Heat TransferAsian Research

Thermal Performance of a Phase Change Material-Based Latent

Heat Thermal Storage Unit
Manish K. Rathod and Jyotirmay Banerjee
Mech. Eng. Dept., Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology, Surat, Gujarat, India

An experimental analysis is presented to establish the thermal performance of

a latent heat thermal storage (LHTS) unit. Paraffin is used as the phase change material
(PCM) on the shell side of the shell and tube-type LHTS unit while water is used as
the heat transfer fluid (HTF) flowing through the inner tube. The fluid inlet temperature
and the mass flow rate of HTF are varied and the temperature distribution of paraffin
in the shell side is measured along the radial and axial direction during melting and
solidification process. The total melting time is established for different mass flow
rates and fluid inlet temperature of HTF. The motion of the solidliquid interface of
the PCM with time along axial and radial direction of the test unit is critically
evaluated. The experimental results indicate that the melting front moves from top to
bottom along the axial direction while the solidification front moves only in the radial
direction. The total melting time of PCM increases as the mass flow rate and inlet
temperature of HTF decreases. A correlation is proposed for the dimensionless melting
time in terms of Reynolds number and Stefan number of HTF. 2013 Wiley
Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res; Published online in Wiley Online Library
(wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/htj). DOI 10.1002/htj.21120
Key words: latent heat thermal storage (LHTS), phase change material (PCM),
melting front, solidification front

1. Introduction
Among the various methods used for thermal energy storage, the latent heat thermal energy
storage (LHTS) system using phase change materials (PCM) is the most promising one. This is
because of its capacity to store high energy for a given volume at a smaller temperature swing, uniform
energy storage and energy supply, compactness, etc. [17]. The thermal analysis of the phase change
process in PCMs is a moving boundary problem. When the PCM changes state, the liquid and solid
phases are separated by a moving interface between them. The heat transfer network in this type of
latent heat thermal storage (LHTS) unit consists of transient forced convection between the heat
transfer fluid (HTF) and the wall, heat conduction/convection through the wall, and solid/liquid phase
change of the PCM. Several researchers have proposed numerical models for the phase change process
based on enthalpy formulation [812]. However, the nonlinear nature of temperature at the phase
transition interface makes this mathematical model complex and cumbersome. Analytical prediction
of the behavior of a phase change system is complex due to the nonlinear nature of the moving interface
2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
1

