Enhanced entropy generation and heat transfer characteristics of magnetic nano-encapsulated phase change materials in latent heat thermal energy storage systems

The objective of the current study is to investigate the importance of entropy generation and thermal radiation on the patterns of velocity,isentropic lines,and temperature contours within a thermal energy storage device filled with magnetic nanoencapsulated phase change materials(NEPCMs).The versatile finite element method(FEM)is implemented to numerically solve the governing equations.The effects of various parameters,including the viscosity parameter,ranging from 1 to 3,the thermal conductivity parameter,ranging from 1 to 3,the Rayleigh parameter,ranging from 102 to 3×10^(2),the radiation number,ranging from 0.1 to 0.5,the fusion temperature,ranging from 1.0 to 1.2,the volume fraction of NEPCMs,ranging from 2%to 6%,the Stefan number,ranging from 1 to 5,the magnetic number,ranging from 0.1 to 0.5,and the irreversibility parameter,ranging from 0.1 to 0.5,are examined in detail on the temperature contours,isentropic lines,heat capacity ratio,and velocity fields.Furthermore,the heat transfer rates at both the cold and hot walls are analyzed,and the findings are presented graphically.The results indicate that the time taken by the NEPCMs to transition from solid to liquid is prolonged inside the chamber region as the fusion temperatureθf increases.Additionally,the contours of the heat capacity ratio Cr decrease with the increase in the Stefan number Ste.

Multi-dimensional Simulation of Phase Change by a 0D-2D Model Coupling via Stefan Condition

Considering phase changes associated with a high-temperature molten material cooled down from the outside,this work presents an improvement of the modelling and the numerical simulation of such processes for an application pertaining to the safety of light water nuclear reactors.Postulating a core meltdown accident,the behaviour of the core melt(aka corium)into a steel vessel is of tremendous importance when evaluating the vessel integrity.Evaluating correctly the heat fluxes requires the numerical simulation of the interaction between the liquid material and its solid counterpart which forms during the solidification process,but also may melt back.To simulate this configuration,encoun-tered in various industrial applications,one considers a bi-phase model constituted by a liquid phase in contact and interaction with its solid phase.The liquid phase may solidify in presence of low energetic source,while the solid phase may melt due to an intense heat flux from the high-temperature liquid.In the frame of the in-house legacy code,several simplifying assumptions(0D multi-layer discretization,instantaneous heat transfer via a quadratic temperature profile in solids)are made for the modelling of such phase changes.In the present work,these shortcomings are illustrated and further overcome by solving a 2D heat conduction model in the solid by a mixed Raviart-Thomas finite element method coupled to the liquid phase due to heat and mass exchanges through Stefan condition.The liquid phase is modeled with a 0D multi-layer approach.The 0D-liquid and 2D-solid mod-els are coupled by a Stefan like phase change interface model.Several sanity checks are performed to assess the validity of the approach on 1D and 2D academical configurations for which exact or reference solutions are available.Then more advanced situations(genu-ine multi-dimensional phase changes and an"industrial-like scenario")are simulated to verify the appropriate behavior of the obtained coupled simulation scheme.

Fabrication and testing of phase change heat sink for high power LED

A novel phase change heat sink was fabricated for packaging cooling of high power light emitting diode （LED）. 3D structures as enhanced boiling structure in the evaporation surface were composed of a spiral micro-groove along circumferential direction and radial micro-grooves which were processed by ploughing-extrusion （P-E） and stamping, respectively. Meanwhile, the cycle power of refrigerant was supplied by wick of sintered copper powder on internal surface of phase change heat sink. Operational characteristics were tested under different heat loads and refrigerants. The experimental results show that phase change heat sink is provided with a good heat transfer capability and the temperature of phase change heat sink reaches 86.8 ℃ under input power of 10 W LED at ambient temperature of 20 ℃.

