Created in COMSOL Multiphysics 5.

Packed Bed Latent Heat Storage

This model is licensed under the COMSOL Software License Agreement 5.6.
All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. See www.comsol.com/trademarks.
Introduction
Thermal energy storage (TES) units are used to accumulate thermal energy from solar,
geothermal, or waste heat sources. The simplest TES units are built from water tanks,
often found in households, where the solar energy is stored as sensible heat. These systems
are called sensible heat storage (SHS) units. The thermal capacity of these tanks can be
further increased by including latent heat, which gives rise to latent heat storage (LHS)
units. Typically, LHS tanks contain spherical capsules filled with paraffin as phase change
material. Paraffin is a suitable phase change material to include the effect of latent heat, as
it is relatively inexpensive, reliable, and nontoxic, and it is commercially available for a wide
range of melting temperatures.

This example is inspired by the experimental investigation found in Ref. 1. It models the
flow through a packed-bed storage tank, and it includes the effects of heat transfer with
phase change and local thermal nonequilibrium while charging the LHS unit.

Inlet

Glass wool
insulation

Packed bed
with paraffin

Outlet

Figure 1: Model setup.

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Model Definition
The model geometry is shown in Figure 1. Geometry, material properties, and operating
conditions are taken from Ref. 1. The thermo-physical properties of paraffin are listed in
Table 1.
TABLE 1: THERMO-PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF PARAFFIN.

MATERIAL PROPERTY PARAFFIN, SOLID PARAFFIN, LIQUID

Melting temperature, Tm (°C) 60

Latent heat of fusion, L (J/kg) 213
3
Density,  (kg/m ) 861 778
Heat capacity, Cp (J/(kg·K)) 1850 2384
Thermal conductivity, k (W/(m·K)) 0.4 0.15

Paraffin-filled spherical capsules with a diameter of dp  55 mm are stored in a tank of

36 cm in diameter and 47 cm in height. The porosity of this bed is p  0.49. The
temperature is initially set to 32°C. Warm water flows through the tank with a flow rate of
Vin  2 l/min, and during thermal charging it is continuously heated up by a solar
collector that delivers a power of Qu  375 W. The temperature difference at the tank’s
inlet and outlet is given by the relation

Q
-------u- = C p  T in – T out  (1)
V in

here, Tin and Tout are the inlet and outlet temperatures, and and Cp are the density and
heat capacity of water.

Ergun equation describes the flow through the packed bed, which estimates the pressure
drop as a function of the velocity field u

 1.75  1 –  p 
p = – --- u – ------------------------------
- u u
 dp p
3

Here,  (Pa·s) and  (kg/m3) are the viscosity and density of water, dp (m) is the spheres’
diameter, and p the porosity. The permeability  (m2) of the packed bed is given by

2 3
dp p
 = -------------------------------2-
150  1 –  p 

The Reynolds number can be estimated as

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 d p v
Re = ----------------------- (2)
 1 –  p 

The maximum velocity in the bed, v, is about 6 mm/s, which implies a Reynolds number
of about 600. For this Reynolds number the flow field is assumed to be independent of
the temperature distribution, such that a stationary field can be computed. This is a
reasonable simplification that reduces the computational effort.

The relative large diameter of the capsules as compared to the tank dimensions suggests a
significant temperature difference between the encapsulated paraffin and the surrounding
water flow, thus a local thermal nonequilibrium (LTNE) approach is considered in this
example.

The Local Thermal Nonequilibrium multiphysics coupling is used to couple the Heat
Transfer in Solids with the Heat Transfer in Fluids interfaces. The heat transferred from
the paraffin-filled capsules to the water is modeled with a heat source

q sf
Q f = ------  T s – T f 
p

here, Ts and Tf are the paraffin and water temperatures, and qsf (W/(m3·K)) is the
interstitial convective heat transfer coefficient, which for spherical capsules reads

6  1 – p 
q sf = ----------------------- h sf
dp

The interstitial heat transfer coefficient hsf follows a Nusselt number correlation (see the
Theory for the Local Thermal Nonequilibrium Interface section in the Heat Transfer
Module User’s Guide for more information). Convection inside the capsules is neglected,
thus paraffin is treated as a solid or immobile liquid.

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Results and Discussion
The tank reaches a temperature of 70°C after approximately 11 hours. The resulting
velocity and temperature distribution is shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2: Velocity field (streamlines) with the gray color indicating the pressure and
temperature field (color) after 13 hours.

