Paper
Solidification of PCM around Curved Tubes Including Natural Convection Effects
- Authors:
- K. A. R. Ismail; L. M. Sousa; F. A. M. Lino
- Abstract
- This paper presents the results of a numerical study on the solidification of PCM around a bent tube with a cooling fluid flow inside it. The proposed model is based on the two-dimensional energy and momentum equations. The Landau interface immobilization technique is used to immobilize the solid-liquid interface, while the finite volume method is used to numerically treat the equations, boundary, and initial conditions. The numerical predictions were validated against available experimental results, showing good agreement. Because of the circulatory flow in the bend region, the heat transfer coefficient on the external side is higher than that on the internal side of the bent tube. It was found that an increase of the wall temperature, an increase of the initial liquid PCM temperature, or an increase of the curvature radius would reduce the interface position and consequently reduce the solidified mass and decrease the interface velocity. This increases the time for complete solidification. These results can be useful in predicting ice formation over helical coils and curved tubes used in latent heat storage systems.
- Keywords
- PCM; Solidification; Curved Tubes; Interface Immobilization; Latent Heat Storage; Coiled Tubes
- StartPage
- 57
- EndPage
- 74
- Doi
- 10.5963/IJEE0503002