Numerical investigation on the phase change process of different shaped macro encapsulated PCM

  • Authors

    • Jay R. Patel
    • Manish K. Rathod
    2018-09-22
    https://doi.org/10.14419/ijet.v7i4.5.21163
  • Latent Heat Storage Unit, Macro Encapsulation, Melting, Natural Convection, Phase Change Material (PCM).

  • Abstract

    Latent heat energy storage using macro encapsulated phase change material is an emerging technique for thermal energy storage applica- tions. The main aim of the present investigation is to investigate the melting process of phase change material filled in different shaped configurations. The selected different cavities are square, circular and triangular. A mathematical model based on convection dominated melting is required to be developed, especially in view of the complex flow geometries encountered in such problems. Thus, an attempt has been made to develop a model using ANSYS Fluent 16.2 to investigate the heat transfer rate and solid-liquid interface visualization of PCM filled in different shapes of cavity. It is found that triangular shaped macro encapsulated PCM melts faster than square and circu- lar shaped encapsulated PCM.

     

     

     

  • References

    1. [1] A. Sharma, V. V. Tyagi, C. R. Chen, and D. Buddhi, “Review on thermal energy storage with phase change materials and applications,†Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev., vol. 13, no. 2, pp. 318–345, 2009.

      [2] M. A. Ezan, M. Ozdogan, and A. Erek, “Experimental study on charging and discharging periods of water in a latent heat storage unit,†Int. J. Therm. Sci., vol. 50, no. 11, pp. 2205–2219, 2011.

      [3] N. Kousha, M. J. Hosseini, M. R. Aligoodarz, R. Pakrouh, and R. Bahrampoury, “Effect of inclination angle on the performance of a shell and tube heat storage unit – An experimental study,†Appl. Therm. Eng., vol. 112, pp. 1497– 1509, 2017.

      [4] M. K. Rathod and J. Banerjee, “Thermal Performance of a Phase Change Material-Based Latent Heat Thermal Storage Unit,†Heat Transf. Res., vol. 43, no. 8, pp. 706–719, 2014.

      [5] J. P. Bédécarrats, J. Castaing-Lasvignottes, F. Strub, and J. P. Dumas, “Study of a phase change energy storage using spherical capsules. Part I: Experimental results,†Energy Convers. Manga. vol. 50, no. 10, pp. 2527–2536, 2009.

      [6] M. Lacroix, “Contact melting of a phase change material inside a heated parallelepedic capsule,†Energy Convers. Manag. vol. 42, no. 1, pp. 35–47, 2001.

      [7] D. Groulx and R. Murray, “Modeling Convection During Melting of a Phase Change Material,†Proceeding COMSOL Conf. Bost.2011, no. January, p. 7p, 2011.

      [8] C. U. Maheswari and R. M. Reddy, “Thermal Analysis of Thermal Energy Storage Systemwith Phase Change Material,†vol. 3, no. 4, pp. 617–622, 2013.

      [9] J. M. Khodadadi and Y. Zhang, “Effects of buoyancy-driven convection on melting within spherical containers,†Int. J. Heat Mass Transf., vol. 44, no. 8, pp. 1605–1618, 2001.

      [10] E. Assis, L. Katsman, G. Ziskind, and R. Letan, “Numerical and experimental study of melting in a spherical shell,†Int. J. Heat Mass Transf., vol. 50, no. 9–10, pp. 1790–1804, 2007.

      [11] W. Zhao, “Characterization of Encapsulated Phase Change Materials for Thermal Energy Storage,†p. 113, 2013.

      [12] M. J. Hosseini, A. A. Ranjbar, K. Sedighi, and M. Rahimi, “A combined experimental and computational study on the melting behavior of a medium temperature phase change storage material inside shell and tube heat exchanger,†Int. Commun. Heat Mass Transf., vol. 39, no. 9, pp. 1416–1424, 2012.

  • Downloads

  • How to Cite

    R. Patel, J., & K. Rathod, M. (2018). Numerical investigation on the phase change process of different shaped macro encapsulated PCM. International Journal of Engineering & Technology, 7(4.5), 587-590. https://doi.org/10.14419/ijet.v7i4.5.21163

    Received date: 2018-10-07

    Accepted date: 2018-10-07

    Published date: 2018-09-22