Cooling effects on the heat transfer characteristics of a rectangular thermosyphon with PCM suspension fluid

C. J. Ho, J. F. Lin, R. H. Chen, Chi Ming Lai

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

4 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

A numerical and experimental study is presented to explore the effects of cooling (the section on subcooling and phase-change material (PCM) supercooling) on the thermal performance of a rectangular thermosyphon containing PCM suspensions. In the numerical simulation, a continuum mixture flow model is used for the buoyancy-driven circulation flow of the PCM suspensions together with an approximate enthalpy model to detail the solid-liquid phase change process of the PCM particles in the loop. Parametric simulations are conducted in the following ranges: heat input at the heating section = 12 W, average temperature of the outer wall of the cooling section = 10–25 °C, and PCM mass concentration = 0–15%. The results show that in the configuration of this study, the downward flow of the high-density fluid in the cooling section became the main driving force of the circulation loop. Therefore, the cooling effects affected the overall thermal performance. To allow the proper melting/freezing of PCM particles, it is critical to control the wall temperature at the cooling section to achieve an appropriate subcooling effect.

Original languageEnglish
Article number119955
JournalInternational Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer
Volume157
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2020 Aug

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Condensed Matter Physics
  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Fluid Flow and Transfer Processes

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