Effect of orientation and heat input on behavior of solid-liquid interface boundary of phase change material in latent heat thermal energy storage container

Abstract

The present study reports deals with experimental and numerical thermal analysis of solid - liquid (S-L) interface in order to characterize phase change material (PCM) used for energy storage of latent heat thermal energy system (LHTES). The two major aspects of the present work, both important in the field of LHTES, are to investigate the influence of the orientation of LHTES container and variable heat input. The experiments were carried out in a cylindrical chamber filled with paraffin wax. Camera recorded image of S-L interface is used to analyze the S-L interface position with respect to time during melting. Results will provide behavior of paraffin wax associated with the phase change process of PCM. Investigating the results leads to formulation of non-linear melting rate and a wavy structure with non-uniform profile of S-L interface boundary. The result shows evolution of convective motion being dominant and even responsible to generate this non- uniform shape of S-L interface.