Figure 3 shows the evolution of the paraffin temperature, the water temperature, and the
weighted average (porous-medium) temperature. During the phase change, the
encapsulated paraffin is not in thermal equilibrium with the surrounding water. Measuring
the water temperature at the inlet or the outlet does not give accurate information about
neither the temperature inside the capsules nor the phase in which the paraffin wax is.

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Figure 3: Evolution of water (dashed), paraffin (dotted) and average porous medium
temperature (solid) during phase change for top (red), center (green) and low (blue) position.

Figure 4 shows the phase distribution after 7 hours. Near the walls, where the flow velocity
is negligible, the phase transition has not yet begun while it is already completed in the
center of the tank.

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Figure 4: Distribution of solid phase (blue) and liquid phase (yellow) after 7 hours.

The evolution of the paraffin phase distribution is visualized in Figure 5. It starts at about
4 hours when water is heated up to the melting temperature of 60°C. Paraffin is
completely molten after about 10 hours.

The latent heat storage tank is considered fully charged as soon as a temperature of 70°C
is reached everywhere, which happens after approximately 11 hours.

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Figure 5: Phase distribution after 4, 6, 8, and 10 hours.

Notes About the COMSOL Implementation

The time it takes to thermally charge the tank is not known a priori. To avoid calculating
too many time steps, a stop condition is used which stops the simulation after a
temperature of 70°C is reached everywhere inside the tank.

Reference
1. N. Nallusamy and others, “Study on performance of a packed bed latent heat thermal
energy storage unit integrated with solar water heating system,” Journal of Zhejiang
University-SCIENCE A, vol. 7, pp. 1422–1430, 2006.

Application Library path: Porous_Media_Flow_Module/Heat_Transfer/

packed_bed_latent_heat_storage

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Modeling Instructions
From the File menu, choose New.

NEW
In the New window, click Model Wizard.

MODEL WIZARD
1 In the Model Wizard window, click 2D Axisymmetric.
2 In the Select Physics tree, select Fluid Flow>Porous Media and Subsurface Flow>
Free and Porous Media Flow (fp).
3 Click Add.
4 In the Select Physics tree, select Heat Transfer>Local Thermal Nonequilibrium.
5 Click Add.
6 Click Study.
7 In the Select Study tree, select General Studies>Stationary.
8 Click Done.

GEOMETRY 1
Import the geometry from a file.

Import 1 (imp1)
1 In the Home toolbar, click Import.
2 In the Settings window for Import, locate the Import section.
3 Click Browse.
4 Browse to the model’s Application Libraries folder and double-click the file
packed_bed_latent_heat_storage.mphbin.

5 Click Import.

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6 Click Build All Objects.

GLOBAL DEFINITIONS
Add parameters that will be used to set up the model.

Parameters 1
1 In the Model Builder window, under Global Definitions click Parameters 1.
2 In the Settings window for Parameters, locate the Parameters section.
3 In the table, enter the following settings:

Name Expression Value Description

dp 55[mm] 0.055 m Diameter of
encapsulated PCM
por 0.49 0.49 Bed porosity
V_in 2[l/min] 3.3333E-5 m³/s Flow rate
T0 32[degC] 305.15 K Initial temperature
Qu 375[W] 375 W Solar heating power
rho_av (861[kg/m^3]+ 819.5 kg/m³ Average density of
778[kg/m^3])/2 paraffin

ADD MATERIAL
1 In the Home toolbar, click Add Material to open the Add Material window.

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2 Go to the Add Material window.
3 In the tree, select Built-in>Water, liquid.
4 Click Add to Component in the window toolbar.
5 In the Home toolbar, click Add Material to close the Add Material window.

MATERIALS

Paraffin, solid
1 In the Model Builder window, under Component 1 (comp1) right-click Materials and
choose Blank Material.
2 In the Settings window for Material, type Paraffin, solid in the Label text field.

Paraffin, liquid
1 Right-click Materials and choose Blank Material.
2 In the Settings window for Material, type Paraffin, liquid in the Label text field.

Glass Wool
1 Right-click Materials and choose Blank Material.
2 In the Settings window for Material, type Glass Wool in the Label text field.
Continue with setting up the physics interfaces. After that you can fill the required
material properties.

