NUMERICAL ANALYSIS ON THERMAL ENERGY STORAGE TANK FILLED WITH PHASE CHANGE MATERIAL

The use of a thermal energy storage system with phase change materials (PCMs) is an efficient way of energy storage. PCMs are generally used in thermal energy storage systems for heat pumps, solar systems, spacecraft thermal applications etc. The purpose of this study is to identify effect of geometrical changes on the melting process of PCM. Computational fluid dynamic (CFD) is used to analyze phase change process. Thermal energy storage tank consists of a vertical tube in tube geometry where outer tube consist phase change material and inner pipe carrying hot fluid. Paraffin is used as latent heat storage material. Further, the paper describes the effect of inlet temperature of heat transfer fluid on the phase change process. Result shows that charging time is 2.56% less required for conical shaped storage system rather cylindrical shaped system https://journalnx.com/journal-article/2015054