无机盐/陶瓷基超微结构多孔介质熔化过程传热研究

对一种应用于工业炉的蓄热器、太阳能中央接受塔的储能系统微米级颗粒度下含有无机盐的陶瓷多孔材料的熔化加热过程进行理论研究,在研究中考虑陶瓷基体和无机盐热物性、空隙率和融盐汽化率的影响。计算结果表明,较大的陶瓷骨架孔隙率和相变潜热、较小的导热系数造成温度和固液界面位置的变化变慢,但对气相界面的生成和移动影响不大。     

Experimental Investigations on Latent Heat Storage Unit using Paraffin Wax as Phase Change Material

Thermal performance of a latent heat storage unit is evaluated experimentally. The latent heat thermal energy storage system analyzed in this work is a shell-and-tube type of heat exchanger using paraffin wax (melting point between 58°C and 60°C) as the phase change material. The temperature distribution in the phase change material is measured with time. The influence of mass flow rate and inlet temperature of the heat transfer fluid on heat fraction is examined for both the melting and solidification processes. The mass flow rate of heat transfer fluid (water) is varied in the range of 0.0167 kg/s to 0.0833 kg/s (1 kg/min to 5 kg/min), and the fluid inlet temperature is varied between 75°C and 85°C. The experimental results indicate that the total melting time of the phase change material increases as the mass flow rate and inlet temperature of heat transfer fluid decrease. The fluid inlet temperature influences the heat fraction considerably as compared to the mass flow rate of heat transfer fluid during the melting process of the phase change material.     

The heat transfer coefficient during the solidification of aluminum

The heat transfer coefficient was measured during the solidification of molten aluminum (minimum purity 99.7 wt.% Al). Heat transfer coefficients were obtained with solidification proceeding vertically downward. Heat transfer during solidification is shown to be a complex process controlled by the macroscale of the thermal expansion and contraction of the mold. The experimental technique applied to determine the heat transfer coefficient is based on the assumption of one-dimensional heat transfer.     

高速气流作用下能量加载金属蜂窝板数值模拟

数值模拟研究了高速气流作用下能量加载金属蜂窝板温度场。针对金属蜂窝典型单元,构造了蜂窝核细观导热数值计算分析模型。采用流固耦合计算方法,使用两相流模型和凝固/熔化模型模拟气流对烧蚀物的剥蚀,较完整地模拟了能量加载金属蜂窝板的物理变化过程,计算得到了金属蜂窝板的温度分布以及烧蚀形貌。结果表明两相流方法能够较全面地模拟能量加载金属蜂窝板过程中的对流换热、熔化与凝固过程以及金属液体在气流冲刷下的动力学过程,能获得较为合理的物理图像。     

热管式相变蓄热换热器储/放能过程中传热特性的实验研究

将热管作为换热元件应用于相变蓄热系统中,研制了一套热管式相变蓄热换热器。采用石蜡作为蓄热材料,对其储、放能过程即内部石蜡的融化与凝固过程进行了实验研究。测定了储、放能过程中不同时刻换热器内石蜡的温度分布; 改变供、取热流体参数,分析了供/取热流体的入口温度与流量对换热器储/放能过程的影响;分析了储、放能过程中能量随时间的变化情况。结果表明,热管在本换热器内极好地发挥了换热元件的作用,换热器运行状况良好,各项功能均能较好地实现。     

Fabrication, properties, and applications of porous metals with directional pores

Lotus-type porous metals with aligned long cylindrical pores are fabricated by unidirectional solidification from the melt with a dissolved gas such as hydrogen, nitrogen, or oxygen. The gas atoms can be dissolved into the melt via a pressurized gas atmosphere or thermal decomposition of gaseous compounds. Three types of solidification techniques have been developed: mold casting, continuous zone melting, and continuous casting techniques. The last method is superior from the viewpoint of mass production of lotus metals. The observed anisotropic behaviors of the mechanical properties, sound absorption, and thermal conductivity are inherent to the anisotropic porous structure. In particular, the remarkable anisotropy in the mechanical strength is attributed to the stress concentration around the pores aligned perpendicular to the loading direction. Heat sinks are a promising application of lotus metals due to the high cooling performance with a large heat transfer.     

