Abstract
This work investigates the solidification of phase change material (PCM) embedded with metal foam (MF) in a spherical capsule which its outer layer is exposed to convective heat transfer. The one-dimensional energy equation is resolved by performing finite volume method accompanied with temperature transforming technique. Four separate scenarios are developed for different porosity value of MF in order to analyze the thermal behavior of composite PCM with MF. The numerical model is validated by experimental data taken from the literature and substantially good agreement is demonstrated. The results show that at the case where the porosity ε =0.92, the elapsed time for complete solidification is decreases by 88% compared to the case without MF (ε =1.0).
Highlights
Several fields of the energy system such as industrial, transportation and buildings sectors have a high priority in energy efficiency researches, due to their highest energy saving potential in total final energy consumption
Materials that are used in thermal energy storage (TES) systems are known as phase change materials (PCMs) because of their high latent heat, suitable phase change temperature, low volume change during phase change and high storage capacity
This research study performed a numerical analysis in order to investigate the effect of porosity of metal foam (MF) combined with the PCM on solidification process inside spherical capsule
Summary
Several fields of the energy system such as industrial, transportation and buildings sectors have a high priority in energy efficiency researches, due to their highest energy saving potential in total final energy consumption. Energy storage methods come to the forefront for the efficient utilization of renewable and alternative energy sources [1]. The search for new and renewable energy sources as well as more efficient solutions for the storage of energy is ongoing. Materials that are used in TES systems are known as phase change materials (PCMs) because of their high latent heat, suitable phase change temperature, low volume change during phase change and high storage capacity. There are informative review papers which examined the heat transfer process in the TES system [3,4]. Kenisarin et al [5] comprehensively reviewed the heat transfer mechanism of PCM in spherical geometry. Pedroso and Domoto [6] analytically examined the solidification within spherical container by utilizing perturbation technique under constant wall temperature. Tao [7] performed a mechanism for the evaluation of solidification time in cylindrical and spherical geometries
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