Aluminum mesh and phase-change characteristics of n-octadecane for thermal energy storage

Metallic meshes can be used to improve heat diffusion in low-thermal-conductivity phase-change materials in relation to latent heat thermal energy storage systems. The melting duration can be controlled through proper selection of the mesh geometry and its size. In the present study, the melting characteristics of the phase-change material (n-octadecane) are investigated, incorporating different aluminum mesh geometric configurations. Triangular, rectangular, and hexagonal mesh geometries are considered in the simulations. The effect of the mesh aspect ratio (ratio of mesh area over the mesh perimeter) on the total melting duration of the phase-change material is investigated for three different mesh geometries. The study is extended to include the influence of amount of heat flux on the duration of the complete phase change in each mesh. An experiment is carried out to validate the predictions of the melt isochores for the square mesh. It is found that predictions agree well with the experimental data. The duration for the complete melting remains longer for the triangular mesh as compared to that of the square and the hexagonal meshes. The influence of the cell aspect ratio (A/P) and heat flux on the melting time is significant. In this case, increasing the aspect ratio results in an extended period for the complete melting, which is more pronounced for the triangular mesh.