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Heat transfer characteristics of ceramic foam/molten salt composite phase change material (CPCM) for medium-temperature thermal energy storage

Zhang, Shuai; Yao, Yuanpeng; Jin, Yingai; Shang, Zhen; Yan, Yuying

Heat transfer characteristics of ceramic foam/molten salt composite phase change material (CPCM) for medium-temperature thermal energy storage Thumbnail


Authors

SHUAI ZHANG Shuai.Zhang1@nottingham.ac.uk
Research Associate

Yuanpeng Yao

Yingai Jin

Zhen Shang

YUYING YAN YUYING.YAN@NOTTINGHAM.AC.UK
Professor of Thermofluids Engineering



Abstract

Molten salts have been widely used as energy storage materials in medium- and high-temperature thermal energy storage. However, pure salt commonly suffers from low thermal conductivity and many conventional methods of heat transfer enhancement do not apply due to the serious corrosion and the extremely high temperature. In the current study, the open-cell SiC ceramic foam was integrated with solar salt (60wt% NaNO3 + 40wt% KNO3) to enhance the heat transfer of salt and avoid severe corrosion issues. A visualised experiment was for the first time conducted to investigate the melting phase change heat transfer in the ceramic foam/molten salt composite phase change material (CPCM). A representative elementary volume (REV)-scale simulation was simultaneously performed and the computational results were compared with experimental data. It is found that the conduction-friendly ceramic skeleton remarkably enhances the heat transfer in molten salt, especially in the region far away from the heat source. The spatial temperature difference across the composite is decreased in both horizontal and vertical directions and the local superheating is mitigated. The enhancement of heat conduction is greater than the suppression of natural convection; as a result, the melting rate of the CPCM is increased by 41.3%. This study provides crucial benchmark data of phase change heat transfer for medium-temperature thermal energy storage and paves the way for system design and optimization.

Citation

Zhang, S., Yao, Y., Jin, Y., Shang, Z., & Yan, Y. (2022). Heat transfer characteristics of ceramic foam/molten salt composite phase change material (CPCM) for medium-temperature thermal energy storage. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 196, Article 123262. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijheatmasstransfer.2022.123262

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Jul 18, 2022
Online Publication Date Jul 22, 2022
Publication Date 2022-11
Deposit Date Jul 22, 2022
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer
Print ISSN 0017-9310
Publisher Elsevier BV
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 196
Article Number 123262
DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijheatmasstransfer.2022.123262
Keywords Fluid Flow and Transfer Processes; Mechanical Engineering; Condensed Matter Physics
Public URL https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/9092082
Publisher URL https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0017931022007323?via%3Dihub

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