Numerical research on the effect of leaf venation shape bionic surface extension and the location on latent heat storage system

Abstract

The charging process of solar power applied leaf venation shape bionic latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES) system was studied in the present research. n-Eicosane was chosen for the phase change materials (PCMs) and the enthalpy porosity method and Boussinesq approximation were applied. A series of transient three-dimensional models built by structure mesh were established to calculate the LHTES charging process. The leaf venation shape bionic surface extension was settled at five different locations to match the effect of natural convection caused by material expansion in the melting process. Parameters of the average temperature, melting fraction, velocity magnitude, and the ratio of latent heat for total energy absorbed were analyzed. The result indicated that the leaf venation shape bionic structure extension and its position on the Z axis have a large impact on the X, Y, Z direction heat diffusion, and the best distance to improve thermal consistency was speculated to be at between 1 and 2 mm from bottom.

Additional information

Funding

The present work was supported in part by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 5166012 and 11562011).