Phase Change Materials: From Fundamentals and Melting Process to Thermal Energy Storage System for Buildings Application

Abstract

This chapter is devoted to study the melting process of a phase change material into a triplex tube heat exchanger with finned copper tubes. The focus is on the heat transfer between a heating fluid (water) and phase change material to power a liquid-desiccant air conditioning system. Here, different topics related to fundamentals and applications of the phase change materials, and storage energy system with especial reference to a triplex tube heat exchanger are presented and discussed. Results of the temperature fields, liquid fraction, and velocity, as well as the energy history of the involved phases in the heating and melting processes are presented, compared with experimental data, and analyzed.