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ISSN Online: 2377-424X

ISBN Print: 978-1-56700-474-8

ISBN Online: 978-1-56700-473-1

International Heat Transfer Conference 16
August, 10-15, 2018, Beijing, China

THE ENTHALPY-POROSITY METHOD WITH A RECTANGULAR SPECIFIC HEAT CURVE

Get access (open in a dialog) DOI: 10.1615/IHTC16.ctm.023939
pages 3841-3848

Abstract

Phase change materials (PCM) are studied extensively as a means to increase energy density of thermal energy storage systems. The design of PCM systems is often done numerically using the enthalpy porosity method. However, commercial software packages often apply a non-realistic specific heat curve. The present article investigates the effect of applying a rectangular specific heat curve with the enthalpy-porosity method by using different peak temperatures and melting ranges while keeping the total latent heat constant. Furthermore, the simulations are compared to a purely conductive model to analyze the effect of natural convection. The simulations show that convection has an effect on total phase change times, which increases with decreasing temperature gradients.