Natural Convection with Micro-Encapsulated Phase Change Material

This study numerically explores the effect of presence of Micro-Encapsulated Phase Change Material (MEPCM) on the heat transfer characteristics of a liquid in a rectangular cavity driven by natural convection. The Natural convection is generated by the temperature difference between two vertical walls at constant temperatures. The Phase Change Material (PCM) inside the MEPCM particles melts in the vicinity of the hot wall and solidifies near the cold wall. Unlike pure liquids, the heat transfer characteristics of MEPCM slurry cannot be simply presented in terms of corresponding dimensionless controlling parameters such as Rayleigh number. In the presence of phase change particles, the controlling parameters' values change significantly due to the local phase change. The numerical results show significant increase in the heat transfer coefficient (up to 80%). This increase is a result of the MEPCM latent heat and the increased volumetric thermal expansion coefficient due to MEPCM volume change during melting.