[1315]. In the absence of proper analytical models, many researchers have carried out experimental
investigations for the estimation of thermal performance of such LHTS unit using different PCMs.
Ismail and Alves [16] numerically analyzed the shell and tube latent heat storage system in
which paraffin as the PCM is encapsulated in the shell while water as the heat transfer fluid (HTF) is
flowing through the tube. Assuming that the process of solidification is mainly dominated by radial
conduction, the effect of Biot number, ratio of diameters, and inlet fluid temperature on the thermal
performance of the storage unit were analyzed. Lacroix [9] developed a theoretical model to predict
the transient thermal performance characteristics of a shell-and-tube LHTS unit with the PCM on the
shell side and the HTF circulating inside the tube. Esen et al. [17] developed a theoretical model for
predicting the heat transfer between the HTF and the PCM of solar-aided cylindrical latent heat storage
tanks. Considering two different shell-and-tube configurations where the PCM is packed in the tube
and the HTF flows parallel to it in the shell and vice versa, it was concluded that the latent heat storage
tank where the PCM is packed in the shell while the HTF flows through the tube stores much more
solar energy in a given time as compared to the configuration where the PCM is packed in the tube
and the HTF flows parallel to it.
Yanadori and Masuda [18] investigated the thermal performance of a shell-and-tube type heat
recovery system using calcium chloride hexahydrate as the PCM. They analyzed the pattern of
increase in the crystal volume and crystal thickness of PCM with time. Choi et al. [19] determined
the heat recovery rate in the shell-and-tube type heat storage container. The variation of crystallized
thickness with time for different mass flow rates and different fluid inlet temperature was analyzed.
They concluded that the effect of change in fluid inlet temperature is more significant than the change
in mass flow rate of HTF on heat recovery rates.
Sari and Kaygusuz [2022] studied thermal performance and heat transfer characteristics of
the stearic acid, palmitic acid, and technical grade paraffin wax filled in a shell-and-tube type thermal
energy storage system. The effects of fluid flow rate and inlet temperature on temperature distribution
of the PCM with time was established. The heat flow rate and heat fraction during melting and
solidification process was obtained. Further, they carried out an experimental investigation for thermal
performance of a eutectic mixture of lauric and stearic acid [22]. They also analyzed the effect of
Reynolds and Stefan numbers on phase transition behaviors, heat transfer coefficient, and heat fraction
during melting and solidification process. Trp et al. [23] analyzed the thermal behavior of paraffin
encapsulated in a shell-and-tube type heat exchanger. The influence of the Reynolds number and
temperature drop between fluid inlet and melting temperature on the heat transfer rate was established.
The data were used for validating their proposed numerical model. Akgun et al. [24] conducted an
experimental study of the melting/solidification process of paraffin filled in the tube in a tube heat
exchanger. The outer surface of the shell was tilted at an angle of 5. Ezan et al. [25] a carried out a
series of experiments on shell-and-tube type latent heat energy storage unit using water as a PCM.
The effect of different inlet temperature and flow rate of HTF, as well as the tube material and the
shell diameter, is investigated on the charging and discharging period of water.
Recently, Rathod and Banerjee [26] reported an experimental investigation for evaluation of
thermal performance of a shell-and-tube type LHTS unit with paraffin wax as the PCM. Paraffin wax
has a melting temperature of 60 C. The effect of mass flow rate and fluid inlet temperature on thermal
performance of a shell-and-tube type LHTS unit was established. The mass flow rates are adjusted
2

such that the influence of laminar as well as turbulent regime of the flow could be established. It was
concluded that the thermal performance of an LHTS unit will be strongly influenced by the motion
of the phase transition interface. Due to this phase transformation, the temperature distribution in the
PCM is nonlinear.
From the detailed survey of relevant literature, it has been observed that there are very few
articles available in the literature which deal with detailed analysis of the thermo-physics associated
with the nonlinear temperature distribution in the PCM. Thus, the objective of the present experimental analysis is to establish the temperature variation with time in the PCM along the axial and radial
direction during melting and solidification process. The effect of different mass flow rates and fluid
inlet temperatures on melting time is also analyzed. In order to obtain a dimensionless time constant
for total melting of PCM, a correlation is proposed in terms of the Stefan number and Reynolds
number. The shape and dimensions of the storage unit used in the present experiment is reported in
the earlier work by Rathod and Banerjee [26].
Nomenclature
Cp
k
l
L
mf
r
R
Re
ri
Ste
t
t*
Tf,in
Tm
TPCM

specific heat of the PCM, J/kg K

thermal conductivity of solid PCM, W/mK
length of the test unit, m
latent heat of fusion, J/kg
mass flow rate of HTF, kg/min
radius of solid PCM, m
hydraulic radius of the test tube, m
Reynolds number
radius of HTF pipe, m
Stefan number, Ste = [Cp(Tf,in Tm)] / L
total melting time, s
dimensionless melting time, t = t / R2
fluid inlet temperature, C
melting temperature, C
average PCM temperature, C
thermal diffusivity, m2/s
2. Experimental Setup

A schematic diagram of the experimental setup is shown in Fig. 1. The test section consists
of two concentric tubes. The outer tube is thermally well insulated with cerawool. The dimensions of
the tubes are given in Table 1.
Water is used as the heat transfer fluid (HTF) and it is circulated through the inner tube. The
space between the inner and outer tube is filled with paraffin wax as PCM. The thermo-physical
properties of paraffin wax are shown in Table 2. The hot water will exchange its energy to PCM. The
PCM melts and thus energy is stored as heat. After complete melting of the PCM, the discharging
process starts. During this discharging process, the cold water from the constant cold bath is circulated
through the tube. The PCM starts to solidify and release the energy to the cold water as heat.
3

Fig. 1. Experimental setup for latent heat

storage unit. [Color figure can be viewed in
the online issue, which is available at
wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/htj.]