FREE AND POROUS MEDIA FLOW (FP)

1 In the Model Builder window, under Component 1 (comp1) click
Free and Porous Media Flow (fp).
2 Select Domains 1–3 only.

Fluid and Matrix Properties 1

1 In the Physics toolbar, click Domains and choose Fluid and Matrix Properties.
2 Select Domain 2 only.
3 In the Settings window for Fluid and Matrix Properties, locate the Fluid Properties section.
4 From the Fluid material list, choose Water, liquid (mat1).
5 Locate the Porous Matrix Properties section. From the p list, choose User defined. In the
associated text field, type por.
According to Equation 2, Ergun’s equation gives the best description of the flow
behavior in the bed.
6 From the Permeability model list, choose Non-Darcian.

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7 From the Non-Darcian flow model list, choose Ergun.
8 In the dp text field, type dp.

HEAT TRANSFER IN THE PELLET BED

Continue with setting up the heat transfer interfaces.

1 In the Model Builder window, under Component 1 (comp1) click

Heat Transfer in Solids (ht).
2 In the Settings window for Heat Transfer in Solids, type Heat Transfer in the Pellet
Bed in the Label text field.
3 Select Domain 2 only.

Solid 1
In the Model Builder window, under Component 1 (comp1)>
Heat Transfer in the Pellet Bed (ht) click Solid 1.

Phase Change Material 1

1 In the Physics toolbar, click Attributes and choose Phase Change Material.
2 In the Settings window for Phase Change Material, locate the Density section.
3 From the  list, choose User defined. In the associated text field, type rho_av.
With this, the density is assumed to remain constant which is a reasonable simplification.
The mean density value of liquid and solid paraffin is used, which is calculated in the
parameter list.
4 Locate the Phase Change section. In the Tpc,12 text field, type 60[degC].
5 In the T12 text field, type 2[K].
6 In the L12 text field, type 213[kJ/kg].
7 Locate the Phase 1 section. From the Material, phase 1 list, choose Paraffin, solid (mat2).
8 Locate the Phase 2 section. From the Material, phase 2 list, choose Paraffin, liquid (mat3).

Initial Values 1
1 In the Model Builder window, click Initial Values 1.
2 In the Settings window for Initial Values, locate the Initial Values section.
3 In the T text field, type T0.

HEAT TRANSFER IN THE TANK AND WATER

1 In the Model Builder window, under Component 1 (comp1) click
Heat Transfer in Fluids 2 (ht2).

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2 In the Settings window for Heat Transfer in Fluids, type Heat Transfer in the Tank
and Water in the Label text field.

Solid 1
1 In the Physics toolbar, click Domains and choose Solid.
2 Select Domain 4 only.

Fluid 1
1 In the Model Builder window, click Fluid 1.
2 In the Settings window for Fluid, locate the Fluid Material section.
3 From the list, choose Water, liquid (mat1).

Initial Values 1
1 In the Model Builder window, click Initial Values 1.
2 In the Settings window for Initial Values, locate the Initial Values section.
3 In the T2 text field, type T0.

ADD MULTIPHYSICS
1 In the Physics toolbar, click Add Multiphysics to open the Add Multiphysics window,
to couple the Free and Porous Media Flow with the Heat Transfer in Fluids interface.
2 Go to the Add Multiphysics window.
3 In the tree, select No Predefined Multiphysics Available for the Selected Physics Interfaces.
4 Find the Select the physics interfaces you want to couple subsection. In the table, clear
the Couple check box for Heat Transfer in the Pellet Bed (ht).
5 In the tree, select Fluid Flow>Nonisothermal Flow>Laminar Flow.
6 Click Add to Component in the window toolbar.
7 In the Physics toolbar, click Add Multiphysics to close the Add Multiphysics window.

MULTIPHYSICS

Local Thermal Nonequilibrium 1 (ltne1)

1 In the Model Builder window, under Component 1 (comp1)>Multiphysics click
Local Thermal Nonequilibrium 1 (ltne1).
2 In the Settings window for Local Thermal Nonequilibrium, locate the
Local Thermal Nonequilibrium Settings section.
3 In the s text field, type 1-por.
4 From the Interstitial convective heat transfer coefficient list, choose Spherical pellet bed.

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5 In the rp text field, type dp/2.

MATERIALS
Now, fill out the remaining material properties. Because you have set up the physics, the
software automatically detects which properties are required for the simulation.

