Thermal simulation of composite high conductivity laminated microencapsulated phase change material (MEPCM) board

In this paper, 3-dimensional geometric models have been developed to evaluate the particle distribution effect on the thermal performance of a composite high conductivity laminated MEPCM board. For the purpose of comparison three geometric configurations (rectangular, triangular and pyramidal) were considered for the distribution network. Copper foam was used as the base material for fixing the positions of the MEPCM particles and to enhance the thermal conductivity of the composite laminated board. The simulation results show that the thermal response times for the rectangular and triangular geometries were about half that of the pyramidal geometry during cooling and heating processes of the board. Even though there were no significant differences in their effective thermal conductivities, the values were more than ten (10) times that of pure MEPCM but suffered from a reduction in energy storage capacities by about 48%. Other methods of enhancing both thermal conductivity and energy storage are therefore encouraged.

► Thermal response time for the pyramidal geometry was the highest.
► Rectangular geometry achieved the highest thermal conductivity value.
► Effective thermal conductivities of the geometries increased by more than 10 times.
► Thermal energy storage capacities of the geometries were however reduced by 48%.