Phase change heat transfer enhancement based on topology optimization of fin structure

Abstract

In the latent heat storage (LHS) system, topology optimization was applied to the design of the fin structure, and the material variable density interpolation method was adopted. Given the effect of natural convection heat transfer on heat transfer characteristics, the buoyancy source term and resistance source term were introduced in the momentum conservation equation to establish a mathematical model of heat transfer and topology of the heat storage system. To obtain a reasonable topology, we analyzed the effects of optimization parameters such as penalty factor, filter radius, steepness factor and threshold value on the topology. Then, four typical topologies were selected for heat transfer and flow analysis. The results show that at 500 s, Case 1 is nearly half melted, while Case 4 is almost completely melted. It can be seen that more branch structures and radial extension in Case 4 provide a larger heat transfer area and a more reasonable heat transfer path, which improves the uniformity of the temperature field and significantly increases the heat transfer rate. This study can provide a theoretical basis for topology optimization in the structural distribution of fins in the LHS system.