Rheology of Melting and Heat Transfer Progress of Gallium in Heterogeneous Chamber Containing Metal Foam and Nanoparticles Under Influence of Magnetic Field

Abstract

In this work, melting characteristics and heat transfer enhancement of gallium as phase change material (PCM) surrounded by heterogeneous chamber filled with metal foam and Al2O3 nanoparticles under magnetic field are investigated. The main challenge rather is the low thermal conductivity of PCMs which in turn limits the performance of PCM based TESSs. Numerical simulations were performed using a 2D transient model developed by employing the enthalpy-porosity model and Darcy–Brinkman equations for the porous domain; where one of the boundary walls was kept at a heated temperature of 43 °C. It is found that the incorporation of metallic foam and nanoparticles greatly enhances both thermal conductivity and facilitates uniform melt. In addition, the magnetic field promotes such convective heat transfer, speeds up the melting rate, and raises the mean Nusselt number and surface heat flux. These results indicate that the integration of metal foams and nano/micro particles, and magnetic fields could be used to maximize the thermal performance of PCMs, which can lead to advanced TES applications with a high potential.