Paraffin, solid (mat2)

1 In the Model Builder window, under Component 1 (comp1)>Materials click Paraffin,
solid (mat2).
2 In the Settings window for Material, locate the Material Contents section.
3 In the table, enter the following settings:

Property Variable Value Unit Property

group
Thermal conductivity k_iso ; kii = 0.4 W/(m·K) Basic
k_iso, kij = 0
Heat capacity at constant Cp 1850 J/(kg·K) Basic
pressure

Paraffin, liquid (mat3)

1 In the Model Builder window, click Paraffin, liquid (mat3).
2 In the Settings window for Material, locate the Material Contents section.
3 In the table, enter the following settings:

Property Variable Value Unit Property

group
Thermal conductivity k_iso ; kii = 0.15 W/(m·K) Basic
k_iso, kij = 0
Heat capacity at constant Cp 2384 J/(kg·K) Basic
pressure

Glass Wool (mat4)

1 In the Model Builder window, click Glass Wool (mat4).
2 Select Domain 4 only.
3 In the Settings window for Material, locate the Material Contents section.

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4 In the table, enter the following settings:

Property Variable Value Unit Property

group
Thermal conductivity k_iso ; kii = 0.025 W/(m·K) Basic
k_iso, kij = 0
Density rho 1250 kg/m³ Basic
Heat capacity at constant Cp 850 J/(kg·K) Basic
pressure

FREE AND POROUS MEDIA FLOW (FP)

Continue by applying the boundary conditions.

In the Model Builder window, under Component 1 (comp1) click

Free and Porous Media Flow (fp).

Inlet 1
1 In the Physics toolbar, click Boundaries and choose Inlet.
2 Select Boundary 7 only.
3 In the Settings window for Inlet, locate the Boundary Condition section.
4 From the list, choose Fully developed flow.
5 Locate the Fully Developed Flow section. Click the Flow rate button.
6 In the V0 text field, type V_in.
7 Locate the Boundary Selection section. Click Create Selection.
8 In the Create Selection dialog box, type Inlet in the Selection name text field.
9 Click OK. Thus you created a selection for the inlet boundary as it will be used again
during the model setup.

Outlet 1
1 In the Physics toolbar, click Boundaries and choose Outlet.
2 Select Boundary 2 only.
3 In the Settings window for Outlet, locate the Boundary Selection section.
4 Click Create Selection.
5 In the Create Selection dialog box, type Outlet in the Selection name text field.
6 Click OK. Thus a selection for the outlet boundary was created as it will be used again
during the model setup.

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HEAT TRANSFER IN THE TANK AND WATER (HT2)
In the Model Builder window, under Component 1 (comp1) click
Heat Transfer in the Tank and Water (ht2).

Inflow 1
1 In the Physics toolbar, click Boundaries and choose Inflow.
2 In the Settings window for Inflow, locate the Boundary Selection section.
3 From the Selection list, choose Inlet.
4 Locate the Upstream Properties section. In the Tustr text field, type T_in.
The water temperature increases over time during the charging process. While water is
pumped through a closed loop, it is heated by a solar system. Therefore you need to
define a variable T_in as a function of the outlet temperature and the solar heating
power using equation Equation 1.

Outflow 1
1 In the Physics toolbar, click Boundaries and choose Outflow.
2 In the Settings window for Outflow, locate the Boundary Selection section.
3 From the Selection list, choose Outlet.

DEFINITIONS
The tank is cooled by the surroundings. Create a selection for the outer boundary to apply
the heat flux condition.

Heat Flux Boundary

1 In the Definitions toolbar, click Explicit.
2 In the Settings window for Explicit, locate the Input Entities section.
3 From the Geometric entity level list, choose Boundary.
4 Select the Group by continuous tangent check box.
5 Select Boundaries 14–17, 21–23, 26, 27, 30, and 31 only.
6 In the Label text field, type Heat Flux Boundary.

HEAT TRANSFER IN THE TANK AND WATER (HT2)

Heat Flux 1
1 Right-click Heat Transfer in the Tank and Water (ht2) and choose Heat Flux.
2 In the Settings window for Heat Flux, locate the Boundary Selection section.
3 From the Selection list, choose Heat Flux Boundary.

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4 Locate the Heat Flux section. Click the Convective heat flux button.
5 In the h text field, type 5.