Paraffin–CaCl_(2)·6H_(2)O dosage effects on the strength and heat transfer characteristics of cemented tailings backfill

The challenge of high temperatures in deep mining remains harmful to the health of workers and their production efficiency The addition of phase change materials (PCMs) to filling slurry and the use of the cold storage function of these materials to reduce downhole temperatures is an effective approach to alleviate the aforementioned problem.Paraffin–CaCl_(2)·6H_(2)O composite PCM was prepared in the laboratory.The composition,phase change latent heat,thermal conductivity,and cemented tailing backfill (CTB) compressive strength of the new material were studied.The heat transfer characteristics and endothermic effect of the PCM were simulated using Fluent software.The results showed the following:(1) The new paraffin–CaCl_(2)·6H_(2)O composite PCM improved the thermal conductivity of native paraffin while avoiding the water solubility of CaCl_(2)·6H_(2)O.(2) The calculation formula of the thermal conductivity of CaCl_(2)·6H_(2)O combined with paraffin was deduced,and the reasons were explained in principle.(3) The“enthalpy–mass scale model”was applied to calculate the phase change latent heat of nonreactive composite PCMs.(4)The addition of the paraffin–CaCl_(2)·6H_(2)O composite PCM reduced the CTB strength but increased its heat absorption capacity.This research can give a theoretical foundation for the use of heat storage backfill in green mines.

Design of a graphene oxide@melamine foam/polyaniline@erythritol composite phase change material for thermal energy storage

At present,only a single modification method is adopted to improve the shortcomings of erythritol(ET)as a phase change material(PCM).Compared with a single modification method,the synergistic effect of multiple modification methods can endow ET with comprehensive performance to meet the purpose of package,supercooling reduction,and enhancement of thermal conductivity.In this work,we innovatively combine graphene oxide(GO)nanosheet modified melamine foam(MF)and polyaniline(PANI)to construct a novel ET-based PCM by blending and porous material adsorption modification.PANI as the nucleation center can enhance the crystallization rate,thereby reducing the supercooling of ET.Meanwhile,GO@MF foam can not only be used as a porous support material to encapsulate ET but also as a heat conduction reinforcement to improve heat storage and release rate.As a result,the supercooling of GO@MF/PANI@ET(GMPET)composite PCM decreases from 91.2℃ of pure ET to 57.9℃ and its thermal conductivity(1.58 W·m^(-1)·K^(-1))is about three times higher than that of pure ET(0.57 W·m^(-1)·K^(-1)).Moreover,after being placed at 140℃ for 2 h,there is almost no ET leakage in the GMPET composite PCM,and the mass loss ratio is less than 0.75%.In addition,the GMPET composite PCM displays a high melting enthalpy of about 259 J·g^(-1) and a high initial mass loss temperature of about 198℃.Even after the 200th cycling test,the phase transition temperature and the latent heat storage capacity of the GMPET PCM all remain stable.This work offers an effective and promising strategy to design ET-based composite PCM for the field of energy storage.

Performance of a Phase Change Material Battery in a Transparent Building

This research evaluates the performance of a Phase Change Material(PCM)battery integrated into the climate system of a new transparent meeting center.The main research questions are:a.“Can the performance of the battery be calculated?”and b.“Can the battery reduce the heating and cooling energy demand in a significant way?”The first question is answered in this document.In order to be able to answer the second question,especially the way the heat loading in winter should be improved,then more research is necessary.In addition to the thermal battery,which consists of Phase Change Material plates,the climate system has a cross-flow heat exchanger and a heat pump.The battery should play a central role in closing the thermal balance of the lightweight building,which can be loaded with hot return or cold outdoor air.The temperature of the battery plates is monitored by multi-sensors and simulated by the use of PHOENICS(Computational Fluid Dynamics)and MATLAB.This paper reports reasonable agreement between the numerical predictions and the measurements,with a maximum variance of 10%.The current coefficient of performance for heating and cooling is already high,more than 27.There is scope for increasing this much further by making use of the very low-pressure difference of the battery(below 25 Pascal),low pressure fans and the ventilation system as a whole.

