Experimental and Numerical Studies of the Thermal Performance of a Metallic Lattice Structure Filled with Phase-Change Material
Publication: Journal of Energy Engineering
Volume 143, Issue 5
Abstract
Based on the applications of thermal control for bearing structures, this paper conducts an investigation of the thermal performance of a metallic lattice structure filled with phase change material (PCM). The transient temperature variations of a composite sample under constant heat flux are measured experimentally. The effects of porosity, heating orientation, and heat flux are discussed. A three-dimensional numerical model employing the enthalpy-porosity method is also established and validated. The results show that the heat transfer process in a metallic truss structure filled with PCM can be divided into three regions: sensible heat region before melting, latent heat region, and sensible heat region after melting. The temperature control time for a sample with PCM is approximately 4.0 times of that without PCM because of the latent heat absorption of the PCM. The sample with the larger porosity has a lower back-surface temperature and a longer melting duration time. Furthermore, the liquid fraction and temperature near the metallic trusses are higher than at other locations in the sample. The temperature difference between metallic trusses and PCM can be a major driving force of natural convection under top heating. The present study may provide beneficial guidance for the design of a thermal control system with a metallic truss structure.
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Acknowledgments
This study is supported by the Science and Technology Major Project of Shanxi Province of China (No. MD2016-02) and National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51506140).
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Published In
Journal of Energy Engineering
Volume 143 • Issue 5 • October 2017
Copyright
©2017 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Oct 20, 2016
Accepted: Mar 17, 2017
Published online: Jun 15, 2017
Published in print: Oct 1, 2017
Discussion open until: Nov 15, 2017
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