Fig. 2. Locations of thermocouples in the test

unit [22].

2.1 Temperature measurement system

Temperature distribution in the PCM is measured using 39 K-type temperature probes in the
annular space between the shell and the tube. To facilitate temperature measurement of PCM in a
radial direction, i.e., near the HTF pipe (1 mm), at the center (24 mm), and near the outer shell (46
mm), three temperature probes are embedded at the same point. Three similar temperature probes are
also installed at 120 degrees of angular interval in the same radial plane. These nine probes are installed
at four different axial planes (A, B, C, and D) at equal axial distances, as shown in Fig. 2. At the
bottom of the test unit, three temperature probes are installed at plane E. Two more thermocouples
are used to measure the inlet and outlet temperature of HTF. All temperature probes, which are K
(CR/AL) SIMPLEX, ungrounded, are calibrated according to the ANSI MC 96.1 Type K immersion
probe temperature sensor.
An intelligent microprocessor-based scanner with an RS485/RS232 converter is used for the
data acquisition. In order to measure the temperature, three scanners of 16 channels are installed.
Computer software is used to pick and plot the output of sensors with time. When the steady-state
conditions are observed, the scanning and the recording process is terminated and then the data are
converted into a Microsoft Excel format.

Table 1. Dimensions of Inner and Outer Tubes

Table 2. Thermo-physical Properties of Paraffin Wax

3. Results and Discussion

Experimental results are not acceptable without describing the uncertainties associated with
the measurements. In the present work, uncertainty in the evaluation of heat transfer rate is calculated
for different mass flow rates and fluid inlet temperatures using the Kline and McClintock method. In
the present experiments, the uncertainty in measurement of temperature, mass flow rate, and linear
dimension are 0.01 C, 0.05 kg/min, and 1 mm, respectively. With these values, the minimum
and maximum uncertainty in heat transfer rate is 2% and 8%, respectively. In-situ calibration of the
system is also carried out to ascertain the proper installation of the temperature probes. The
leak-proofness of the system and the thermal adequacy of insulation are ensured before carrying out
the actual runs on the LHTS unit. Temperature measurements are carried out at different mass flow
rates of water ranging from 1 kg/min to 5 kg/min for the same fluid inlet temperature. The fluid inlet
temperature is varied between 75 C to 85 C in steps of five (75 C, 80 C, and 85 C). The thermal
performance of the shell-and-tube-type LHTS unit is established by analyzing the temperature
distribution of paraffin for different values of mass flow rate of HTF and different values of fluid inlet
temperature of HTF.
3.1 Melting curve
During the melting process, hot HTF passes through the HTF pipe. Initially, due to the
temperature gradient, sensible heat is transferred through conduction mode of heat transfer from the
HTF to solid PCM. The temperature of the solid PCM starts to increase and reaches the onset
temperature of melting for the PCM. Melting of the PCM is initiated afterwards till the steady-state
condition is reached.
Figure 3 shows temperature variation of PCM with time near the HTF pipe along the axial
direction (at 1-mm radial distance from tube wall). Figure 4 shows temperature variation of PCM with
time along the axial direction in the middle of the annulus containing the PCM (at 24-mm radial
distance from tube wall). The temperature variations of the PCM shown in these figures are for an
inlet heat transfer fluid (HTF) temperature of 85 C and HTF (water) mass flow rate of 5 kg/min
during the melting process. From Fig. 3, it is observed that the temperature of PCM near the HTF
pipe increases initially. This is due to the higher temperature gradient between HTF and solid PCM.
It is also noted that the temperature of PCM at the bottom of the test unit along the axial direction
(sections C and D) is higher than that at the top of the test unit (sections A and B). However, this is
only observed during the time when heat transfer takes place in the non-melted PCM region (solid
PCM). The temperature of PCM at the top increases only after 1 h even though the temperature of
PCM near the HTF pipe at the bottom of the test unit is higher and hot HTF passes from the bottom
of the test unit to the top. This observation may be attributed to the following fact. When it melts,
5

