A Numerical Investigation of the Thermal Behavior of Different Phase Change Materials in Thermal Energy Storage Systems

Kan M.
May 2025 Springer

Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance
2025 #34 Issue 10 8879 - 8891 pp.

Phase change materials (PCM) are widely used in thermal energy storage systems due to their high heat storage properties. However, due to the low thermal conductivity of PCMs, different surfaces are employed to increase the amount of energy. One of these methods is the use fins with high thermal conductivity. In this study, the thermal behavior of different PCMs (paraffin, paraffin wax, polyethylene glycol 6000) during the melting process in a thermal energy storage system with 15 fins was numerically investigated. In addition, the direct metal laser-sintering (DMLS) process is intended to produce 15 fins in a thermal energy storage system. A FOX 50 heat flow meter was used to measure the thermal conductivity of these PCMs, and a TA DSC Q200 was used to measure the specific heat. With the PCM data obtained, time-dependent thermal analyses were performed using the Ansys Fluent program, which is based on the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method. The effect of these different PCMs on the melting processes was investigated by using water at 75 °C in a 15 fin thermal storage system by observing their thermal behavior in the system. In this study, it was calculated that paraffin requires less energy. It was seen that paraffin wax and polyethylene glycol 6000 required approximately 194 and 336% more energy than paraffin, respectively. In addition, when the melting times of paraffin, paraffin wax and polyethylene glycol 6000 were examined, it was determined that they were approximately 190 s, 370 s and 640 s, respectively. However, when the cost analysis was performed for this system, it was determined that paraffin was cheaper. It was seen that paraffin wax and polyethylene glycol 6000 were approximately 1.5 and 4 times more expensive than paraffin, respectively. In addition, cost analyses were conducted by determining the required amount of PCMs.

CFD analysis , DMLS , melting , phase change materials , solidification , thermal energy storage

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Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Suleyman Demirel University, Isparta, 32200, Kazakhstan

Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences

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