PCM SOLIDIFICATION IN A FINNED CYLINDRICAL SHELL THERMAL ENERGY STORAGE: AN APPROXIMATE ANALYTICAL APPROACH

Abstract

Results are reported of an investigation of the solidification of a phase change material (PCM) in a cylindrical shell thermal energy storage with radial internal fins. An approximate analytical solution is presented for two cases. In case 1, the inner wall is kept at a constant temperature and, in case 2, a constant heat flux is imposed on the inner wall. In both cases, the outer wall is insulated. The results are compared to those for a numerical approach based on an enthalpy method. The results show that the analytical model satisfactory estimates the solid-liquid interface. In addition, a comparative study is reported of the solidified fraction of encapsulated PCM for different geometric configurations of finned storage having the same volume and surface area of heat transfer.

Keywords

Dates

  • Submission Date2012-03-26
  • Revision Date2012-09-25
  • Acceptance Date2012-10-17

DOI Reference

10.2298/TSCI120326207M

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