Abstract
Phase change materials (PCMs) are capable of storing and removing a significant quantity of latent heat from heating storage systems. PCMs such as paraffin wax are used because they store a large amount of energy in a relatively small space while maintaining a nearly constant temperature between solidification and melting. An investigation into the numerical effects of increases in heat transmission to paraffin wax (RT58), within a half-cylindrical cell which included a range of copper rods, was conducted to determine their impact. The enthalpy-porosity combination program ANSYS/FLUENT 16, was used in this study to ascertain levels of heat transmission that occur when varying numbers of copper rods are inserted in the container, as well as the impact this has on melting time. The findings show that increasing the number of rods results in a decrease in melting time. When comparing cells with three and five copper rods against a cell with no rods, the melting time is reduced by 45% and 52%, respectively. The findings of this research can benefit thermal energy storage applications such as cooling microelectronic devices, and storing and discharging thermal energy.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.