Experimental Study of the Phase Change Process for Energy Storage by Using PCMs
Abstract
Paraffin is one of the phase change materials, the reason for which can be mentioned is phase change at different temperatures as well as high latent heat. Paraffin is the most used by solar systems, for example, it is used in collectors and solar dryers. The experimental equipment was designed and manufactured using paraffin as the phase change material and copper and iron foam (iron wool) as the filler. Pure paraffin with and without copper and iron foam as well as the addition of copper absorbers plate to the copper and iron foam were the two conditions used in experiments delving into the heat charging process. Under various circumstances, the collected temperature's time course was recorded, and the findings were reviewed. From the obtained results, it can be pointed out that the porous plate can increase heat transfer. Also, the use of PCM material inside the porous plate makes the temperature distribution more uniform. The best case is when the copper absorber plate is connected to copper foam and reduces the charging time compared to pure PCM by 600s and saves 75% of energy while pure PCM stores 66.66% of energy.
References
[2] Jahromi, M.S.B., Kalantar, V., Akhijahani, HS., Kargarsharifabad,H. Recent progress on solar cabinet dryers for agricultural products equipped with energy storage using phase change materials. Journal of Energy Storage, 2022; 51: 104434.
[3] Zhao, C.Y., Lu, W., Tian, Y. Heat transfer enhancement for thermal energy storage using metal foams embedded within phase change materials (PCMs). Solar Energy 2010; 84: 1402–1412.
[4] Karaipekli, A.; Sarı, A.; Kaygusuz, K. Thermal conductivity improvement of stearic acid using expanded graphite and carbon fiber for energy storage applications. Renewable Energy 2007, 32, 2201.
[5] Ali, HM., Janjua, MM., Sajjad, U., Yan, WM. A critical review on heat transfer augmentation of phase change materials embedded with porous materials/foams. Int. J. Heat and Mass Transfer 2019; 135: 649–673.
[6] Zhang, P., ZN., et al., Melting heat transfer characteristics of a composite phase change material fabricated by paraffin and metal foam. Appl. Energy 2017; 185: 1971–1983.
[7] Ibrahim, N et al., Heat transfer enhancement of phase change materials for thermal energy storage applications: A critical review. Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev 2017; 74: 26–50.
[8] Dincer, I., Rosen, MA. Thermal energy storage systems and applications. John Wiley & Sons, 2021.
[9] Robert A. Huggins. Energy Storage. Springer, New York, 2010.
[10] Abhat, A. Low-temperature latent heat thermal energy storage: heat storage materials. Solar Energy 1983; 30: 313-332.
[11] Kumar, N., Gupta, SK. Progress and application of phase change material in solar thermal energy: An overview. Mater. Today Proc., 2021; 44: 271–281.
[12] Usman, H., et al., An experimental study of PCM based finned and un-finned heat sinks for passive cooling of electronics. Heat Mass Transfer 2018; 54: 3587–3598.
[13] Ebrahimi, H., Akhijahani, HS., Salami, P. Improving the thermal efficiency of a solar dryer using phase change materials at different position in the collector. Solar Energy 2021; 220: 535–551.
[14] Shalaby, SM., Bek, MA. Drying oleander in an indirect solar dryer using phase change material as an energy storage medium. J. Clean Energy Technol. 2015; 3: 176–180.
[15] Bhardwaj, AK et al., Energy and exergy analyses of drying medicinal herb in a novel forced convection solar dryer integrated with SHSM and PCM. Sustain. Energy Technol. Assessments 2021; 45: 101119.
