多孔金属位置对相变平板蓄热强化的数值研究

Numerical Study of Heat Storage Enhancement of Phase Change Plate by Porous Metal Position

摘要: 为了提升潜热储能系统内部的换热性能，弥补蓄热材料导热系数小的劣势。本文研究了在实际热泵蓄热水箱中相变储能板内部填充泡沫金属铜强化其蓄、放热过程，采用热非平衡模型，模拟了四种填充位置的差异对储能板的换热性能差异，仿真分析了四种方案在储能水箱蓄热阶段，板内部相变材料融化的固液界面发展，温度场及储能量的变化。结果显示：与纯相变材料相比，在相同融化时间内复合材料内部有着更高的平均温度、更好的温度均匀性以及更大的液态融化占比；在填充量相同的情况下，填充位置的差异对储能板换热性能的影响也有差异。在板中间横向填充的方案有着最佳的强化效果，融化时间缩短了80.43%，储能总量仅减小1.2%。泡沫金属横向布置与竖向布置的方案得益于在过程中形成了有利于对流换热的环境，强化效果更为显著。

Abstract: To enhance the heat transfer performance of latent heat thermal energy storage systems and mitigate the low thermal conductivity of phase change materials (PCMs), this study investigates the integration of copper metal foam into PCM slabs within a practical heat pump storage water tank to improve charging/discharging processes. A thermal non-equilibrium model was adopted to simulate the effects of four distinct filling configurations on the heat transfer performance of the PCM slabs. Numerical simulations were conducted to analyze the evolution of solid-liquid interfaces, temperature field distributions, and energy storage variations during the charging phase. Results indicate that, compared to pure PCM, the composite material with metal foam exhibits higher average temperatures, superior temperature uniformity, and a significantly increased liquid phase fraction within the same melting duration. Under identical filling amounts, variations in filling configurations led to differentiated heat transfer enhancements. The horizontal filling configuration at the slab’s central region demonstrated optimal performance, achieving an 80.43% reduction in melting time with only a 1.2% decrease in total energy storage capacity. Both horizontal and vertical filling configurations promoted favorable convective heat transfer environments, resulting in pronounced performance improvements. This research offers critical insights for optimizing the structural design of PCM-based thermal energy storage systems.