Heat transfer and parametric studies of an encapsulated phase change material based cool thermal energy storage system

This work investigates the transient behaviour of a phase change material based cool thermal energy storage (CTES) system comprised of a cylindrical storage tank filled with encapsulated phase change materials (PCMs) in spherical container integrated with an ethylene glycol chiller plant. A simulation program was developed to evaluate the temperature histories of the heat transfer fluid (HTF) and the phase change material at any axial location during the charging period. The results of the model were validated by comparison with experimental results of temperature profiles of HTF and PCM. The model was also used to investigate the effect of porosity, Stanton number, Stefan number and Peclet number on CTES system performance. The results showed that increase in porosity contributes to a higher rate of energy storage. However, for a given geometry and heat transfer coefficient, the mass of PCM charged in the unit decreases as the increase in porosity. The St number as well as the Ste number is also influential in the performance of the unit. The model is a convenient and more suitable method to determine the heat transfer characteristics of CTES system. The results reported are much useful for designing CTES system.

Phase change analysis of an underwater glider propelled by the ocean's thermal energy

The phase change characteristic of the power source of an underwater glider propelled by the ocean＇s thermal energy is the key factor in glider attitude control. A numerical model has been established based on the enthalpy method to analyze the phase change heat transfer process under convective boundary conditions. Phase change is not an isothermal process, but one that occurs at a range of temperature. The total melting time of the material is very sensitive to the surrounding temperature. When the temperature of the surroundings decreases 8 degrees, the total melting time increases 1.8 times. But variations in surrounding temperature have little effect on the initial temperature of phase change, and the slope of the temperature time history curve remains the same. However, the temperature at which phase change is completed decreases significantly. Our research shows that the phase change process is also affected by container size, boundary conditions, and the power source＇s cross sectional area. Materials stored in 3 cylindrical containers with a diameter of 38ram needed the shortest phase change time. Our conclusions should be helpful in effective design of underwater glider power systems.

Phase change materials as quenching media for heat treatment of 42CrMo4 steels

In the present work,paraffin phase change material is used as quenchant for the heat treatment of 42CrMo4 alloy and compared with water,air,and CuO doped paraffin.The samples were prepared based on ASTM E 8M-98 standard for tensile test and then heated up to 830°C,kept for 4 h in an electric resistance furnace and then quenched in the mentioned media.Elastic modulus,yield strength,ultimate tensile strength,elongation,and modulus of toughness were determined according to the obtained stress?strain curves.Moreover,the hardness and microstructural evolution were investigated after the heat treatment at different media.The samples quenched in paraffin and CuO-doped paraffin are higher in ultimate tensile strength(1439 and 1306 MPa,respectively)than those quenched in water(1190 MPa)and air(1010 MPa).The highest hardness,with a value of HV 552,belonged to the sample quenched in CuO-doped paraffin.The microstructural studies revealed that the non-tempered steel had a ferrite/pearlite microstructure,while by quenching in water,paraffin and CuO-doped paraffin,ferrite/martensite microstructures were achieved.It is also observed that using the air as quenchant resulted in a three-phase bainite/martensite/ferrite microstructure.

Role of Composite Phase Change Material on the Thermal Performance of a Latent Heat Storage System: Experimental Investigation

Paraffin wax is a perfect phase change material(PCM)that can be used in latent heat storage units(LHSUs).The utilization of such LHSU is restricted by the poor conductivity of PCM.In the present work,a metal foam made of aluminium with PCM was used to produce a composite PCM as a thermal conductivity technique in PCM⁃LHSU and water was used as heat transfer fluid(HTF).An experimental investigation was carried out to evaluate the heat transfer characteristics of LHSU using pure PCM and composite PCM.The study included time⁃dependent visualization of the PCM during the melting and solidification processes.Besides,a thermocouple network was placed inside the heat storage to record the temperature profile during each process.Results showed that better performance could be obtained using composite PCM⁃LHSU for both melting and solidification processes.The melting time of composite PCM⁃LHSU was about 83%faster than that of a simple PCM⁃LHSU,and the percentage decreasing in the solidification time was about 85%due to the provision of metal foam.

