Numerical study of a multiple-segment metal foam-PCM latent heat storage unit: Effect of porosity, pore density and location of heat source

Sardari, Pouyan Talebizadeh; Mohammed, Hayder I.; Giddings, Donald; walker, Gavin S.; Gillott, Mark; Grant, David

Abstract

This study numerically investigates the performance of the melting process for a PCM based heat storage system under the effect of different variables in a vertical container with a copper metal foam. Different cases were studied and compared including the effects of variable porosities and pore densities, non-equilibrium porous medium model, a multiple-segment metal foam case and different heater locations in the system on the liquid fraction and temperature as presented by contour plots and diagrams. The results show high performance for the copper foam-PCM unit compared with on its own PCM, for reducing the melting time by almost 85%. By changing the location of constant temperature heater from the bottom to the side and top surface, the melting time decreases by 70.5% and 4.7%, respectively. By using a multiple-segment porous system, the melting time reduces by 3.5% compared with the case of uniform porosity. Furthermore, the more accurate non-equilibrium numerical model shows a 7.4% difference in the melting time compared with the equilibrium model. This study optimises the design to improve practical application performance and to reduce waste energy.

Citation

Sardari, P. T., Mohammed, H. I., Giddings, D., walker, G. S., Gillott, M., & Grant, D. (2019). Numerical study of a multiple-segment metal foam-PCM latent heat storage unit: Effect of porosity, pore density and location of heat source. Energy, 189, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2019.116108

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Aug 20, 2019
• Online Publication Date: Oct 1, 2019
• Publication Date: 2019-12
• Deposit Date: Oct 5, 2019
• Publicly Available Date: Oct 2, 2020
• Journal: Energy
• Print ISSN: 0360-5442
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 189
• Article Number: 116108
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2019.116108
• Keywords: Phase change materials; Latent heat storage; Multiple-segment porous medium; Melting; Non-equilibrium thermal model
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/2763017
• Publisher URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360544219318031
• Additional Information: This article is maintained by: Elsevier; Article Title: Numerical study of a multiple-segment metal foam-PCM latent heat storage unit: Effect of porosity, pore density and location of heat source; Journal Title: Energy; CrossRef DOI link to publisher maintained version: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2019.116108; Content Type: article; Copyright: © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.