DEFINITIONS

Average 1 (aveop1)
1 In the Definitions toolbar, click Nonlocal Couplings and choose Average.
2 In the Settings window for Average, locate the Source Selection section.
3 From the Geometric entity level list, choose Boundary.
4 From the Selection list, choose Outlet.
This operator is used to compute the outlet temperature.

Variables 1
1 In the Model Builder window, right-click Definitions and choose Variables.
2 In the Settings window for Variables, locate the Variables section.
3 In the table, enter the following settings:

Name Expression Unit Description

deltaT Qu/V_in/aveop1(ht2.Cp)/ K Temperature increase
aveop1(ht2.rho)
T_in aveop1(T2)+deltaT K Inlet temperature

The expressions ht2.Cp and ht2.rho refer to the heat capacity and density of water as
defined by the Heat Transfer in Fluids interface.

Set up the mesh.

MESH 1
1 In the Model Builder window, under Component 1 (comp1) click Mesh 1.
2 In the Settings window for Mesh, locate the Physics-Controlled Mesh section.
3 From the Element size list, choose Fine.

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4 Click Build All.

STUDY 1

Step 1: Stationary
To provide the initial flow conditions, calculate the initial flow field as follows:

1 In the Model Builder window, under Study 1 click Step 1: Stationary.

2 In the Settings window for Stationary, locate the Physics and Variables Selection section.
3 In the table, clear the Solve for check boxes for Heat Transfer in the Pellet Bed (ht) and
Heat Transfer in the Tank and Water (ht2).
4 In the table, clear the Solve for check boxes for Local Thermal Nonequilibrium 1 (ltne1)
and Nonisothermal Flow 1 (nitf1).

Time Dependent
1 In the Study toolbar, click Study Steps and choose Time Dependent>
Time Dependent.
2 In the Settings window for Time Dependent, locate the Physics and Variables Selection
section.
3 In the table, clear the Solve for check box for Free and Porous Media Flow (fp).
4 Locate the Study Settings section. From the Time unit list, choose h.

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5 In the Output times text field, type range(0,0.25,3.75) range(4,5[min],9)
range(9.25,0.25,24).
The time stepping is chosen such that the phase change is resolved properly.
6 From the Tolerance list, choose User controlled.
7 In the Relative tolerance text field, type 1e-4.

Solution 1 (sol1)
1 In the Study toolbar, click Show Default Solver.
2 In the Model Builder window, expand the Solution 1 (sol1) node, then click Time-
Dependent Solver 1.
3 In the Settings window for Time-Dependent Solver, click to expand the Time Stepping
section.
4 From the Steps taken by solver list, choose Strict.
This forces the solver to use at least the time steps specified above.

DEFINITIONS
Use a stop condition for the time-dependent solver to force the charging process to stop
when the minimum temperature in the tank reaches 70°C. This requires another coupling
operator for the minimum temperature.

Minimum 1 (minop1)
1 In the Definitions toolbar, click Nonlocal Couplings and choose Minimum.
2 Select Domain 2 only.

Variables 1
1 In the Model Builder window, click Variables 1.
2 In the Settings window for Variables, locate the Variables section.
3 In the table, enter the following settings:

Name Expression Unit Description

T_min minop1(T) K Minimum temperature

STUDY 1
1 In the Model Builder window, click Study 1.
2 In the Settings window for Study, locate the Study Settings section.
3 Clear the Generate default plots check box.

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Solution 1 (sol1)
1 In the Model Builder window, under Study 1>Solver Configurations>Solution 1 (sol1)
right-click Time-Dependent Solver 1 and choose Stop Condition.
2 In the Settings window for Stop Condition, locate the Stop Expressions section.
3 Click Add.
4 In the table, enter the following settings:

Stop expression Stop if Active Description

comp1.T_min > True (>=1)  Stop expression 1
70[degC]

5 Locate the Output at Stop section. From the Add solution list, choose Step after stop.
6 In the Home toolbar, click Compute.
The solver automatically stops when the stop condition is fulfilled. A warning message
appears and states that the stop condition is fulfilled after about 38,400 s (about
10.7 hours).

RESULTS
To reproduce Figure 2, follow the steps below.

Temperature and Velocity Fields

1 In the Home toolbar, click Add Plot Group and choose 2D Plot Group.
2 In the Settings window for 2D Plot Group, type Temperature and Velocity Fields
in the Label text field.
3 Locate the Color Legend section. Select the Show units check box.

