IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/rensus/v43y2015icp449-477.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Melting and convection of phase change materials in different shape containers: A review

Author

Listed:
  • Dhaidan, Nabeel S.
  • Khodadadi, J.M.

Abstract

A review of analytical, numerical and experimental investigations of melting and ensuing convection of phase change materials within enclosures with different shapes commonly used for thermal energy storage is presented. The common shapes of the containers being rectangular cavities, spherical capsules, tubes or cylinders (vertical and horizontal depending on orientation of gravity) and annular cavities are covered. Studies focusing on melting within rectangular cavities are categorized into two groups. The first one is melting due to isothermal heating on one or more boundaries, whereas the second is the constant heat flux-assisted melting. Moreover, constrained and unconstrained melting in both spherical and horizontal cylindrical containers were discussed. The effects of the concentric geometry and location of the heating source on melting in horizontal annular spaces are presented. The review concentrated on elucidating the heat transfer mechanisms (conduction and convection) during the multiple stages of the melting process and the effects of these mechanisms on the liquid–solid interface shape and its progress, melting rate, charging time of the storage system, etc. The strength of buoyancy driven-convection varies greatly with the dimensionless Rayleigh or Stefan numbers and depends somewhat on the location of heat source and imposed boundary condition. High dimensionless numbers and/or side position of the heat source ensure the dominant role of natural convection melting, otherwise conduction will be responsible for major melting within the container. Furthermore, the geometrical parameters such as the aspect ratio in rectangular containers and vertical cylindrical ones, diameter or radius in spherical capsules and horizontal cylindrical vessels, and eccentricity in annular cavities are reviewed. In addition, the parameters affecting the thermal behavior of the melting process in various enclosures, i.e. the Nusselt, Rayleigh, Stefan, Prandtl and Fourier numbers and are reviewed.

