Biomimetically calabash-inspired phase change material capsule: Experimental and numerical analysis on thermal performance and flow characteristics

Wang, Fuqiang; Zhang, Guoliang; Shi, Xiaohong; Dong, Yaoyao; Xun, Yimeng; Zhang, Aoyu

doi:10.1016/j.est.2022.104859

Cited by 22 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…The combination of a 2×10 4 grid size and a 0.1 s time step was selected for this numerical simulation. The flow characteristic and thermal performance were compared with the experimental results of Zhang [13] and Cheng [14] to verify the accuracy of the numerical method, and the results are shown in Figure 3. The maximum error rate is 4.0%, which validates the feasibility of the method in this study.…”

Section: Model Validationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…At present, the methods to improve the heat exchange performance of spherical HSU include adding fins to the interior and expanding the surface area. Several authors have carried out experimental and simulation studies to improve the heat transfer characteristics and flow characteristics of HSU [7]. Tian et al [8] introduced a topologyshaped fin to improve the thermal performance of latent heat systems, which provides a new idea for the application of bionics in the field of energy storage.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Numerical Study on Thermal Performance and Flow Characteristic of Phase Change Material Heat Storage Unit with Capsule-Shaped Structure

Dong

Wang

Chen

et al. 2022

Advances in Energy Research and Development

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The use of phase change material (PCM) in thermal energy storage systems can overcome the instability and intermittent problems of solar energy. Heat storage unit (HSU) with capsule structure is introduced in this study to improve the flow characteristics and thermal performance of macroscopically encapsulated PCM HSU. The external flow characteristics and thermal performance of HSU with capsule-shaped and sphere are numerically analyzed. Compared with the traditional sphere HSU, the natural convection in the capsule-shaped HSU is more intense, and the melting time is reduced by 10.1% compared with the sphere HSU. In addition, the flow characteristics of the capsule HSU are more excellent than the sphere HSU, which has lower resistance and resistance coefficient. The optimization results show that with the increase of dimension parameter α, the capsule-shaped HSU has faster melting times and lower resistance coefficient. The capsule-shaped HSU can provide a better external flow characteristic and thermal performance when the dimension parameter α is 2.6.

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Section: Model Validationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%