Abstract:

Efficient and reliable storage systems for thermal energy are important requirement in many applications where heat supply or availability did not coincide.This study focused on the evaluation of heat transfer enhancement in storage systems used building air conditioning systems.A numerical model describing the melting process was presented by considering the difference of the solid-liquid density and natural convection.The two-dimensional melting process of ice ball filled with aluminum foam was numerically simulated at the third boundary condition, from which the authors could get the temperature field and phase change interface positions changed with time, and compared it with pure ice.The simulation results showed that melting time filled with aluminum foam was greatly shorter than that with water only.The effect of aluminum foam porosity on melting time was also analyzed: melting time became longer with the increase of aluminum foam porosity.