Numerical Study Of Paraffin Wax Melting Enhancement Using Copper Metal Foam With Variable PPI And Porosity

Bushra Sabah Younis; Sajida Lafta Ghashim

doi:10.29284/hhaetd93

Authors

Bushra Sabah Younis Mechanical Engineering Department, College of Engineering, University of Baghdad, Baghdad, Iraq
Sajida Lafta Ghashim Mechanical Engineering Department, College of Engineering, University of Baghdad, Baghdad, Iraq

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.29284/hhaetd93

Keywords:

phase change material; metal foam, thermal energy storage, heat transfer enhancement.

Abstract

This study presents a three-dimensional numerical analysis of melting enhancement in paraffin wax using copper metal foam. Given the naturally low thermal conductivity of paraffin wax, a copper metal foam structure is introduced to improve heat transfer within the phase change material domain. A constant heat flux of 9 kW/m² is applied to a copper wall, while all other boundaries are thermally insulated. The melting process is modeled using the enthalpy-porosity method in ANSYS Fluent with a time step of 2.5 seconds. The study investigates the effects of various pore densities (10, 20, 30, 40) PPI with porosity 90%, followed by the effects of 30 PPI at different porosities (85, 90, 95%). The results indicate that variations in PPI have minimal impact, with 30 PPI yielding the best overall performance. In contrast, porosity has a significant effect on the melting time: the case F with 85% porosity results in the shortest melting time, while the Case G with 95% porosity experiences the longest.

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