Inclination angles on the thermal behavior of Phase-Change Material (PCM) in a cavity filled with copper foam partly

In this study, the influence of the inclination angle was analyzed on the thermal behavior of PCM in the cavity filled with copper foam fins. Twelve inclination angles from 0 degrees to 360 degrees were studied for the thermal storage unit, while the two-temperature equation thermal transfer model was built. The liquid fraction, the temperature response rate, and the average heat flow were employed as evaluation parameters. Numerical results displayed the inclination angle had the great influence on the PCM thermal performance and by optimizing the inclination angle, the whole phase-change time was shortened by 43.16% with the inclination angle from 0. to 180 degrees. In melting and freezing processes, the inclination angle had the opposite rules and affected the thermal performance difference obviously. With the inclination angle from 0 degrees to 180 degrees, the difference values were reduced from 17904s, 712 w/m(2) and 0.00867 degrees C/s to 1709s, 31 w/m(2) and 0.00051 degrees C/s for full phase-change time, the average heat flow and temperature response rate, respectively. And the optimum inclination angle was 180 degrees in the view of a melting and freezing period and the reasonable inclination angle could be selected according to thermal storage and release rules in the engineering application.

Automated summary

The inclination angle was found to have a significant impact on the thermal performance of PCM, with optimization leading to a 43.16% reduction in phase-change time. Different rules were observed for the melting and freezing processes with regards to inclination angle.