Numerical Simulation of the Heat Storage and Release Processes in an Innovative Aluminum-Silicon Phase Change Energy Storage System

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6463-708-3_25How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Aluminum-silicon phase change heat storage; Fluent; Heat storage; Exothermic

Abstract

As traditional fossil energy sources become depleted and the global energy structure undergoes transformation, the installed capacity of renewable energy—primarily wind and solar power—continues to expand rapidly. This necessitates the use of energy storage devices as a buffer to ensure effective energy utilization. In this study, we present a novel aluminum-silicon phase change energy storage device, with simulations of heat storage and release processes conducted using Fluent software. We analyzed the effects of heating rod arrangement and power on the heat storage process, as well as how variations in heat exchange fluid pipe diameter and flow rate influence the heat release process. The results indicate that internal temperature distribution is more uniform, leading to a 38% increase in heating efficiency for individual heating rods. Under specified design conditions, various combinations of heat exchange pipe diameters and inlet fluid velocities were examined; it was found that at a pipe diameter of 20mm, the outlet temperature of the heat exchange fluid met design specifications. Furthermore, when operating at a flow rate of 0.5m/s under this diameter condition, latent heat utilization during phase transformation reached its peak efficiency. Both parameters can be adjusted according to actual requirements to derive optimal solutions based on demand. Additionally, these findings provide a robust foundation for further device development and experimental investigations.

Copyright

© 2025 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Yutian Yang
AU  - Jianfeng Liu
AU  - Tao Zhang
AU  - Zhengrong Shi
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/05/09
TI  - Numerical Simulation of the Heat Storage and Release Processes in an Innovative Aluminum-Silicon Phase Change Energy Storage System
BT  - Proceedings of the 2024 10th International Conference on Advances in Energy Resources and Environment Engineering (ICAESEE 2024)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 227
EP  - 234
SN  - 2589-4943
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6463-708-3_25
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6463-708-3_25
ID  - Yang2025
ER  -