Learning Forum

[peteroznewman]

Hi Philip,

I see you tagged this discussion with input-parameter-fluent however you posted this discussion in the General Mechanical section. More detail will help us to advise you so please answer the following questions.

Do you intend to solve this model in Fluent?  If so, you should post your question in the Fluids channel, not the General Mechanical channel.

What is a PCM panel?  I found this definition: The PCM panel is a plastic panel filled with a special liquid called Phase Change Material. A Phase Change Material is a substance with a high heat of fusion which, melting and solidifying at a certain temperature, is capable of storing and releasing large amounts of energy.

What liquid is in your model?

What material properties do you have for that liquid?

What is the solid material that encapsulates the liquid?

What material properties do you have for that solid?

What is the shape of the PCM?

What other materials are used to create an enclosure to keep the air inside cold?

What is the shape of the enclosure that is to be kept cold?

What is the air temperature outside the enclosure?

In Mechanical, you can use a Transient Thermal analysis that has an Initial Condition that all the material in the model is at a cold temperature, say -30 degrees C. Then define a boundary condition called Convection that can transfer heat from an unlimited supply of outside air of a fixed temperature, say +20 degrees C into a solid body. You need to know the convective film coefficient that defines the rate at which heat will be transfered. There are some references that list values for that coefficient. You can have a material that has the thermal property called Enthalpy where you plot J/m^3 versus temperature of the liquid. This may be sufficent to represent the phase change material.

You can do similar things in Fluent, which has more capabilites to model phase change.