Suggested Citation

  • Dhaidan, Nabeel S. & Khodadadi, J.M., 2015. "Melting and convection of phase change materials in different shape containers: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 449-477.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:rensus:v:43:y:2015:i:c:p:449-477
    DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2014.11.017
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364032114009484
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.rser.2014.11.017?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Regin, A. Felix & Solanki, S.C. & Saini, J.S., 2008. "Heat transfer characteristics of thermal energy storage system using PCM capsules: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 12(9), pages 2438-2458, December.
    2. Kenisarin, Murat & Mahkamov, Khamid, 2007. "Solar energy storage using phase change materials," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 11(9), pages 1913-1965, December.
    3. Regin, A. Felix & Solanki, S.C. & Saini, J.S., 2006. "Latent heat thermal energy storage using cylindrical capsule: Numerical and experimental investigations," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 31(13), pages 2025-2041.
    4. Joulin, Annabelle & Younsi, Zohir & Zalewski, Laurent & Lassue, Stéphane & Rousse, Daniel R. & Cavrot, Jean-Paul, 2011. "Experimental and numerical investigation of a phase change material: Thermal-energy storage and release," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 88(7), pages 2454-2462, July.
    5. Fan, Liwu & Khodadadi, J.M., 2011. "Thermal conductivity enhancement of phase change materials for thermal energy storage: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 15(1), pages 24-46, January.
    6. Agyenim, Francis & Hewitt, Neil & Eames, Philip & Smyth, Mervyn, 2010. "A review of materials, heat transfer and phase change problem formulation for latent heat thermal energy storage systems (LHTESS)," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 14(2), pages 615-628, February.
    7. Chen, C.R. & Sharma, Atul & Tyagi, S.K. & Buddhi, D., 2008. "Numerical heat transfer studies of PCMs used in a box-type solar cooker," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 33(5), pages 1121-1129.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Wang, Huiru & Liu, Zhenyu & Wu, Huiying, 2017. "Entransy dissipation-based thermal resistance optimization of slab LHTES system with multiple PCMs arranged in a 2D array," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 138(C), pages 739-751.
    2. Khan, Zakir & Khan, Zulfiqar Ahmad, 2017. "Experimental investigations of charging/melting cycles of paraffin in a novel shell and tube with longitudinal fins based heat storage design solution for domestic and industrial applications," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 206(C), pages 1158-1168.
    3. Al-Jethelah, Manar & Tasnim, Syeda Humaira & Mahmud, Shohel & Dutta, Animesh, 2018. "Nano-PCM filled energy storage system for solar-thermal applications," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 126(C), pages 137-155.
    4. Qin, Zhen & Ji, Chenzhen & Low, Zheng Hua & Tong, Wei & Wu, Chenlong & Duan, Fei, 2022. "Geometry effect of phase change material container on waste heat recovery enhancement," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 327(C).
    5. Liu, Dinghai & Xie, Kai & Zhang, Hui & Qiang, Yujie & Yang, Di & Wang, Zhaoxiao & Zhu, Lidong & Akkurt, Nevzat & Du, Yanping & Shen, Meng & Zhong, Liqiong & Yu, Fan & Xu, Qian, 2022. "Numerical evaluation of convective heat transfer properties of two-dimensional rotating PCM melt in the unilaterally heated rectangular container," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 193(C), pages 920-940.
    6. Yan, Zhongjun & Zhu, Yuexiang & Liu, Lifang & Yu, Zhun (Jerry) & Li, Shuisheng & Zhang, Guoqiang, 2023. "Performance enhancement of cylindrical latent heat storage units in hot water tanks via wavy design," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 218(C).
    7. Akeiber, Hussein & Nejat, Payam & Majid, Muhd Zaimi Abd. & Wahid, Mazlan A. & Jomehzadeh, Fatemeh & Zeynali Famileh, Iman & Calautit, John Kaiser & Hughes, Ben Richard & Zaki, Sheikh Ahmad, 2016. "A review on phase change material (PCM) for sustainable passive cooling in building envelopes," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 1470-1497.
    8. Yang, Lizhong & Villalobos, Uver & Akhmetov, Bakytzhan & Gil, Antoni & Khor, Jun Onn & Palacios, Anabel & Li, Yongliang & Ding, Yulong & Cabeza, Luisa F. & Tan, Wooi Leong & Romagnoli, Alessandro, 2021. "A comprehensive review on sub-zero temperature cold thermal energy storage materials, technologies, and applications: State of the art and recent developments," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 288(C).
    9. Safari, Vahid & Kamkari, Babak & Hooman, Kamel & Khodadadi, J.M., 2022. "Sensitivity analysis of design parameters for melting process of lauric acid in the vertically and horizontally oriented rectangular thermal storage units," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 255(C).
    10. Zeneli, M. & Malgarinos, I. & Nikolopoulos, A. & Nikolopoulos, N. & Grammelis, P. & Karellas, S. & Kakaras, E., 2019. "Numerical simulation of a silicon-based latent heat thermal energy storage system operating at ultra-high temperatures," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 242(C), pages 837-853.
    11. Juan Duan & Yongliang Xiong & Dan Yang, 2019. "Melting Behavior of Phase Change Material in Honeycomb Structures with Different Geometrical Cores," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(15), pages 1-19, July.
    12. Mekrisuh, Kedumese u & Singh, Dushyant & Udayraj,, 2020. "Performance analysis of a vertically oriented concentric-tube PCM based thermal energy storage system: Parametric study and correlation development," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 902-916.
    13. Vogel, J. & Johnson, M., 2019. "Natural convection during melting in vertical finned tube latent thermal energy storage systems," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 246(C), pages 38-52.
    14. Kun He & Lei Wang & Jiangxu Huang, 2021. "Electrohydrodynamic Enhancement of Phase Change Material Melting in Circular-Elliptical Annuli," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-20, December.
    15. Zheng, Zhang-Jing & Xu, Yang & Li, Ming-Jia, 2018. "Eccentricity optimization of a horizontal shell-and-tube latent-heat thermal energy storage unit based on melting and melting-solidifying performance," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 220(C), pages 447-454.
    16. Ahmed Saad Soliman & Ahmed A. Sultan & Mohamed A. Sultan, 2022. "Effect of Mushy Zone Parameter on Phase Change Behavior of Different Configurations Storage Unit: Numerical Simulation and Experimental Validation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-18, November.
    17. Vogel, J. & Felbinger, J. & Johnson, M., 2016. "Natural convection in high temperature flat plate latent heat thermal energy storage systems," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 184(C), pages 184-196.