Surface 1
1 Right-click Temperature and Velocity Fields and choose Surface.
2 In the Settings window for Surface, locate the Expression section.
3 In the Expression text field, type T2.
4 Locate the Coloring and Style section. From the Color table list, choose ThermalLight.

Selection 1
1 Right-click Surface 1 and choose Selection.
2 Select Domain 4 only.

Surface 2
1 In the Model Builder window, right-click Temperature and Velocity Fields and choose
Surface.

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2 In the Settings window for Surface, locate the Expression section.
3 Clear the Expression text field.
4 Click Replace Expression in the upper-right corner of the Expression section. From the
menu, choose Component 1 (comp1)>Local thermal nonequilibrium>ltne1.T -
Porous medium temperature - K.
5 Click to expand the Inherit Style section. From the Plot list, choose Surface 1.

Temperature and Velocity Fields

1 In the Model Builder window, click Temperature and Velocity Fields.
2 In the Settings window for 2D Plot Group, click to expand the Title section.
3 From the Title type list, choose None.

Streamline 1
1 Right-click Temperature and Velocity Fields and choose Streamline.
2 In the Settings window for Streamline, locate the Selection section.
3 From the Selection list, choose Inlet.
4 Locate the Coloring and Style section. Find the Point style subsection. From the Type list,
choose Arrow.

Color Expression 1
1 Right-click Streamline 1 and choose Color Expression.
2 In the Settings window for Color Expression, locate the Expression section.
3 In the Expression text field, type p.
4 Locate the Coloring and Style section. From the Color table list, choose GrayScale.
5 Select the Reverse color table check box.

Cut Point 2D 1
To create Figure 3, begin by creating a new dataset, then use a Point Evaluation node to
evaluate the different temperatures before plotting them.

1 In the Results toolbar, click Cut Point 2D.

2 In the Settings window for Cut Point 2D, locate the Point Data section.
3 In the r text field, type 0.
4 In the z text field, type 0.05 0.47/2 0.42.

Point Evaluation 1
1 In the Results toolbar, click Point Evaluation.

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2 In the Settings window for Point Evaluation, locate the Data section.
3 From the Dataset list, choose Cut Point 2D 1.
4 Locate the Expressions section. In the table, enter the following settings:

Expression Unit Description

T K Paraffin temperature
T2 K Water temperature
ltne1.T K Porous medium temperature

5 Click Evaluate.

TABLE
1 Go to the Table window.
2 Click Table Graph in the window toolbar.

RESULTS

Table Graph 1
1 In the Model Builder window, under Results>1D Plot Group 2 click Table Graph 1.
2 In the Settings window for Table Graph, locate the Data section.
3 From the Plot columns list, choose Manual.
4 In the Columns list, choose Paraffin temperature (K), Point: (0, 0.05),
Paraffin temperature (K), Point: (0, 0.235), and Paraffin temperature (K), Point: (0, 0.42).
5 Locate the Coloring and Style section. Find the Line style subsection. From the Line list,
choose Dotted.

Table Graph 2
1 Right-click Results>1D Plot Group 2>Table Graph 1 and choose Duplicate.
2 In the Settings window for Table Graph, locate the Data section.
3 In the Columns list, choose Water temperature (K), Point: (0, 0.05),
Water temperature (K), Point: (0, 0.235), and Water temperature (K), Point: (0, 0.42).
4 Locate the Coloring and Style section. Find the Line style subsection. From the Line list,
choose Dashed.
5 From the Color list, choose Cycle (reset).

Table Graph 3
Right-click Table Graph 2 and choose Duplicate.

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Table Graph 2
1 Locate the Data section. In the Columns list, choose Porous medium temperature (K),
Point: (0, 0.05), Porous medium temperature (K), Point: (0, 0.235), and
Porous medium temperature (K), Point: (0, 0.42).
2 Locate the Coloring and Style section. From the Line list, choose Solid.

Temperature Evolution
1 In the Model Builder window, under Results click 1D Plot Group 2.
2 In the Settings window for 1D Plot Group, type Temperature Evolution in the Label
text field.
3 Locate the Axis section. Select the Manual axis limits check box.
4 In the x minimum text field, type 3.5.
5 In the x maximum text field, type 9.5.
6 In the y minimum text field, type 328.
7 In the y maximum text field, type 344.
8 In the Temperature Evolution toolbar, click Plot.
Compare with Figure 3. You can clearly see that paraffin and water are not in thermal
equilibrium, especially during phase change of paraffin.
Create new datasets that you can use to visualize the phase distribution and velocity field
in a 3D plot as in Figure 4 and Figure 5.

