Fixed Grid Numerical Models for Solidification and Melting of Phase Change Materials (PCMs)

Autor: Massimo Garai, José Henrique Nazzi Ehms, Rejane De Césaro Oliveski, Luiz Alberto Oliveira Rocha, Cesare Biserni
Přispěvatelé: José Henrique Nazzi Ehm, Rejane De Césaro Oliveski, Luiz Alberto Oliveira Rocha, Cesare Biserni, Massimo Garai
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2019
Předmět:
melting and solidification processes
Materials science
020209 energy
computational performance
02 engineering and technology
Computational fluid dynamics
lcsh:Technology
lcsh:Chemistry
Viscosity
Latent heat
phase change materials (pcms)
0202 electrical engineering
electronic engineering
information engineering

General Materials Science
Boundary value problem
Instrumentation
lcsh:QH301-705.5
Fluid Flow and Transfer Processes
melting and solidification processe
business.industry
lcsh:T
Process Chemistry and Technology
General Engineering
Mechanics
021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology
Grid
Solar energy
lcsh:QC1-999
Computer Science Applications
lcsh:Biology (General)
lcsh:QD1-999
lcsh:TA1-2040
computational fluid dynamics (cfd)
0210 nano-technology
business
lcsh:Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General)
Thermal energy
lcsh:Physics
Efficient energy use
Zdroj: Applied Sciences, Vol 9, Iss 20, p 4334 (2019)
ISSN: 2076-3417
Popis: Phase change materials (PCMs) are classified according to their phase change process, temperature, and composition. The utilization of PCMs lies mainly in the field of solar energy and building applications as well as in industrial processes. The main advantage of such materials is the use of latent heat, which allows the storage of a large amount of thermal energy with small temperature variation, improving the energy efficiency of the system. The study of PCMs using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is widespread and has been documented in several papers, following the tendency that CFD nowadays tends to become increasingly widespread. Numerical studies of solidification and melting processes use a combination of formulations to describe the physical phenomena related to such processes, these being mainly the latent heat and the velocity transition between the liquid and the solid phases. The methods used to describe the latent heat are divided into three main groups: source term methods (E-STM), enthalpy methods (E-EM), and temperature-transforming models (E-TTM). The description of the velocity transition is, in turn, divided into three main groups: switch-off methods (SOM), source term methods (STM), and variable viscosity methods (VVM). Since a full numerical model uses a combination of at least one of the methods for each phenomenon, several combinations are possible. The main objective of the present paper was to review the numerical approaches used to describe solidification and melting processes in fixed grid models. In the first part of the present review, we focus on the PCM classification and applications, as well as analyze the main features of solidification and melting processes in different container shapes and boundary conditions. Regarding numerical models adopted in phase-change processes, the review is focused on the fixed grid methods used to describe both latent heat and velocity transition between the phases. Additionally, we discuss the most common simplifications and boundary conditions used when studying solidification and melting processes, as well as the impact of such simplifications on computational cost. Afterwards, we compare the combinations of formulations used in numerical studies of solidification and melting processes, concluding that “enthalpy−porosity” is the most widespread numerical model used in PCM studies. Moreover, several combinations of formulations are barely explored. Regarding the simulation performance, we also show a new basic method that can be employed to evaluate the computing performance in transient numerical simulations.
Databáze: OpenAIRE