Study on factors affecting ice spike formation in water-based phase change energy storage device

During the water-ice phase transition process in energy storage devices, ice spikes can form due to volume expansion, potentially damaging the device shell. This study investigates the factors influencing ice spike formation. A solid-liquid-gas numerical model with detailed thermophysical parameters, including density, specific heat capacity, thermal conductivity and viscosity, was developed to simulate ice spike formation in the energy storage chamber. The study examined the impact of cold source boundary strength, location of the cold source, initial liquid level, cavity thermal conductivity, and temperature difference on ice spike formation. Results indicate that compared with the benchmark, the larger cold source boundary strength generates a 18.23% larger incremental angle, 12.67% shorter solidification time, and 8.48% higher ice spike. The cold source is positioned at an angle between the heat conduction direction and gravitational acceleration direction. When the angle is 0?, the increment angle is the smallest, the solidification time is the shortest, and the ice spike height is the lowest. The higher initial liquid level leads to a 19.43% smaller incremental angle, 4.47% longer solidification time, and 18.04% higher ice spike. Greater thermal conductivity of the cavity reduces 7.27% solidification time, while having minimal impact on ice incremental angle and height. The larger temperature difference generates a 7.73% larger incremental angle, 32.82% shorter solidification time, and 20.21% higher ice spike.