Numerical Analysis of The Multilayer Structures Melting with Different Hole Network with Phase Change Material

Abstract

Phase change materials (PCM) are used with different geometries to increase thermal performance. The thermal performance of the geometries on phase change materials have been investigated. For thermal energy storage systems (TES), porous structures are widely used to increase the thermal performance of the PCM. In addition, geometric parameters affect heat transfer, flow and melting solidification. In this work, the thermal performance of multilayer structures with different surface geometries and the control of the melt fraction of the PCM was investigated in terms of energy efficiency. The results were obtained by modeling the studies in the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) program. The physical model was obtained by creating a multi-layer porous structure with different surface geometries in each layer thanks to the additive system. Modeling was carried out for natural convection depending on time. Paraffin was used as the PCM. The melting temperature of the paraffin used is 41 °C and the latent heat of fusion is 165 kJ/kg. In the present work, the distribution of melting isotherms gives more homogeneous results for the selected geometry. The results of PCM multilayer structure and other geometries were compared under the same conditions and it was seen that the multilayer structure improved the thermal performance. All melting graphs range from 0-1 (0: solid, 1: liquid). The results obtained for the selected geometry show that the melting value is between 0.8-0.9. In addition, the proposed physical model is a subject that can be encountered in engineering applications, thermal design engineering. In this respect, it is thought that the results obtained from the study, especially in the field of energy storage, will fill an important gap.