Fig. 3. Variation of PCM temperature with

time at axial planes A, B, C, and D at 1 mm
away from the HTF pipe.

Fig. 4. Variation of PCM temperature with

time at axial planes A, B, C, and D at center,
24 mm away from the HTF pipe.

motion of hot molten PCM takes place because of the buoyancy forces induced by density gradient
in the melt. Additional heat transfer is also expected to take place between the PCM and hot air at the
top in the test unit. Due to volume change during melting and solidification process, a space is provided
at the top of the test unit. After 1 h, this space filled with air is sufficiently heated and may melt the
PCM at the top section. Thus, due to the cumulative effect of natural convection of molten PCM and
hot air at the top, a sharp increase of temperature at section A (top of test unit) is observed. The PCM
at the bottom of the test unit is observed to reach near the onset temperature of phase transition of
PCM at the same point of time. Thus, it can be said that the melting starts from the top due to natural
convection and from the bottom of the test unit due to the conduction mode of heat transfer. From
Fig. 3, it is also observed that the temperature at the top increases very rapidly as compared to the
temperature at the bottom. This is because the effect of heat transfer due to natural convection is more
than that due to conduction.
An interesting fact can be observed from Fig. 3. After 1.5 h, the temperature at section A is
observed to remain almost constant for about half an hour. The possible reason for this is explained
in subsequent discussion. During the starting of melting, two kinds of energy transfer rates may be
visualized. First is the energy being absorbed by the PCM from the HTF. The second is the energy
being transferred in the form of heat from the hot PCM to the adjacent layer of cold PCM due to
temperature gradients. Thus, energy balance at a particular point in the molten PCM is equal to energy
absorbed during melting plus energy transferred away from that point. Depending on the rates of these
two energy transfers, the temperature of that point may remain constant or increase. If there is no heat
transfer to the adjacent layer from the point, then the temperature of the melted PCM will increase.
If there is a higher heat transfer away from that point, the temperature of the melted PCM may remain
constant even after melting is completed [23, 24].
A constant temperature line observed after 1.5 h near the HTF pipe at section A (Fig. 3)
indicates that during this hour heat transfer away from that point (i.e., adjacent layer of the solid PCM)
6

is more. This can be justified by examining Fig. 4. After 1.5 h, the temperature at the middle of the
PCM at section A is observed to increase significantly (during 1.5 to 2 h). Similar observations are
also made for all the sections. For section B, during 2.4 to 3.5 h, the temperature of the PCM at the
middle vertical plane of the test unit is observed to increase. This is associated with a constant
temperature line observed near the HTF pipe (i.e., in Fig. 3) during the same time period. Similar
behavior is observed at sections C and D during 3.5 to 4.2 h and 5 to 6 h, respectively. It is also
observed from Fig. 4 that temperature distribution of the PCM at section E is constant after it reaches
its melting point. This constant temperature line is observed until 7 h in Fig. 4. Afterwards the
temperature of the PCM at section E increases rapidly and reaches a steady state. Similar observations
are also noted for the different mass flow rates and inlet temperatures of the HTF.
In order to have a better understanding of the melting characteristic of the PCM, the axial
variation of the temperature of PCM at the middle of the test unit with the time is shown in Fig. 5.
Initially the temperature of PCM is the same in each section along the test unit. After 1.5 h, it is found
that the temperature at the bottom reaches almost 58 C while the temperature at the top is about 45
C. It is observed that the temperature at the top rises rapidly to 74 C (within 30 min). The reason
for such rapid rise in temperature is explained below.
A thin layer of molten PCM is formed between tube wall and the softened PCM after 2 h (see
Fig. 3). The motion of hot molten PCM is initiated due to buoyancy forces induced by the density
gradient. As a result of this natural convection, the PCM at the top reaches the melting temperature
in a shorter time as compared to the PCM at the lower section of the test unit (Figs. 35). Hence it
can be argued from the present experimental results that the melting front moves from top to bottom
along the axial direction of the PCM. Similar results are reported by other investigators [17, 2022,
2729].
In the present experiment, a relatively large aspect ratio (ratio of length to diameter of test
unit) is chosen in order to create one-dimensional heat flow. However, it is noted that even though
the aspect ratio is sufficiently large, the melting process occurs in two dimensions (axial as well as

