Mathematical modeling, numerical simulation and experimental validation of temperature profiles of PCMs and their applications in industry 4.0: A review

Industry 4.0 or smart factories employ phase change materials as smart materials for thermal energy storage systems. In this work the mathematical modeling (Governing equation and boundary condition) of phase change materials (PCMs) and numerical simulations, broadly performed on ANSYS workbench has been reviewed. A complete variety of most frequently used PCM’s were modeled, analyzed, and compared by using various profiles for their temperature distribution and thermal behavior. Furthermore, the different values obtained through modeling and simulation were validated with their corresponding experimental findings and the differences in the values were also supported with valid reasons ensued amongst different constituents at atomic level. This review also presents the varied applications of PCM for different temperature ranges like low, low medium, medium and high temperature ranges for industry 4.0. The automated factories of future of industry 4.0 have its major applications in solar energy, mobile telephony, building applications, vehicle applications and textile industries.