Ultrafast solid–liquid–vapor phase change of a gold film induced by pico- to femtosecond lasers

Melting, vaporization and resolidification processes of thin gold film irradiated by a femtosecond pulse laser are studied numerically. The nonequilibrium heat transfer in electrons and lattice is described using a two-temperature model. The solid–liquid interfacial velocity, as well as elevated melting temperature and depressed solidification temperature, is obtained by considering the interfacial energy balance and nucleation dynamics. An iterative procedure based on energy balance and gas kinetics law to track the location of liquid–vapor interface is utilized to obtain the material removal by vaporization. The effect of surface heat loss by thermal radiation was discussed. The influences of laser fluence and duration on the evaporation process are studied. Results show that higher laser fluence and shorter laser pulse width lead to higher interfacial temperature, deeper melting and ablation depths.     

Simulating Solid-Liquid Phase-Change Heat Transfer in Metal Foams via a Cascaded Lattice Boltzmann Model

A cascaded lattice Boltzmann (CLB) model is constructed for simulating heat transfer in metal-foam-based solid-liquid phase change materials (PCMs). The present model captures the phase interface implicitly via the enthalpy methodology, and to avoid iterations in simulations, the CLB equation of the PCM employs the enthalpy as the basic evolution variable through modifying the cascaded collision process. Numerical results demonstrate the effectiveness and practicability of the CLB model for investigating heat transfer in solid-liquid PCMs with metal foams. The effects of the inertial coefficient, permeability and porosity on the melting process are investigated. The results indicate that the empirical correlations of inertial coefficient and permeability based on packed beds overestimate the melting rate at high porosities. Moreover, the porosity has significant impact on phase-change processes. The melting rate increases as the porosity of the metal foam decreases since heat conduction through high thermal conductive metal foam dominates the total heat transfer.     

Overview of Hybrid Nanofluids Development and Benefits

Conventional fluids have poor heat transfer properties, but their vast applications in power generation, chemical processes, heating and cooling processes, electronics and other microsized applications make the reprocessing of those thermofluids to have better heat transfer properties quite essential. Recently, it has been shown that the addition of solid nanoparticles to various fluids can increase the thermal conductivity and can influence the viscosity of the suspensions by tens of percent. Thermophysical properties of nanofluids were shown dependent on the particle material, shape, size, concentration, the type of the base fluid, and other additives. In spite of some inconsistency in the reported results and insufficient understanding of the mechanism of the heat transfer in nanofluids, it has been emerged as a promising heat transfer fluid. In the continuation of nanofluids research, the researchers have also tried to use hybrid nanofluid recently, which is engineered by suspending dissimilar nanoparticles either in mixture or composite form. The idea of using hybrid nanofluids is to further improve the heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics by trade-off between advantages and disadvantages of individual suspension, attributed to good aspect ratio, better thermal network and synergistic effect of nanomaterials. As a conclusion, the hybrid nanofluids containing composite nanoparticles yield significant enhancement of thermal conductivity. However, the long-term stability, production process, selection of suitable nanomaterials combination to get synergistic effect and cost of nanofluids may be major challenges behind the practical applications.     

Fourier thermal analysis of solidification kinetics in molten aluminium and in presence of ultrasonic field

In this paper a comparison between the Newtonian and Fourier method analysis available in thermal analysis techniques is reported. The experimental solidification of liquid aluminium under various conditions has been studied. Thermal analysis is a tool in elucidating the thermal events involved in liquid to solid transformation. The Newtonian method predicts a maximum in heat generation at the onset of solidification, while the Fourier method incorporates the effect of thermal gradient and predicts two heat generation peaks during the solidification process. This comparison between the Fourier and Newtonian method indicates that their predictions are appreciably different. In order to elucidate the effect of ultrasonic waves on solidification process, the measurements were carried out under similar conditions both with and without sonication. Our studies have shown that in presence of the ultrasonic field the kinetics of solidification is changed, leading namely to a decreased undercooling degree of the melt and thermal diffusivity.     

Experimental study on the heat transfer characteristics of a new type flat micro heat pipe heat exchanger with latent heat thermal energy storage

An experimental energy storage system has been designed using a new type flat micro heat pipe heat exchanger that incorporates a moderate-temperature phase change material paraffin with a melting point of 58°C. The basic structure, working principles, and design concept are discussed. The heat transfer process during the charging and discharging of the heat exchanger under various operating conditions has been experimentally investigated. Results show that the performance of the new type flat micro heat pipe was steady and efficient during charging and discharging. The average thermal storage power and absorption efficiency have been determined to be approximately 537 W and 92.5%, respectively.     

