Numerical Investigation of Phase Change Material‐Based Thermal Energy Storage Using Copper‐Coated Carbon Foam

ABSTRACT The poor thermal conductivity of phase change materials (PCM) makes them inappropriate for a latent thermal energy storage system. This study numerically investigated the enhancement of PCM thermal performance by embedding copper‐coated carbon foam (CCCF) composite with PCM and compared it with Pure PCM and graphite foam configurations. Based on the enthalpy porosity model, a transient 2d model has been developed and validated using ANSYS Fluent. The findings show that CCCF significantly accelerates heat transfer and reduces the melting time by improving its thermal conductivity. Analysis reveals that CCCF reduces the melting time by 76% compared with pure PCM and 25% compared with graphite foam. Hence, this study demonstrates that the CCCF can become an effective solution for improving the thermal conductivity of PCM, along with its significant possible use in a PCM‐oriented thermal energy storage system.