Experimental and Numerical analysis of melting of PCM inside a spherical capsule

Experimental and computational study of constrained melting of phase change materials (PCM) inside a spherical capsule

“…Heat is conducted through the wall of the capsule, causing the PCM to start to melt next to the inner surface of the capsule. Similar to prior work of the authors [9,17] and others [8,[13][14][15] focus of this paper will be on constrained melting. This means that density differences of the liquid and solid phases are neglected in the mathematical simulations, thus dropping of the heavier solid PCM is not treated.…”

“…No flow visualization photos were possible in this arrangement and liquid-solid interfaces could only be inferred from the thermocouple readings. Regin et al [15] discussed an experimental and numerical study of a spherical capsule filled with paraffin wax (melting temperature range of 52.9-61.6°C) as the constrained PCM and placed in a convective environment during the melting process. Time-resolved temperature readings were obtained using a rake of nine thermocouples that were placed on a horizontal plane passing through the center of the sphere.…”

“…In extending the knowledge base on constrained melting in a sphere and its relation to buoyancy-driven convection [8,9,[13][14][15]17] a combined experimental/computational study was undertaken. Predictive capabilities of a commercial CFD code that utilizes a single-domain enthalpy formulation were tested against detailed flow visualization and thermocouple measurements inside a transparent glass sphere.…”

CFD simulation of melting process of phase change materials (PCMs) in a spherical capsule

“…Regin et al [8] examined the heat transfer performance of a spherical capsule using paraffin wax as PCM placed in a convective environment during the melting process. The model results were in a good agreement with the experimental data.…”

Synthetic and physical characterization of phase change materials microencapsulated by complex coacervation for thermal energy storage applications

“…Khodadadi and Zhang [10] studied the effects of buoyancy-driven convection during the melting of a constrained PCM in spherical capsules through a numerical solution based upon finite volume approximation and experiments using a high-Prandtl number wax. An experimental and numerical study for a spherical capsule filled with paraffin wax as the constrained PCM was carried out by Regin et al [11] to investigate the effect of capsule size and Stefan number on the melting time, liquid fraction, and instantaneous heat flux. They placed the capsule in a convective environment during the melting process and also used the enthalpy method and finite difference formulation to develop a diffusion-only one-dimensional model.…”