Characterization of melting heat transfer properties of metal-foam composite phase change materials under non-uniform heat flow

doi:10.16085/j.issn.1000-6613.2025-0182

Abstract

Abstract:

Phase change material (PCM) is an effective choice for thermal energy storage and heat dissipation in thermal devices. However, their lower thermal conductivity reduces the rate of heat storage and dissipation. In this study, copper foam was used to improve the thermal properties of paraffin wax, its melting heat transfer characteristics under a non-uniform heat flow boundary were investigated by means of numerical simulation with Ansys Fluent software, and a visualization experimental setup was established to study the melting behavior of copper foam-paraffin composites. The effects of porosity on the melting heat transfer process, including the solid-liquid interface movement and temperature distribution, under the non-uniform thermal boundary at the bottom were discussed. The results showed that the non-uniform thermal boundary would exacerbate the temperature inhomogeneity, and the maximum temperature difference between different locations could reach 166℃. After adding copper foam, the temperature difference between different locations in the same plane perpendicular to the direction of heat transfer could be significantly reduced to improve the homogeneity of the overall structure, and with the reduction of the porosity, this effect was more and more obvious, with the temperature difference reduced from 35℃ at porosity 0.98 to 13℃ at 0.85, which greatly improved the temperature uniformity of the heat transfer process and the stability of the heat storage system. This study supplemented the melting heat transfer properties of metal foam composite phase change materials under non-uniform thermal boundary, which had certain practical significance.

Key words: phase change material, metal foam, non-uniform heat flow, temperature inhomogeneity, heat transfer

摘要：

相变材料（phase change material，PCM）是热能设备中热能存储和散热的有效选择。然而，其较低的热导率会降低蓄热和散热的速度。本文使用泡沫铜来提高石蜡的热性能，通过Ansys Fluent软件数值模拟仿真的方法研究其在非均匀热流边界下的熔化传热特性，并建立了可视化实验装置来研究泡沫铜-石蜡复合材料的熔化行为。本文讨论了在底部非均匀热边界条件下孔隙率对熔化传热过程的影响，包括固液界面的移动和温度分布。结果表明，非均匀热边界会加剧温度不均匀性，不同位置的最大温差可达166℃，在加入泡沫铜后，可以显著降低垂直于传热方向上同一平面内不同位置的温差，提高整体结构的温度均匀性，且随着孔隙率的降低这种效果越加明显，温差可以从孔隙率为0.98时的35℃降低至0.85时的13℃，极大改善了传热过程的温度均匀性，提高储热系统的稳定性。本文补充了非均匀热边界条件下金属泡沫复合相变材料的熔化传热问题，具有一定的实际意义。

关键词: 相变材料, 金属泡沫, 非均匀热流, 熔化规律, 传热

CLC Number:

TB34

WU Gang, SHEN Zhenhua, JIAO Feng, HE Yongqing. Characterization of melting heat transfer properties of metal-foam composite phase change materials under non-uniform heat flow[J]. Chemical Industry and Engineering Progress, 2025, 44(S1): 388-399.

吴刚, 沈珍华, 焦凤, 何永清. 非均匀热流下金属泡沫复合相变材料的熔化传热特性[J]. 化工进展, 2025, 44(S1): 388-399.

Figures/Tables 17

References 35

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参数	铜	固态石蜡	液态石蜡
型号	T2紫铜	58^#	—
密度/g·cm^-3	8.9	0.85	0.81
熔点/℃	1083	58	—
热导率/W·m^-1·K^-1	388	0.558	0.33
比热容/J·kg^-1·℃^-1	386	2520	2690

参数	铜	固态石蜡	液态石蜡
型号	T2紫铜	58^#	—
密度/g·cm^-3	8.9	0.85	0.81
熔点/℃	1083	58	—
热导率/W·m^-1·K^-1	388	0.558	0.33
比热容/J·kg^-1·℃^-1	386	2520	2690