Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of inclination angle on the thermal energy storage capability of a phase change material (PCM) within a disc-shaped container. Different container materials are also tested such as plexiglass and aluminium. This study aims to assess the energy storage capacity, melting behaviour and temperature distributions of PCM with a specific melting range (22°C–26°C) for various governing parameters such as inclination angles, aspect ratios (AR) and temperature differences (ΔT) and compare the melting behaviour and energy storage performance of PCM in aluminium containers to those in plexiglass containers.

Design/methodology/approach

A finite volume approach was adopted to evaluate the thermal energy storage capability of PCMs. Five inclination angles ranging from 0° to 180° were considered and the energy storage capacity. Also, the melting behaviour of the PCM and temperature distributions of the container with different materials were tested. Two different AR and ΔT values were chosen as parameters to analyse for their effects on the melting performance of the PCM. Conjugate heat transfer problem is solved to see the effects of conduction mode of heat transfer.

Findings

The results of the study indicate that as AR decreases, the effect of the inclination angles on the energy storage capacity of the PCM decreases. For lower ΔT, the difference between the maximum and minimum stored energies was 20.88% for AR = 0.20, whereas it was 6.85% for AR = 0.15. Furthermore, under the same conditions, the PCM stored 8.02% more energy in plexiglass containers than in aluminium containers.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the understanding of the influence of inclination angle, container material, AR and ΔT on the thermal energy storage capabilities of PCM in a novel designed container. The findings highlight the importance of AR in mitigating the effect of the inclination angle on energy storage capacity. Additionally, comparing aluminium and plexiglass containers provides insights into the effect of container material on the melting behaviour and energy storage properties of PCM.

中文翻译：

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倾角和容器材料对厚壁圆盘相变材料储热影响的数值研究

目的

本研究的目的是检查倾斜角度对圆盘状容器内相变材料 (PCM) 热能存储能力的影响。还测试了不同的容器材料，例如有机玻璃和铝。本研究旨在评估具有特定熔化范围 (22°C–26°C) 的 PCM 的储能能力、熔化行为和温度分布，以及各种控制参数，例如倾角、纵横比 (AR) 和温差 (ΔT) ）并将铝容器中的 PCM 与有机玻璃容器中的 PCM 的熔化行为和储能性能进行比较。

设计/方法论/途径

采用有限体积方法来评估相变材料的热能存储能力。考虑了从0°到180°的五个倾斜角度以及能量存储容量。此外，还测试了 PCM 的熔化行为和不同材料容器的温度分布。选择两个不同的 AR 和 ΔT 值作为参数来分析它们对 PCM 熔化性能的影响。解决共轭传热问题，看看传热传导方式的效果。

发现

研究结果表明，随着AR的减小，倾斜角度对PCM储能能力的影响也随之减小。对于较低的 ΔT，当 AR = 0.20 时，最大和最小存储能量之间的差异为 20.88%，而当 AR = 0.15 时，最大和最小存储能量之间的差异为 6.85%。此外，在相同条件下，相变材料在有机玻璃容器中比在铝容器中多储存8.02%的能量。

原创性/价值

这项研究有助于理解倾斜角、容器材料、AR 和 ΔT 对新颖设计的容器中 PCM 热能存储能力的影响。研究结果强调了 AR 在减轻倾斜角度对能量存储容量的影响方面的重要性。此外，通过比较铝和有机玻璃容器，可以深入了解容器材料对 PCM 熔化行为和储能特性的影响。