Effects of a conductive T-shaped partition on the phase change dynamics in a channel equipped with multiple encapsulated PCMs under different magnetic fields

For enhanced thermal management and energy storage, an understanding of the phase change process and how to control it is crucial in many different engineering applications. In this study, effects of using a T-shaped conductive partition on the phase change process in a multiple phase change material-installed three dimensional cylinder are explored by using finite element method. In the computational domain, a uniform magnetic field with varying strengths is applied. The investigation is conducted for various Reynolds numbers (Re:200–500), Hartmann number of the first and second domains (Ha1: 0–50 and Ha2: 0–50), partitions sizes (Lp: 0.05L–0.5L), and conductivity ratios (KR:0.01–100). The entire transition times (trF) of the left and right phase change materials decrease with increasing Re and Ha. At Ha1=0, the reduction amounts of trF with Re for phase change materials P1 and P2 are 24.40% and 27.45%, respectively. When magnetic field is imposed at Ha1=50, the amounts are 19.4% and 22.7%. The size of the conductive partition affects the size of the vortex established within the phase change material zone. When the partition size is altered, the tr-F variation for P1 and P2 in the absence of magnetic field is 11% and 8.5%, respectively, but in the presence of magnetic field it is 26.5% and 7%. The partition’s conductivity has an impact on the dynamics of phase changes as well. The phase completion times of the various phase change materials differ most at KR=0.1, and at that moment, P1’s trF is 42% higher than P2’s. When modeling the time-dependent variation of liquid fraction for various phase change materials and conductivity ratios, a polynomial type regression model is employed. The findings are useful for the initial design, thermal management and the optimization studies of phase change material embedded systems in a variety of applications, such as heat recovery systems, convective heat transfer applications, and the cooling of electronic equipments.