Numerical Study of Improved Heat Transfer with Phase Change Material Inside Rectangular Cells using Copper Rods

This work presents a numerical study of improving heat transfer to PCM (paraffin wax) inside a rectangular cell using copper rods. The numerical study is conducted using an enthalpy–porosity formulation in (ANSYS/FLUENT software16). The phase replacement material used in this study is paraffin wax (RT58). This study aims at improving heat transfer and absorption within phase-changing materials. The work demonstrates the effect of the presence and number of copper rods in the cell on heat transfer and the effect of this on time required to finish the melting process, thus improving the heat storage or absorption process. It is found that using copper rods inside cell filled of PCM increases the feasibility process and decreases the time to complete the melting process in the rate of 50%. It is also found that increasing the number of rods from three to five increases the melting process in the rate of 10%. In contrast, increasing number of rods decreased the time to complete the melting process.