Fig. 5. Axial temperature variation of PCM with time during the melting process, time (left to
right) = 0, 1, 1.5, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8 h.
7

Fig. 6. Radial temperature variation of PCM with time during melting process.
radial). Figure 6 demonstrates the temperature variation of the PCM with time along the radial
direction at different heights of the test unit (at sections A, B, C, and D). The radial distances shown
in Fig. 6 are from the point near the HTF pipe to a point near the outer shell.
As it can be seen from Fig. 6, the melting time of the PCM from the HTF pipe (1 mm from
HTF pipe) to midsection of the annulus (24 mm from HTF pipe) is more than that from this section
to the outermost location (48 mm from HTF pipe). Similar behavior is also reported by several
researchers [17, 2022, 29]. The reason for such behavior can be explained as follows. Initially, the
heat transfer from the HTF pipe to solid PCM is by conduction. As the time proceeds, the PCM starts
to melt. A thin layer of molten PCM is formed between the HTF pipe and the solid PCM and heat
transfer by natural convection is initiated. As the gap is initially small, the heat transfer in such an
enclosure is dominated by conduction [30]. Thus a longer time is required to melt PCM from near
the HTF pipe to the PCM at the middle. As the gap increases with more molten PCM, the natural
convection effects become dominant which enhances the heat transfer and reduces the melting time.
8

It can also be seen from Fig. 6 that the melting process is faster at the upper section than at
the lower section of the test unit. Hence it is said that the melting front does not move with the same
radial speed along the axial direction of the test unit. In other words, the melting front is not cylindrical
in shape. The hot molten PCM at the top transfers the energy in the form of heat radially outward.
The melting front may be visualized to move in conical shape. Hence, the melting front moves from
the HTF pipe to the outer shell in the radial direction as it proceeds from the top of the test section to
the bottom along the axial direction in the PCM.
3.2 Solidification curve
After the charging process is completed, the discharging process is started immediately by
passing cold HTF. During the discharging or solidification process, the PCM in the annulus is in liquid
phases. As the cold HTF passes though the HTF pipe, melted PCM is starting to solidify and release
the heat. Hence the temperature of the HTF is increased at the outlet of the test section.
Figure 7 shows the temperature variation of the PCM at the middle of the test unit with time
during solidification. From Fig. 7, it is observed that the temperature of the PCM is reduced rapidly
near the HTF pipe until it reaches an onset solidification temperature of the PCM (about 60 C). This
process is observed to happen within a short duration of time because of the large initial temperature
gradient between HTF and PCM near the tube. During the phase transition range, the PCM starts to
solidify. During solidification of the PCM, the energy is released. Moreover, the heat transfers slowly
outward. This prevents any sharp temperature drop in the PCM. Hence a slight upward curvature is
observed during phase transition. The temperature is reduced rapidly once all the PCM has solidified.
The results obtained during the solidification process of the PCM agree with the results obtained by
many researchers [17, 2022, 2729]. However, they worked on a different shape and size of the
latent heat storage unit with different PCMs.
Further, from Fig. 7, very little variation in temperature of the PCM is noted at different heights
of the test unit until the PCM completely solidifies. Then, a faster solidification at the upper section

