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Design and assessments on graded metal foam in heat storage tank : An experimental and numerical study

Gao, Xinyu ; Wei, Pan ; Yu, Jiabang ; Huang, Xinyu ; Yang, Xiaohu and Sundén, Bengt LU (2023) In International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer 146.
Abstract

The effectiveness of solidification in latent heat storage (LHS) systems has been restricted by the low thermal conductivity of pure phase change materials (PCMs). To address this challenge, an innovative composite PCM impregnated with metal foam has been introduced. This study investigates a vertical thermal energy storage (TES unit) filling with foamed copper with radial gradient pore density, with a focus on enhancing energy storage and heat conduction mixing through natural convection. Experiments and numerical models are employed to research the variation of liquid fraction, solid-liquid interfaces, temperature field, and velocity field, as well as to assess heat release properties, including thermal transfer distribution and heat... (More)

The effectiveness of solidification in latent heat storage (LHS) systems has been restricted by the low thermal conductivity of pure phase change materials (PCMs). To address this challenge, an innovative composite PCM impregnated with metal foam has been introduced. This study investigates a vertical thermal energy storage (TES unit) filling with foamed copper with radial gradient pore density, with a focus on enhancing energy storage and heat conduction mixing through natural convection. Experiments and numerical models are employed to research the variation of liquid fraction, solid-liquid interfaces, temperature field, and velocity field, as well as to assess heat release properties, including thermal transfer distribution and heat release quantity. Results indicate a 14.3% reduction in solidification duration for both positive and negative radially graded pore density arrangements, compared to a homogeneous structure. In addition, temperature uniformity is improved by 4.0% in these two optimization structures, due to the influence of varied pore density. Findings from this work offer guidance for building more efficient latent energy storage tanks.

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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Gradient optimization, Latent heat storage, Pore density, Porous media
in
International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer
volume
146
article number
106902
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • scopus:85162210839
ISSN
0735-1933
DOI
10.1016/j.icheatmasstransfer.2023.106902
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
3e6bbf93-b99b-43f1-a672-255f0ad3374b
date added to LUP
2023-09-13 08:31:10
date last changed
2023-11-08 11:20:46
@article{3e6bbf93-b99b-43f1-a672-255f0ad3374b,
  abstract     = {{<p>The effectiveness of solidification in latent heat storage (LHS) systems has been restricted by the low thermal conductivity of pure phase change materials (PCMs). To address this challenge, an innovative composite PCM impregnated with metal foam has been introduced. This study investigates a vertical thermal energy storage (TES unit) filling with foamed copper with radial gradient pore density, with a focus on enhancing energy storage and heat conduction mixing through natural convection. Experiments and numerical models are employed to research the variation of liquid fraction, solid-liquid interfaces, temperature field, and velocity field, as well as to assess heat release properties, including thermal transfer distribution and heat release quantity. Results indicate a 14.3% reduction in solidification duration for both positive and negative radially graded pore density arrangements, compared to a homogeneous structure. In addition, temperature uniformity is improved by 4.0% in these two optimization structures, due to the influence of varied pore density. Findings from this work offer guidance for building more efficient latent energy storage tanks.</p>}},
  author       = {{Gao, Xinyu and Wei, Pan and Yu, Jiabang and Huang, Xinyu and Yang, Xiaohu and Sundén, Bengt}},
  issn         = {{0735-1933}},
  keywords     = {{Gradient optimization; Latent heat storage; Pore density; Porous media}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer}},
  title        = {{Design and assessments on graded metal foam in heat storage tank : An experimental and numerical study}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.icheatmasstransfer.2023.106902}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.icheatmasstransfer.2023.106902}},
  volume       = {{146}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}