Effect of different heat transfer fluids on discharging performance of phase change material included cylindrical container during forced convection

In the present work,effects of various heat transfer fluids on the discharging performance of a phase change material(PCM) included cylindrical container are numerically assessed during forced convection.The heat transfer fluid air,hydrogen,water and nanofluid with alumina particles are used and the the geometric variation of the PCM embedded region is also considered.The finite element method is used as the solver.Dynamic features of heat exchange with various phases are explored for different heat transfer fluid types,Reynolds number(between 100 and 300) and PCM embedded region geometric variation(h_(x)between 0.01 d_(1) and 0.65 d_(1),hybetween 0.1 h_(1) and 0.4 h_(1)).It is observed that discharging time is significantly influenced by the heat transfer fluid type while full phase transition time for air is obtained as more than 10 times when hydrogen is utilized as heat transfer fluid.The best performance is achieved with nanofluid.When the PCM integrated region size is reduced,discharging time is generally reduced while due to the form of the geometry,vortex formation is established in the PCM region.This results in performance degeneration at the highest radius and height of the inner cylinder.Discharging time increases by about 12% when radius of the inner cylinder is increased from h_(x)=0.35 d_(1) to h_(x)=0.45 d_(1).Dynamic features of PCM temperature and liquid fraction are affected with Reynolds number while discharging time is reduced by about 48% when configurations with the lowest and highest Reynolds number are compared.

Heat transfer performance testing of a new type of phase change heat sink for high power light emitting diode

In view of the limitations of solid metal heat sink in the heat dissipation of high power light emitting diode （LED）, a kind of miniaturized phase change heat sink is developed for high power LED packaging. First, the fabrication process of miniaturized phase change heat sink is investigated, upon which all parts of the heat sink are fabricated including main-body and end-cover of the heat sink, the formation of three-dimensional boiling structures at the evaporation end, the sintering of the wick, and the encapsulation of high power LED phase change heat sink. Subsequently, with the assistance of the developed testing system, heat transfer performance of the heat sink is tested under the condition of natural convection, upon which the influence of thermal load and working medium on the heat transfer performance is investigated. Finally, the heat transfer performance of the developed miniaturized phase change heat sink is compared with that of metal solid heat sink. Results show that the developed miniaturized phase change heat sink presents much better heat transfer performance over traditional metal solid heat sink, and is suitable for the packaging of high power LED.

Time-Temperature Charge Function of a High Dynamic Thermal Heat Storage with Phase Change Material

A thermal heat storage system with an energy content of 40 kWh and a temperature of 58°C will be presented. This storage system is suitable for supporting the use of renewable energies in buildings and for absorbing solar heat, heat from co-generation and heat pumps or electric heat from excess wind and solar power. The storage system is equipped with a plate heat exchanger that is so powerful that even with small temperature differences between the flow temperature and the storage temperature a high load dynamic is achieved. The storage system has a performance of 2.8 kW at 4 K and 10.6 kW at a temperature difference of 10 K. Thus, large performance variations in solar thermal systems or CHP plants can be buffered very well. Further a storage charge function Q(T, t) will be presented to characterize the performance of the storage.