Study 1/Solution 1 (3) (sol1)

In the Results toolbar, click More Datasets and choose Solution.

Selection
1 In the Results toolbar, click Attributes and choose Selection.
2 In the Settings window for Selection, locate the Geometric Entity Selection section.
3 From the Geometric entity level list, choose Domain.
4 Select Domains 1–3 only.

Study 1/Solution 1 (4) (sol1)

In the Results toolbar, click More Datasets and choose Solution.

Selection
1 In the Results toolbar, click Attributes and choose Selection.
2 In the Settings window for Selection, locate the Geometric Entity Selection section.
3 From the Geometric entity level list, choose Domain.

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4 Select Domain 4 only.

Revolution 2D 1
1 In the Results toolbar, click More Datasets and choose Revolution 2D.
2 In the Settings window for Revolution 2D, click to expand the Revolution Layers section.
3 In the Start angle text field, type -90.
4 In the Revolution angle text field, type 220.
5 Locate the Data section. From the Dataset list, choose Study 1/Solution 1 (3) (sol1).

Revolution 2D 2
1 Right-click Revolution 2D 1 and choose Duplicate.
2 In the Settings window for Revolution 2D, locate the Data section.
3 From the Dataset list, choose Study 1/Solution 1 (4) (sol1).

Cut Plane 1
In the Results toolbar, click Cut Plane.

3D Plot Group 3
In the Results toolbar, click 3D Plot Group.

Volume 1
1 Right-click 3D Plot Group 3 and choose Volume.
2 In the Settings window for Volume, click Replace Expression in the upper-right corner of
the Expression section. From the menu, choose Component 1 (comp1)>
Heat Transfer in the Pellet Bed>Phase change>ht.theta2 - Phase indicator, phase 2.
3 Locate the Coloring and Style section. From the Color table list, choose Cividis.
4 Click to expand the Range section. Select the Manual color range check box.
5 In the Maximum text field, type 1.

Volume 2
1 In the Model Builder window, right-click 3D Plot Group 3 and choose Volume.
2 In the Settings window for Volume, locate the Data section.
3 From the Dataset list, choose Revolution 2D 2.
4 From the Solution parameters list, choose From parent.
5 Locate the Expression section. In the Expression text field, type 1.
6 Locate the Coloring and Style section. From the Coloring list, choose Uniform.
7 From the Color list, choose Gray.

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3D Plot Group 3
In the Model Builder window, click 3D Plot Group 3.

Streamline Surface 1
1 In the 3D Plot Group 3 toolbar, click More Plots and choose Streamline Surface.
2 In the Settings window for Streamline Surface, locate the Data section.
3 From the Dataset list, choose Cut Plane 1.
4 From the Solution parameters list, choose From parent.
5 Locate the Streamline Positioning section. From the Positioning list, choose
Magnitude controlled.
6 In the Density text field, type 15.
7 Locate the Coloring and Style section. Find the Line style subsection. From the Type list,
choose Tube.
8 Select the Radius scale factor check box.
9 In the associated text field, type 0.001.
10 Find the Point style subsection. From the Type list, choose Arrow.
11 Select the Scale factor check box.
12 In the associated text field, type 4.
13 From the Color list, choose White.

Liquid Phase
1 In the Model Builder window, under Results click 3D Plot Group 3.
2 In the Settings window for 3D Plot Group, type Liquid Phase in the Label text field.
3 Click to expand the Title section. From the Title type list, choose Manual.
4 In the Title text area, type Liquid Phase Saturation (1) and Velocity
Streamlines.

5 Select the Allow evaluation of expressions check box.

6 In the Parameter indicator text field, type Time = eval(t,h) h.
7 Locate the Plot Settings section. Clear the Plot dataset edges check box.
8 Locate the Data section. From the Time (h) list, choose 7.
9 In the Liquid Phase toolbar, click Plot.
10 Click the Show Grid button in the Graphics toolbar.

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11 Click the Show Axis Orientation button in the Graphics toolbar.
To reproduce the sequence shown in Figure 5, just select, in turn, from the Time (h) list
the values 4, 6, 8, and 10 and plot.

26 | PACKED BED LATENT HEAT STORAGE