Fig. 7. Temperature variation of PCM at the middle with time during solidification.
9

Fig. 8. Axial temperature variation of PCM with time during solidification process.
of the test unit, i.e., at section A, is observed. This may be due to the additional heat losses from the
top of the PCM to the air gap at the top.
The above discussion on the solidification process along the axial direction of the test unit is
also being reproduced from Fig. 8. It is observed from Fig. 8 that the change in the temperature of the
PCM is not much more significant at all the sections within 3 h. However, the temperature is reduced
rapidly at the bottom of the test unit. It takes less time to solidify. This is because of the cold HTF
passed through the bottom of the test section. Hence more sensible heat is released by the PCM due
to the large temperature drop. After 5 h, the temperature of the PCM at the top is slightly reduced.
The temperature of the PCM at sections B, C, and D does not deviate much throughout the process.
As very little temperature drop is observed along the axial location of the test unit, one can say that
the solidification front moves only in the radial direction. However, this is not true for the melting
process. Due to the natural convection in the molten PCM, the change in the temperature of PCM
along an axial direction is significant during melting. Such convection is profound in the melting
process and insignificant in the solidification process. The conduction mode of heat transfer is
substantial for the solidification process.
As the solidification front moves outward, the rate of heat transfer is slowed down. This is
because as a front moves towards the outer shell, the thermal conduction resistance is increased. This
conduction resistance depends on the radius of the freezing front along the radial direction. The
thermal conduction resistance is given by the following equation:
r
ln
ri

Rth =
2lk

(1)

where r is the radius of the solid PCM (the locus of the freezing front); ri represents the radius of HTF
pipe; l is the length of the test unit; and k is the thermal conductivity of the solid PCM. Hence the
10

solidification rate is higher near the HTF pipe. As the freezing front radius increases, the heat transfer
rate is reduced due to increased thermal conduction resistance. The slow rate of heat transfer gives
ample time for slow solidification.
3.3 Effect of mass flow and inlet temperature of water

Figure 9 shows the temperature variation of the PCM at section D of the test unit for different
mass flow rates of water, i.e., 1 kg/min, 2 kg/min, 3 kg/min, and 4 kg/min, and a fluid inlet temperature
of 85 C. The change in mass flow rates is corresponding to changes in the Reynolds number from
1709 to 6835. It can be seen in Fig. 9 that time taken for the steady-state condition is longer for the
mass flow rate of 1 kg/min than for the remaining flow rates during the melting process. It is also
noted that the time required is also reduced with an increased mass flow rate. This is due to the fact
that as the mass flow rate increases, the flow becomes turbulent which enhances the heat transfer rate.
Thus the higher heat transfer rate decreases the total melting time. However, the melting time has
decreased only about 19% by increasing the mass flow rate by an order of four.
The inlet temperature of the HTF is very crucial in initiating the charging/discharging process.
The inlet temperature of the HTF depends on the heat source during the heat storage and on the
surroundings during heat recovery. Figure 10 shows the effect of fluid inlet temperature on total
melting time at section D of the test unit with the mass flow rate of 5 kg/min. The total melting time
is drastically reduced due to an increase of only 5 C in the fluid inlet temperature. It is seen from the
figure that the total melting time reduces approximately by 44% when the fluid inlet temperature is
increased from 75 C to 85 C. This is due to the fact that with an increasing HTF inlet temperature,
the driving force, i.e., temperature difference between the HTF and PCM, is increased. This will
increase the convection heat transfer from the HTF to the HTF wall. This higher heat transfer to the
HTF wall will also increase heat transfer rates from the HTF wall to the PCM due to the convection
heat transfer in the molten PCM.

Fig. 10. Effect of different fluid inlet

temperature on temperature of PCM with time.

