Heating and cooling capacity of phase change material coupled with screen mesh wick heat pipe for thermal energy storage applications

Journal article

Authors/Editors

SOMCHAI WONGWISES

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Publication Details

Author list: Palappan R.R., Pasupathy A.P., Asirvatham L.G., Tharayil T., Wongwises S.

Publisher: VINCA Institute of Nuclear Sciences

Publication year: 2018

Journal: Thermal Science (0354-9836)

Volume number: 2018

Issue number: 2

ISSN: 0354-9836

eISSN: 2334-7163

URL: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85057092897&doi=10.2298%2fTSCI180207237P&partnerID=40&md5=87037bc1aa8bf91ffd6705ab63ab302f

Languages: English-Great Britain (EN-GB)

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Abstract

The thermal performance of a phase change material-heat pipe system is experimentally analysed using acetone as heat pipe fluid in a heat load range of 10-50W at different flow rates of the condenser coolant. The evaporator of the heat pipe is enclosed in a chamber which filled with a phase change material or water. Heat inputs are applied at the evaporator of the heat pipe through the phase change material or water. In this study, the heat retention as well as cooling time of the phase change material/water are estimated at different heat loads and flow rates of condenser coolant. Similarly, the thermal resistance, evaporator and condenser heat transfer coefficients are also estimated at different heat loads. It is observed that the phase change material takes more time during heating and cooling cycles to reach the steady state temperatures and the temperature values reached during heating are also higher for phase change material compared to water. The use of phase change material enhances the thermal storage capacity and shows a maximum enhancement of 200% in heat retention time compared to water at 50W. Moreover, a maximum enhancement of 63.6% is observed in the steady state temperature of the phase change material compared to water. Similarly thermal resistance, evaporator wall temperature and heat transfer coefficients of the heat pipe also vary for phase change material and water. The experimental results indicate that phase change material or water can be used in this combined system depending upon requirement of thermal storage or electronics cooling. ฉ 2018 Serbian Society of Heat Transfer Engineers.

Keywords

PCM