    18. Huang, Xinyu & Li, Fangfei & Li, Yuanji & Meng, Xiangzhao & Yang, Xiaohu & Sundén, Bengt, 2023. "Optimization of melting performance of a heat storage tank under rotation conditions: Based on taguchi design and response surface method," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 271(C).
    19. Ebrahimi, A. & Hosseini, M.J. & Ranjbar, A.A. & Rahimi, M. & Bahrampoury, R., 2019. "Melting process investigation of phase change materials in a shell and tube heat exchanger enhanced with heat pipe," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 138(C), pages 378-394.
    20. Zheng, Zhang-Jing & Cai, Xiao & Yang, Chao & Xu, Yang, 2022. "Improving the solidification performance of a latent heat thermal energy storage unit using arrow-shaped fins obtained by an innovative fast optimization algorithm," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 195(C), pages 566-577.
    21. Xu, Huaqian & Zuo, Hongyang & Zeng, Kuo & Lu, Yongwen & Chi, Bowen & Flamant, Gilles & Yang, Haiping & Chen, Hanping, 2024. "Investigation of the modified Gaussian-based non-phase field method for numerical simulation of latent heat storage," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 288(C).
    22. Khan, Sohail A. & Hayat, T. & Alsaedi, A. & Ahmad, B., 2021. "Melting heat transportation in radiative flow of nanomaterials with irreversibility analysis," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    23. Jourabian, Mahmoud & Rabienataj Darzi, A. Ali & Akbari, Omid Ali & Toghraie, Davood, 2020. "The enthalpy-based lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) for simulation of NePCM melting in inclined elliptical annulus," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 548(C).
    24. Khan, Mohammed Mumtaz A. & Saidur, R. & Al-Sulaiman, Fahad A., 2017. "A review for phase change materials (PCMs) in solar absorption refrigeration systems," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 105-137.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ge, Haoshan & Li, Haiyan & Mei, Shengfu & Liu, Jing, 2013. "Low melting point liquid metal as a new class of phase change material: An emerging frontier in energy area," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 21(C), pages 331-346.
    2. Rostami, Sara & Afrand, Masoud & Shahsavar, Amin & Sheikholeslami, M. & Kalbasi, Rasool & Aghakhani, Saeed & Shadloo, Mostafa Safdari & Oztop, Hakan F., 2020. "A review of melting and freezing processes of PCM/nano-PCM and their application in energy storage," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 211(C).
    3. Jegadheeswaran, S. & Pohekar, S.D. & Kousksou, T., 2010. "Exergy based performance evaluation of latent heat thermal storage system: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 14(9), pages 2580-2595, December.
    4. Mohamed, Shamseldin A. & Al-Sulaiman, Fahad A. & Ibrahim, Nasiru I. & Zahir, Md. Hasan & Al-Ahmed, Amir & Saidur, R. & Yılbaş, B.S. & Sahin, A.Z., 2017. "A review on current status and challenges of inorganic phase change materials for thermal energy storage systems," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 1072-1089.
    5. Alizadeh, M. & Sadrameli, S.M., 2016. "Development of free cooling based ventilation technology for buildings: Thermal energy storage (TES) unit, performance enhancement techniques and design considerations – A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 619-645.
    6. Soares, N. & Bastos, J. & Pereira, L. Dias & Soares, A. & Amaral, A.R. & Asadi, E. & Rodrigues, E. & Lamas, F.B. & Monteiro, H. & Lopes, M.A.R. & Gaspar, A.R., 2017. "A review on current advances in the energy and environmental performance of buildings towards a more sustainable built environment," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 845-860.
    7. Murray, Robynne E. & Groulx, Dominic, 2014. "Experimental study of the phase change and energy characteristics inside a cylindrical latent heat energy storage system: Part 1 consecutive charging and discharging," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 571-581.
    8. Seddegh, Saeid & Wang, Xiaolin & Henderson, Alan D. & Xing, Ziwen, 2015. "Solar domestic hot water systems using latent heat energy storage medium: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 517-533.
    9. Huang, Xiang & Alva, Guruprasad & Jia, Yuting & Fang, Guiyin, 2017. "Morphological characterization and applications of phase change materials in thermal energy storage: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 128-145.
    10. Nkhonjera, Lameck & Bello-Ochende, Tunde & John, Geoffrey & King’ondu, Cecil K., 2017. "A review of thermal energy storage designs, heat storage materials and cooking performance of solar cookers with heat storage," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 157-167.
    11. Zeinelabdein, Rami & Omer, Siddig & Gan, Guohui, 2018. "Critical review of latent heat storage systems for free cooling in buildings," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 82(P3), pages 2843-2868.
    12. Soares, N. & Santos, P. & Gervásio, H. & Costa, J.J. & Simões da Silva, L., 2017. "Energy efficiency and thermal performance of lightweight steel-framed (LSF) construction: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 194-209.
    13. Kenisarin, Murat & Mahkamov, Khamid, 2016. "Passive thermal control in residential buildings using phase change materials," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 371-398.
    14. Rao, Zhonghao & Wang, Shuangfeng & Peng, Feifei, 2012. "Self diffusion of the nano-encapsulated phase change materials: A molecular dynamics study," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 303-308.
    15. Li, Y.Q. & He, Y.L. & Song, H.J. & Xu, C. & Wang, W.W., 2013. "Numerical analysis and parameters optimization of shell-and-tube heat storage unit using three phase change materials," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 92-99.
    16. Xu, Ben & Li, Peiwen & Chan, Cholik, 2015. "Application of phase change materials for thermal energy storage in concentrated solar thermal power plants: A review to recent developments," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 160(C), pages 286-307.
    17. Salunkhe, Pramod B. & Shembekar, Prashant S., 2012. "A review on effect of phase change material encapsulation on the thermal performance of a system," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 16(8), pages 5603-5616.
    18. AL-Saadi, Saleh Nasser & Zhai, Zhiqiang (John), 2013. "Modeling phase change materials embedded in building enclosure: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 21(C), pages 659-673.
    19. Wei, Lien Chin & Malen, Jonathan A., 2016. "Amplified charge and discharge rates in phase change materials for energy storage using spatially-enhanced thermal conductivity," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 181(C), pages 224-231.
    20. Jankowski, Nicholas R. & McCluskey, F. Patrick, 2014. "A review of phase change materials for vehicle component thermal buffering," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 1525-1561.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:rensus:v:43:y:2015:i:c:p:449-477. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/600126/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.