Effects of mushy-zone parameter on simulating melting and solidification phenomena inside a spherical capsule

The research on latent heat storage technology is beneficial for the large-scale popularization and application of energy storage technology. In order to solve the difficulties in the latent thermal energy storage (LTES) technology, numerical studies of the solid–liquid phase-change process of LTES units using the enthalpy-porosity method have become research hotspots. Among them, the importance of studying the mushy-zone parameter has been neglected. In this paper, a two-dimensional numerical model is created based on the enthalpy-porosity method to investigate the effects of different mushy-zone parameters within a wide range [104–108 kg/(m3·s)] on the melting and solidification processes of the spherical phase change material capsule. A comprehensive examination of the fluid flow and heat transfer characteristics during two phase-change processes is conducted. Meanwhile, the morphology of the solid–liquid phase boundary and the evolution of the mushy zone under different mushy-zone parameters are discussed in detail. It is worth mentioning that a new analytical perspective is innovated by proposing the “eccentricity phenomenon,” and the eccentricity law is further explored. The results show that the influence mechanisms of the mushy-zone parameters on the melting and solidification processes differ greatly. This paper emphasizes the significance of exploring the mushy zone and provides adequate guidance for future simulation studies to determine the mushy-zone parameter.

[1]  M. Fasano,et al.  An overview on the use of additives and preparation procedure in phase change materials for thermal energy storage with a focus on long term applications , 2022, Journal of Energy Storage.

[2]  A. Faghri,et al.  Thermal energy storage in desalination systems: State of the art, challenges and opportunities , 2022, Journal of Energy Storage.

[3]  B. Hughes,et al.  A review of thermal energy storage technologies for seasonal loops , 2022, Energy.

[4]  R. Rudrapati,et al.  A comprehensive review on current advances of thermal energy storage and its applications , 2021, Alexandria Engineering Journal.

[5]  B. Gürel.  Thermal performance evaluation for solidification process of latent heat thermal energy storage in a corrugated plate heat exchanger , 2020, Applied Thermal Engineering.

[6]  Shaofei Wu,et al.  Thermal conductivity enhancement on phase change materials for thermal energy storage: A review , 2020 .

[7]  F. Bai,et al.  How mushy zone evolves and affects the thermal behaviours in latent heat storage and recovery: A numerical study , 2020, International Journal of Energy Research.

[8]  A. Marusic,et al.  Experimental validation of high-temperature latent heat storage model using melting front propagation data , 2020 .

[9]  Qiang Yu,et al.  Numerical study of heat transfer characteristic on the melting process of quaternary mixed nitrate , 2019, Applied Thermal Engineering.

[10]  Fangfang He,et al.  Numerical and experimental study of paraffin/expanded graphite phase change materials with an anisotropic model , 2019, Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells.

[11]  Simin Huang,et al.  Solid-liquid phase-change thermal storage and release behaviors in a rectangular cavity under the impacts of mushy region and low gravity , 2019, International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer.

[12]  E. Baniasadi,et al.  A review on modeling and simulation of solar energy storage systems based on phase change materials , 2019, Journal of Energy Storage.

[13]  Ali J. Chamkha,et al.  Melting of a Nano-enhanced Phase Change Material (NePCM) in partially-filled horizontal elliptical capsules with different aspect ratios , 2018, International Journal of Mechanical Sciences.

[14]  Joshua M. Charles,et al.  Experimental, numerical and analytic study of unconstrained melting in a vertical cylinder with a focus on mushy region effects , 2018, International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer.

[15]  Xing Ju,et al.  A novel effective thermal conductivity correlation of the PCM melting in spherical PCM encapsulation for the packed bed TES system , 2018 .

[16]  L. Gosselin,et al.  Numerical modeling of solid-liquid phase change in a closed 2D cavity with density change, elastic wall and natural convection , 2017 .

[17]  D. J. Krishna,et al.  Influence of Mushy Zone Constant on Thermohydraulics of a PCM , 2017 .

[18]  Z. Khan,et al.  Parametric investigations to enhance thermal performance of paraffin through a novel geometrical configuration of shell and tube latent thermal storage system , 2016 .

[19]  Liangzhong YAO,et al.  Challenges and progresses of energy storage technology and its application in power systems , 2016 .

[20]  K. Cen,et al.  An experimental and numerical investigation of constrained melting heat transfer of a phase change material in a circumferentially finned spherical capsule for thermal energy storage , 2016 .

[21]  J. Chung,et al.  Restrictions on the analytic approach of unconstrained melting inside a spherical capsule , 2015 .

[22]  Hamid Hassanzadeh Afrouzi,et al.  Unconstrained melting and solidification inside rectangular enclosure , 2015 .

[23]  J. Darkwa,et al.  Review of solid–liquid phase change materials and their encapsulation technologies , 2015 .

[24]  A. Oliva,et al.  Fixed-grid numerical modeling of melting and solidification using variable thermo-physical properties – Application to the melting of n-Octadecane inside a spherical capsule , 2015 .

[25]  J. Khodadadi,et al.  Melting and convection of phase change materials in different shape containers: A review , 2015 .

[26]  Shuli Liu,et al.  Mathematical solutions and numerical models employed for the investigations of PCMs׳ phase transformations , 2014 .

[27]  G. Ziskind,et al.  Melting in a vertical cylindrical tube: Numerical investigation and comparison with experiments , 2010 .

[28]  Liwu Fan,et al.  Experimental and computational study of constrained melting of phase change materials (PCM) inside a spherical capsule , 2009 .

[29]  A. Sharma,et al.  Review on thermal energy storage with phase change materials and applications , 2009 .

[30]  Gennady Ziskind,et al.  Numerical and Experimental Study of Solidification in a Spherical Shell , 2009 .

[31]  Gennady Ziskind,et al.  Numerical and experimental study of melting in a spherical shell , 2007 .

[32]  G. Ziskind,et al.  Numerical investigation of a PCM-based heat sink with internal fins , 2005 .

[33]  Brian G. Thomas,et al.  Fixed grid techniques for phase change problems: A review , 1990 .

[34]  V. Voller,et al.  A fixed grid numerical modelling methodology for convection-diffusion mushy region phase-change problems , 1987 .

[35]  Chie Gau,et al.  Melting and Solidification of a Pure Metal on a Vertical Wall , 1986 .

[36]  A. Mohebbi,et al.  CFD simulation of melting process of phase change materials (PCMs) in a spherical capsule , 2017 .

[37]  F. Tezel,et al.  A review of energy storage technologies with a focus on adsorption thermal energy storage processes for heating applications , 2017 .

[38]  Hasan Karabay,et al.  Melting of nanoparticle-enhanced paraffin wax in a rectangular enclosure with partially active walls , 2017 .

[39]  S. Tiari,et al.  Numerical study of finned heat pipe-assisted thermal energy storage system with high temperature phase change material , 2015 .

[40]  T. Kousksou,et al.  Energy storage: Applications and challenges , 2014 .

[41]  F. L. Tan,et al.  Unconstrained melting inside a sphere. , 2013 .

[42]  F. L. Tan,et al.  Numerical investigations of unconstrained melting of nano-enhanced phase change material (NEPCM) inside a spherical container , 2012 .

[43]  Yvan Dutil,et al.  A review on phase-change materials: Mathematical modeling and simulations , 2011 .

[44]  Numerical investigation of the in fl uence of mushy zone parameter A mush on heat transfer characteristics in vertically and horizontally oriented thermal energy storage systems , 2022 .