A Finite Element Approach for Phase-Change Analysis of Paraffin

During the design of thermal management systems involving PCMs, analysis tools are essential for determining the amount of PCM required, optimal instalment locations, and the heating-cooling transient behavior of the systems. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) solvers are often employed for these tasks, as they can account for both conduction and advection effects during PCM phase transitions. However, CFD simulations can be computationally expensive, particularly when solving transient behaviour. An alternative approach for PCM simulations is the Finite Element Method (FEM), which offers computationally inexpensive heat transfer analyses while providing good accuracy for thermal energy storage design, including phase transitions. This study has focused on thermal analysis of paraffin wax performed by FEM.