Pore-scale and volume-averaged simulations of phase change material melting: A comparison between local and nonlocal thermal equilibrium

Abstract

An investigation of one-temperature or two-temperature models in numerical simulations of the melting process of a phase change material is presented in this work. In this study, Kelvin cell was used to simulate a case in the pore scale and the results were compared with experimental values. For the first time that a real experiment in large dimensions is simulated at the pore scale. The problem was simulated based on the one-temperature porous model. It was shown that the one-temperature porous model compares well with the results of the pore-scale simulation. Furthermore, the two-temperature model is not required for these types of studies. Results for different models were compared carefully and the reasons for the discrepancy between results were explained.

Keywords:

• Kelvin cell
• LTNE
• PCM
• pore-scale
• porous media