Three-dimensional numerical simulation of melting characteristics of phase change materials embedded with various TPMS skeletons

Pengzhen Zhu, Baoming Chen, Liyan Sui, Hongchen Li, Kun Li, Yu Jian

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Front. Energy ›› DOI: 10.1007/s11708-024-0967-z
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Three-dimensional numerical simulation of melting characteristics of phase change materials embedded with various TPMS skeletons

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Abstract

Phase change energy storage technology has great potential for enhancing the efficient conversion and storage of energy. While triply periodic minimal surface (TPMS) structures have shown promise in improving heat transfer, research on their application in phase change heat transfer remains limited. This paper presents numerical simulations of composite phase change materials (PCMs) featuring TPMS skeletons, specifically gyroid, diamond, primitive, and I-graph and wrapped package-graph (I-WP) utilizing the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM). A comparative analysis of the effects of four TPMS skeletons on enhancing the phase change process reveals that the PCM containing the gyroid skeleton melts the fastest, with a complete melting time of 24.1% shorter than that of the PCM containing the I-WP skeleton. The PCM containing the gyroid skeleton is further simulated to explore the effects of the Rayleigh (Ra) number, Prandtl (Pr) number, and Stefan (Ste) number on the melting characteristics. Notably, the complete melting time is reduced by 60.44% when Ra is increased to 106 compared to the case with Ra at 104. Increasing the Pr number accelerates the migration of the mushy zone, resulting in fast melting. Conversely, the convective heat transfer effect from the heating surface decreases as the Ste number increases. The temperature differences caused by the local thermal non-equilibrium (LTNE) effect over time are significant and complex, with peaks becoming more pronounced nearer the heating surface. This study intends to provide theoretical support for the further development of TPMS skeletons in enhancing the phase change process.

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Keywords

solid–liquid phase change / lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) / triply periodic minimal surface (TPMS) / mushy zone / local thermal non-equilibrium effect (LTNE)

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Pengzhen Zhu, Baoming Chen, Liyan Sui, Hongchen Li, Kun Li, Yu Jian. Three-dimensional numerical simulation of melting characteristics of phase change materials embedded with various TPMS skeletons. Front. Energy, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11708-024-0967-z

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Notations

cp Heat capacity, J/(kg·K)
cs Lattice sound speed
C Constant of the mushy zone
En Enthalpy, J/kg
Fε Shape factor of porous skeleton
g Gravitational acceleration, m/s2
k Thermal conductivity, W/(m∙K)
keff Effective thermal conductivity, W/(m∙K)
K Permeability, m2
L Feature length, m
La Latent heat of phase change, J/kg
p Relative pressure, Pa
R Thermal conductivity ratio
t Time, s
T Temperature, K
TR Temperature radius of phase change, K
u Seepage velocity, m/s
v Fluid kinematic viscosity, m2/s
νeff Combined kinematic viscosity coefficient, m2/s
Greek symbols
α Thermal diffusion coefficient, m2/s
β Thermal expansion coefficient, 1/K
γ Liquid fraction
θ Dimensionless temperature
ρ Density, kg/m3
σ Heat capacity ratio
τ Dimensionless relaxation time
ωi Weighting factor
Dimensionless numbers
Da Darcy number
Fo Fourier number
Nu Nusselt number
Pr Prandtl number
Ra Rayleigh number
Ste Stefan number
Subscripts
c Cold surface
f PCM
fl Liquid PCM
fs Solid PCM
h Heating surface
s Solid skeleton

Acknowledgement

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51976111).

Competing Interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

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2024 Higher Education Press 2024
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