Reticular Structures Embedded in Phase Change Material: Effects of Orientation on Thermal Performance

Phase change materials (PCMs) are plagued by very low thermal conductivity. Metal foams and conductive fillers are often used to increase the overall thermal conductivity of composite PCM structures. Additive Manufacturing (AM) technology like Selective Laser Melting (SLM) can also be employed. This paper presents a numerical investigation on the influence of cell orientation on the thermal performance of PCM-impregnated metal reticular structures produced through Additive Manufacturing (AM). The study includes four cubic cell reticular structures with varying cell sizes (5 mm and 10 mm) and porosities (87% and 93%). Additionally, four distinct cell orientations are examined. Rubitherm’s RT42 paraffin wax is used as the Phase Change Material (PCM), and AlSi10Mg aluminum alloy constitutes the material for the reticular structures. Numerical simulations were carried out using a simplified purely conductive model implemented in the commercial Ansys Fluent software. The results indicate that, for a specific cell size and porosity, cell orientation significantly influences the thermal energy storage rate. Furthermore, a cell orientation has been identified that, in addition to providing good thermal performance, allows easier fabrication by SLM.