Analytical Modeling of Metal Foam Composite Phase Change Materials (PCM) in Thermal Energy Storage Using Asymptotic Analysis: Paper No. IMECE2023-114094

Minghan Xu, Saad Akhtar, Ahmad Zueter, Mohammaderfan Mohit, Agus Sasmito

Research output: Contribution to conferencePaper

Abstract

The use of phase change materials (PCMs) for thermal energy storage can release or absorb a significant amount of latent heat during the freezing or melting process, offering a higher energy storage density. One of the main drawbacks of PCMs is their low thermal conductivity, resulting in poor thermal performance. Recent research has attempted to enhance heat transfer and increase the thermal conductivity of PCMs, including the use of metal foams. However, modeling the metal foam composite PCM using conventional methods is computationally expensive. This paper proposes an asymptotic solution for a Stefan-like problem subject to a convective boundary for outward solidification in a hollow cylinder, capable of predicting the freeze-melt cycle of the metal foam composite PCM. Specifically, three temporal regimes and four spatial layers are considered in the asymptotic analysis for each phase change process. The thermal conductivity is calculated by a theoretical three-dimensional tetrakaidecahedron model, while other thermophysical properties are obtained using the method of volume averaging. The results are verified with numerical data and validated against experimental data in the literature. The presented analytical modeling framework could have the potential to be applied to other types of composite PCMs with considerably lower computational costs compared with conventional methods.
Original languageAmerican English
Number of pages10
DOIs
StatePublished - 2024
EventASME 2023 International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition - New Orleans, Louisiana
Duration: 29 Oct 20232 Nov 2023

Conference

ConferenceASME 2023 International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition
CityNew Orleans, Louisiana
Period29/10/232/11/23

NREL Publication Number

  • NREL/CP-5400-89214

Keywords

  • analytical model
  • asymptotic analysis
  • freeze-melt cycle
  • metal foam
  • phase change material

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