SOLIDIFICATION VOID FORMATION IN TUBES: ROLE OF LIQUID SHRINKAGE AND BUBBLE NUCLEATION

Experiments were carried out to observe the solidification sequence and void distribution for experimental liquids enclosed in Pyrex tubes under a wide range of cooling rates. A physical model based on liquid thermal shrinkage and nucleation considerations has been developed to predict the number of voids formed in terms of the heat transfer rate and thermophysical properties of the phase-change material. Agreement of the results with our experimental data is encouraging. Understanding such aspects of the solidification process is vital to development of better thermal energy storage systems for a variety of applications.     

The effect of melting-induced volumetric expansion on initiation of laser-induced forward transfer

A numerical model was developed to investigate thermal processes that initiate laser-induced forward transfer (LIFT). The model included laser absorption, conduction, melting, and volumetric expansion in a thin film. The model was used to investigate the role of volumetric expansion associated with the melting process and was used to help explain surface deformations observed in previous studies of LIFT. The results of the model indicated that volumetric expansion initiated fluid motion that was directed away from the substrate, and the fluid motion was sufficient to induce surface deformations that remained after solidification. The resulting textured surface was similar to that observed experimentally below the droplet expulsion threshold. The fluid motion away from the substrate may explain the mechanism by which droplet formation occurs.     

Studies of pulsed laser melting and rapid solidification using amorphous silicon

Pulsed laser melting of ion implantation-amorphized silicon layers, and the subsequent solidification of undercooled liquid silicon, have been studied experimentally and theoretically. Measurements of the time of the onset of melting of amorphous silicon layers, during an incident laser pulse, have been combined with measurements of the duration of melting, and with modified melting model calculations to demonstrate that the thermal conductivity, K_a, of amorphous silicon is very low (K_a0.02 W/cm K). K_a is also found to be the dominant parameter determining the dynamical response of amorphous silicon to pulsed laser radiation; the latent heat of fusion and melting temperature of amorphous silicon are relatively unimportant. Transmission electron microscopy indicates that bulk (volume) nucleation occurs directly from the highly undercooled liquid silicon that can be prepared by pulsed laser melting of amorphous silicon layers at low laser energy densities. A modified thermal melting model has been constructed to simulate this effect and is presented. Nucleation of crystalline silicon apparently occurs at a nucleation temperature, T_n, that is higher than the temperature, T_a, of the liquid-to-amorphous phase transition. The model calculations demonstrate that the release of latent heat by bulk nucleation occurring during the melt-in process is essential to obtaining agreement with experimentally observed depths of melting. These calculations also show that this release of latent heat accompanying bulk nucleation can result in the existence of buried molten layers of silicon in the interior of the sample after the surface has solidified. It is pointed out that the occurrence of bulk nucleation implies that the liquid-to-amorphous phase transition (produced using picosecond or ultraviolet nanosecond laser pulses) cannot be explained by purely thermodynamic considerations.     

新型低熔点熔盐黏度的实验研究

熔盐因其具有广泛的使用温度范围,低蒸气压,大热容量,低黏度,良好的稳定性,低成本等诸多特性已成为聚光太阳能热发电中颇有潜力的传热蓄热介质。准确的熔盐热物性对于太阳能发电过程中介质的传热蓄热性能有重要影响。其中熔盐黏度作为重要的热物性之一,对于提高传热效率和降低流动阻力具有决定作用。本文利用研制的高温黏度测量仪对水和HITEC盐的黏度温度特性进行了实验研究,实验结果与文献数据具有较好的一致性,证明了该高温熔盐黏度仪的可靠性。为了降低混合熔盐的熔点,改进其热物性能,本文对Solar Salt进行改性研究,得到两种新型低熔点混合熔盐,并测定得到了黏度温度特性曲线。结果表明,改性后的高温熔融盐黏度有所降低,有利于降低太阳能热发电熔盐传热管路系统的阻力和成本。     

Single-phase Stefan problem in selectively absorbing medium

The thermal state of a translucent selectively absorbing medium was studied by the methods of numerical simulation at different values of the optical properties of boundaries and heat transfer from the left surface in approximation of one-phase Stefan problem. The temperature fields and densities of resultant radiation fluxes as well as the thermal state of the left boundary and dynamics of layer reduction in the melting process were analyzed. The processes of phase transition in a flat layer of selective and gray absorbing media and emitting media were compared, and their fundamental differences were shown.     

