase change), the model is more appropriate for the phase change problem on condition that metal foam can just be filled with liquid paraffin in the end of the melting process. Hence according to different treatments of paraffin density, the application of the phase change model needs to consider the influence of real paraffin filling condition of MFPC. The phase change model considering diffusion dominated interstitial heat transfer between stationary paraffin and metal foam can more accurately capture the solid-liquid phase interface positions as compared with the model only considering the convection dominated interstitial heat transfer. The present study can provide guidance for physically more reasonable simulation of the practical phase change problem of MFPC.

scholarly journals On Numerical Modeling of Thermal Performance Enhancementof a Heat Thermal Energy Storage System Using a Phase Change Material and a Porous Foam

Computation ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 3
Author(s):  
Riheb Mabrouk ◽  
Hassane Naji ◽  
Hacen Dhahri ◽  
Zouhir Younsi
Keyword(s):  
Phase Change ◽  
Phase Change Material ◽  
Thermal Performance ◽  
Metal Foam ◽  
Storage System ◽  
Porous Metal ◽  
Metal Structure ◽  
Entropy Generation Rate ◽  
High Porosity ◽  
Change Material

In this investigation, a comprehensive numerical analysis of the flow involved in an open-ended straight channel fully filled with a porous metal foam saturated and a phase change material (paraffin) has been performed using a single relaxation time lattice Boltzmann method (SRT-LBM) at the representative elementary volume (REV) scale. The enthalpy-based approach with three density functions has been employed to cope with the governing equations under the local thermal non-equilibrium (LTNE) condition. The in-house code has been validated through a comparison with a previous case in literature. The pore per inch density (10≤PPI≤60) and porosity (0.7≤ε≤0.9) effects of the metal structure were analyzed during melting/solidifying phenomena at two Reynolds numbers (Re = 200 and 400). The relevant findings are discussed for the LTNE intensity and the entropy generation rate (Ns). Through the simulations, the LTNE hypothesis turned out to be secure and valid. In addition, it is maximum for small PPI value (=10) whatever the parameters deemed. On the other hand, high porosity (=0.9) is advised to reduce the system’s irreversibility. However, at a moderate Re (=200), a small PPI (=10) would be appropriate to mitigate the system irreversibility during the charging case, while a large value (PPI = 60) might be advised for the discharging case. In this context, it can be stated that during the melting period, low porosity (=0.7) with low PPI (=10) improves thermal performance, reduces the system irreversibility and speeds up the melting rate, while for high porosity (=0.9), a moderate PPI (=30) should be used during the melting process to achieve an optimal system.

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