Fig. 9. Effect of different mass flow rates on

temperature of PCM with time.
11

4. Correlation for Total Melting Time

The heat transfer in a phase change material is a complex phenomenon as it is a moving
boundary problem. It is observed from the present study that the solidliquid interface is continuously
moved with time. Due to the inherent temperature nonlinearity at the interface, analytical solutions
are relatively few. The analytical solutions do exist for simple geometry and for simplified boundary
conditions. An analytical solution for total melting time was developed by Solomon [30], Riley et al.
[31], and Voller and Cross [32] considering a constant wall boundary condition. Hasan [27, 28]
proposed correlations based on his experimentation for a horizontal and vertical cylindrical system.
The total melting time was estimated as the time elapsed between the phase change temperature range by the above-mentioned authors. The phase change temperature range is the temperature
range between the onset of transition and the completion of transition. However, this definition of
melting time does not account for the time taken to heat the PCM from its initial state to the onset
temperature of PCM (sensible heat component). Further, in the present study, the temperature of PCM
is observed to be different at different locations at any instant of time. This is because the solidliquid
interface moves from the top to bottom of the test unit along the radial direction with time. Thus,
according to the above definition of total melting time (the time elapsed between the phase change
temperatures range) will be different at any vertical location in the test section. In order to avoid these
difficulties, the average of value of temperature (among all locations) at any instant of time, TPCM, is
evaluated. Accordingly in the present study, the definition of total melting time is modified as the
time taken by the PCM to reach from initial temperature to the average melting temperature. The
analytical solutions are expressed in terms of dimensionless groups. The dimensionless melting time
t* is defined by Eq. (2).
t =

t
R2

(2)

where is the thermal diffusivity, t is the total melting time, and R is the hydraulic radius of the test
tube. Further, total melting time can be expressed as a function of HTF inlet temperature and mass
flow rate of HTF. The dimensionless number of HTF inlet temperature is the Stefan number which
is defined by Eq. (3).
Ste =

Cp(Tf,in Tm)
L

(3)

where Cp is the specific heat of the PCM, Tf,in is the fluid inlet temperature, Tm is the phase change
temperature, and L is the latent heat of fusion.
In order to correlate a dimensionless time constant for total melting of PCM with the Stefan
number and the Reynolds number, multiple regression analysis is carried out. The proposed correlation for a dimensionless time constant for total melting of PCM as a function of the Reynolds number
and the Stefan number is shown below.
t* = 0.515 Ste1.24 Re0.133
12

(4)

The above correlation is only valid for the turbulent flow of the HTF. The above correlation
is useful to predict the total melting time for a given mass flow rate of HTF and fluid inlet temperature.
When designing a LHTS unit, the total melting time is specified. If it is so, then for a given type of
PCM where thermal diffusivity, specific heat, and latent heat are specified, the radius of the cylindrical
shell and the temperature difference can be optimized.
5. Conclusions
An experimental investigation on an LHTS unit filled with paraffin wax as a PCM is carried
out in order to establish thermal performance of an LHTS unit. A critical evaluation of the PCM
temperature profile with time is carried out. The melting front moves from the outer wall of the HTF
tube to the inner wall of the PCM shell in the radial direction as it proceeds from the upper portion
of the test unit to the lower portion along the axial direction in the PCM. As very little temperature
drop is observed along the axial location of the test unit, one can say that the solidification front moves
only in the radial direction. The effect of various mass flow rates and fluid inlet temperature of HTF
on the total melting time required is also examined. Total melting time of PCM increases as mass
flow rate and inlet temperature of the HTF decreases. The melting time has decreased only about 19%
by increasing the mass flow rate by an order of four. However, the total melting time reduces by
approximately 44% when the fluid inlet temperature is increased from 75 C to 85 C. In order to
predict the dimensionless total melting time for a given mass flow rate of HTF and fluid inlet
temperature, a correlation is proposed as a function of the Reynolds number and the Stefan number.
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