The melting and solidification of nanowires

A mathematical model is developed to describe the melting of nanowires. The first section of the paper deals with a standard theoretical situation, where the wire melts due to a fixed boundary temperature. This analysis allows us to compare with existing results for the phase change of nanospheres. The equivalent solidification problem is also examined. This shows that solidification is a faster process than melting; this is because the energy transfer occurs primarily through the solid rather than the liquid which is a poorer conductor of heat. This effect competes with the energy required to create new solid surface which acts to slow down the process, but overall conduction dominates. In the second section, we consider a more physically realistic boundary condition, where the phase change occurs due to a heat flux from surrounding material. This removes the singularity in initial melt velocity predicted in previous models of nanoparticle melting. It is shown that even with the highest possible flux the melting time is significantly slower than with a fixed boundary temperature condition.     

Experimental Study of Vibration Effects on Heat Transfer during Solidification of Paraffin in a Spherical Shell

Two effects that have been observed when metals and metal alloys are vibrated during solidification are a decrease in dendritic spacing, which directly affects density, and faster cooling rates and associated solidification times. Because these two effects happen simultaneously during solidification, it is challenging to determine the one effect independently from the other. Most previous studies were on metals and metal alloys. In these studies, the one effect, i.e., the decrease in dendritic spacing, might influence the other, i.e., the faster cooling rates, and vice versa. The direct link between vibration and heat transfer has not yet been studied independently. The purpose of this study was to experimentally investigate the effect of vibration only on heat transfer and thus solidification rate. Experiments were conducted on paraffin wax, because it had a clearly defined macroscopic crystal structure consisting of mostly large straight-chain hydrocarbons. The advantage of the large straight-chain hydrocarbons was that the dendritic spacing was not affected by the cooling rate. Experiments were done with paraffin wax inside hollow plastic spheres of 40 mm diameter with 1 mm wall thickness. The paraffin wax was initially in a liquid state at a uniform temperature of 60°C and then submerged into a thermal bath at a uniform constant temperature of 15°C, which was approximately 20°C below the mean solidification temperature of the wax. Experiments were conducted in approximately 300 samples, with and without vibration at frequencies varying from 10–300 Hz. The first set of experiments was conducted to determine the solidification times. In the second set of experiments, the mass of wax solidified was determined at discrete time steps, with and without vibration. The results showed that paraffin wax had vibration independent of solid density contrary to other materials, e.g., metals and metal alloys. Enhancement of heat transfer resulted in quicker solidification times and possible control over the heat transfer rate. The increase in heat transfer leading to faster solidifcation times was observed to first occur as frequency increased and then to decrease.     

Melt Crystallization Behavior of Injection-Molded High-Density Polyethylene Based Upon a Solidification Kinetic Analysis

Rheological characterization and an in-situ temperature measurement were carried out to investigate the solidification behavior and crystallization kinetics of injection-molded (IM) high-density polyethylene (HDPE) samples. The temperature profiles obtained via the enthalpy transformation method (ETM) were also used to disclose the effect of cooling rate on the solidification kinetics during the IM process. A four parameter model (FPM) was developed in the present work, based on a three-parameter model (TPM) we proposed previously, with the FPM shown to have an obviously better fitting effect. It was seen that heat transfer at locations χ?≤?0.5 was primarily dominated by a thermal conduction mechanism, which was unlike the situation when χ?>?0.5, with χ being the fractional distance from the mold surface to the center. The results of the present study are suggested to be of significance to further research on the correlation between microstructures and properties of IM products.     

Heat transfer and diffusion-controlled kinetics of liquid–solid phase in titanium matrix composite during selective laser melting

This study describes a self-consistent theoretical model of simulating diffusion-controlled kinetics on the liquid–solid phase boundary during high-speed solidification in the melt pool after the selective laser melting (SLM) process for titanium matrix composite based on Ti–TiC system. The model includes the heat transfer equation to estimate the temperature distribution in the melt pool and during crystallization process for some deposited layers. The temperature field is used in a micro region next to solid–liquid boundary, where solute micro segregation and dendrite growth are calculated by special approach based on transient liquid phase bonding. The effect of the SLM process parameters (laser power, scanning velocity, layer thickness and substrate size) on the microstructure solidification is being discussed.