Heat Transfer Characteristics of Work Fluid Including Phase Change Material That Flow into Heating Surface from Narrow Path

Use of the low temperature (less than 100°C) energy contributes to effective use of heat resources. The cost recovery by power generation is difficult by using an existing system (the binary cycle or the thermoelectric conversion element), because the initial investment is large. The final purpose of this research is development of the low temperature difference drive engine supposing use in a hot-springs resort as a power source for electric power generation. In order that a traveler may look at and delight a motion of an engine, it is made to drive at low-speed number of rotations. An engine cycle of this study is aimed at the development of Stirling cycle engine which can maintain high efficiency in small size. This kind of engine has simple structure;it brings low cost, and it is easy to perform maintenance. However, it is difficult to obtain enough output by this type of engine, because of its low temperature difference. This paper deals with the heat transfer characteristic that the working fluid including a phase change material flows into the heating surface from the narrow path. In order to increase the amount of the heat transmission, Diethylether is added to the working fluid. Diethylether is selected as a phase change material (PCM) that has the boiling point which exists between the heat source of high temperature and low temperature. The parameters of the experiment are additive amount of PCM, rotational speed of the displacer piston and temperature of heat transfer surface. It is shown that it is possible to make exchange of heat amount increase by adding phase change material. The result of this research shows the optimal condition of the difference in temperature in heat processing, number of revolutions, and addition concentration of PCM.

Structural Evolution and Phase Change Properties of C-Doped Ge_2Sb_2Te_5 Films During Heating in Air

We elucidate the importance of a capping layer on the structural evolution and phase change properties of carbondoped Ge2 Sb2 Te5（C-GST） films during heating in air. Both the C-GST films without and with a thin SiO2 capping layer（C-GST and C-GST/SiO2） are deposited for comparison. Large differences are observed between C-GST and C-GST/SiO2 films in resistance-temperature, x-ray diffraction, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy,Raman spectra, data retention capability and optical band gap measurements. In the C-GST film, resistancetemperature measurement reveals an unusual smooth decrease in resistance above 110℃ during heating. Xray diffraction result has excluded the possibility of phase change in the C-GST film below 170℃. The x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy experimental result reveals the evolution of Te chemical valence because of the carbon oxidation during heating. Raman spectra further demonstrate that phase changes from an amorphous state to the hexagonal state occur directly during heating in the C-GST film. The quite smooth decrease in resistance is believed to be related with the formation of Te-rich GeTe4-n Gen（n = 0, 1） units above 110℃ in the C-GST film. The oxidation of carbon is harmful to the C-GST phase change properties.

Numerical Study of Thermal Performance of Phase Change Material Energy Storage Floor in Solar Water Heating System

The conventional solar heating floor system contains a big water tank to store energy in the day time for heating at night,which takes much building space and is very heavy.In order to reduce the water tank volume even to cancel the tank,a novel structure of integrated water pipe floor heating system using shape-stabilized phase change materials(SSPCM)for thermal energy storage was developed.A numerical model was developed to analyze the performance of SSPCM floor heating system under the intermittent heating condition,which was verified by our experimental data.The thermal performance of the heating system and the effects of various factors on it were analyzed numerically.The factors including phase transition temperature,heat of fusion,thermal conductivity of SSPCM and thermal conductivity of the decoration material were analyzed.The results show that tm and kd are the most import influencing factors on the thermal performance of SSPCM floor heating system,since they determine the heat source temperature and thermal resistance between SSPCM plates and indoor air,respectively.Hm should be large to store enough thermal energy in the day time for nighttimes heating.The effects of kp can be ignored in this system.The SSPCM floor heating system has potential of making use of the daytime solar energy for heating at night efficiently in various climates when its structure is properly designed.

Lattice Boltzmann simulation of phase change and heat transfer characteristics in the multi-layer deposition

The metal droplets deposition method(MDDM)is a rapid prototyping technology,implemented via metallurgy bonding within droplets.The anisotropy of heat transfer and re-melting is caused by an asymmetric deposition process.A lattice Boltzmann method(LBM)model is established to predict the heat transfer and phase change in the multi-layer deposition.The prediction model is verified by the experimental temperature profiles in existing literature.The monitoring points are set to compare the temperature profiles,and decoupling analyze the heat transfer mechanism in different positions.The negative relationships between the re-molten volume of the temperature difference,as well as the influence of the dispositive position and the relative position of the adjacent component are observed and analyzed under the heat conduction.This work is helpful to choose the appropriate temperature conditions and the optimal dispositive method.

Evaluation of Characteristics of Phase Change Heat Transfer in Ultrafine Cryoprobe

To reduce the invasiveness of cryosurgery, a miniaturized cryoprobe is necessary. The authors have developed an ultrafine cryoprobe for realizing low-invasive cryosurgery by local freezing. The objectives of this study are to estimate the heat transfer coefficient and investigate the characteristics of the phase change heat transfer in the ultrafine cryoprobe. This cryoprobe has a double-tube structure consisting of two stainless steel microtubes. The outer diameter of the cryoprobe was 550 μm. The alternative Freon HFC-23, which has a boiling point of ?82?C at 0.1 MPa, was used as a refrigerant. To evaluate the characteristics of boiling flow in the cryoprobe, the heat transfer coefficient was estimated. The derived heat transfer coefficient was higher than that obtained from the conventional correlation. Additionally, a bubble expansion model was introduced to evaluate the heat transfer mode of the phase change flow in the ultrafine cryoprobe. This model can estimate the liquid film thickness during the expansion of a single bubble in a microchannel. The experimentally measured wall superheat was much lower than that obtained from the model. Therefore, this result also implied that the heat transfer mode in the ultrafine cryoprobe should be nucleate boiling.

Comparative Heat Transfer Data for Solid-Liquid Phase Change of D-Mannitol and Adipic Acid

The goal of this work was to measure the heat transfer rates from thermofluid, Therminol 66, to two phase change materials, D-mannitol and adipic acid. It concerns the determination of heat transfer coefficients for the design of a concentrated solar energy plant requiring PCM thermal energy storage and is part of a wider set of experiments, where several PCMs were tested. An experimental installation was used with a cylindrical vessel with three tubes disposed almost horizontally (5°inclination), containing the phase change material, around which the thermal fluid flowed almost perpendicular to the tubes. The experimental installation allowed to recreate heating and cooling cycles. In order to evaluate the influence of the flow on the rate at which the heating and cooling processes took place, tests were performed at different thermofluid mass flow rates, concluding that there is no great influence, since the thermal resistance inside the tubes is much higher than on the outside. D-mannitol and adipic acid, present different phase change temperatures, 164°C for D-mannitol and 152°C for adipic acid. The average heat transfer coefficient, during the phase change process, was of 340 W/(m2K) for D-mannitol and 1320 W/(m2K) for adipic acid.

Piezoelectric Power Harvesting Process via Phase Changes of Low-Boiling-Point Medium Together with Water for Recovering Low-Temperature Heats

Low-temperature thermal energy conversions down to exergy zero to electric power must contribute energy sustainability. That is to say, reinforcements of power harvesting technologies from extremely low temperatures less than 373 K might be at least one of minimum roles for the current generations. Then, piezoelectric power harvesting process for recovering low-temperature heats was invented by using a unique biphasic operating medium of an underlying water-insoluble/low-boiling-point medium (i.e. NOVEC manufactured by 3M Japan Ltd.) in small quantity and upper-layered water in large quantity. The higher piezoelectric power harvesting densities were naturally revealed with an increase in heating temperatures. Excessive cooling of the operating medium deteriorated the power harvesting efficiency. The denser operating medium was surpassingly helpful to the higher piezoelectric power harvesting density. Concretely, only about 5% density increase of main operating medium (i.e. water with dissolving alum at 0.10 mol/dm3) came to the champion piezoelectric power harvesting density of 92.6 pW/dm2 in this study, which was about 1.4 times compared to that with the original biphasic medium of pure water together with a small quantity of NOVEC.