Energy Conversion and Management 73 (2013) 271–277

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Energy Conversion and Management

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/enconman

Experimental study of thermal energy storage characteristics

of a paraffin in a horizontal tube-in-shell storage unit
Mete Avci ⇑, M. Yusuf Yazici
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Karadeniz Technical University, 61080 Trabzon, Turkey

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: In this study, the latent heat thermal energy storage system of the horizontal shell-and-tube type is
Received 8 February 2013 experimentally analyzed. Paraffin is used as the phase change material (PCM) while the distilled water
Accepted 28 April 2013 is used as the HTF. At first, the thermo-physical properties of the paraffin used are determined through
Available online 28 May 2013
the differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) analysis. Experiments are conducted to investigate not only
the storage behavior (melting or charging) but also the removal one (solidification or discharging) of
Keywords: the PCM. Effect of the inlet temperature on the melting (for the charging) and solidification (for the dis-
Thermal energy storage
charging) time is determined. The focus is on the understanding the physics of the process based on the
PCM
Paraffin
temporal variation of temperature field inside PCM.
Melting Ó 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Solidification
Experimental

1. Introduction et al. [9], Farid et al. [10], Sharma and Sagara [11], Felix
Regin et al. [12], Jegadheeswaran and Pohekar Sanjay [13],
Energy is keeping its important place in the world’s agenda be- Agyenim et al. [14].
cause of fast depletion of conventional energy sources and ever Paraffin is an advantageous phase change material since it is
increasing demand. Storing available energy has become very cru- readily available from many manufacturers and comparatively less
cial as well as using it efficiently and finding new renewable en- expensive than some salt hydrates. Recently, several works have
ergy sources. been carried out in order to study the thermal characteristics of
The increasing discrepancy between energy supply and de- paraffin during solidification and melting processes [11–26]. These
mand, which is very specific for solar energy, can be overcome studies show that commercial-grade paraffin wax and other pure
using a proper energy storage system. There are three main meth- paraffin have stable properties after 1000–2000 cycles.
ods for storing the thermal energy: sensible, latent and thermo- Various configurations have been suggested for PCM storage.
chemical. The latent thermal energy storage employing phase The tube-in-shell PCM storage geometries are very common, in
change material (PCM) is the most effective way due to its advan- which the PCM is kept in the concentric annular space while the
tages of high energy storage density and its isothermal operating heat transfer fluid flows through the inner tube. Many studies,
characteristics during melting (charging) and solidification (dis- mostly experimental and numerical, have been conducted on this
charging) processes. In a latent heat storage system, energy is geometry. Studies on the horizontal tube-in-shell storage geome-
stored during melting and recovered during solidification of a tries are scarce when compared to those for vertical ones (e.g.
PCM [1]. Trp [24], Jesumathy et al. [25], Sarı and Kaygusuz [27], Liu et al.
Latent heat thermal energy storage has been receiving a great [28,29], Akgun et al. [30–32], Shmueli et al. [33]).
deal of research attention. The research focus has generally been Bathelt and Viskanta [34] conducted an extensive experimental
on the investigation of the overall thermal behavior and perfor- study to investigate the heat transfer during melting from a hori-
mance of various latent heat thermal energy storage systems. In zontal cylindrical heat source with a uniform surface heat flux
order to have a better view on the studies existing in the literature, and surface temperature in embedded n-paraffins. They reported
we refer readers to see the excellent reference books by Lane [2], that melting behavior in the upper half of the annulus is much
Garg et al. [3], and Dincer and Rosen [4] and the review articles more enhanced than that in the lower half because of the ascend-
by Abhat [5], Hasnain [6], Faith [7], Zalba et al. [8], Ettouney ing melt flow due to the natural convection. They also proposed a
correlation for the solid–liquid interface position. Cao and Faghri
[35] numerically studied performance of a horizontal thermal
⇑ Corresponding author. Tel.: +90 (462) 377 2960; fax: +90 (462) 377 3336. energy module. In a similar numerical study, Cao et al. [36] latent
E-mail address: [email protected] (M. Avci). heat thermal energy storage system with both annular and

0196-8904/$ - see front matter Ó 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2013.04.030
272 M. Avci, M.Y. Yazici / Energy Conversion and Management 73 (2013) 271–277

Table 1
Thermo-physical properties of the paraffin used in the study [32].

Phase change temperature (°C) 58.06

Phase change temperature range (°C) 56–58
Latent heat (kJ/kg) 250
Density (kg/m3) 800 (solid)
Specific heat (kJ/kg °C) 1.84 (solid), 2.37 (liquid)

48.86 oC
Heat Flow (W/g)

-1 Fig. 4. Photograph of the thermocouple rake probe.

39.21 oC
-2

-3
58.06 oC

-4

-5
30 40 50 60 70
Temperature ( o C)

Fig. 1. Results of the DSC analysis for P56-58.

Fig. 5. The points of the temperature measurements inside the PCM.

countercurrent flows. Zhang and Faghri [37] obtained a semi-ana-

lytical solution for the melting behavior of PCM loaded in a hori-
zontal tube-in-shell system. Seeniraj et al. [38,39] numerically
studied performance of a latent heat energy storage system with
both finned-tube and multiple PCM employing the enthalpy meth-
od. Balikowski and Mollendorf [40] experimentally compared two
PCMs in smooth-piped and spined heat exchangers for various
charging/discharging and flow conditions. Dutta et al. [41] studied
melting of paraffin wax in a horizontal annulus both experimen-
tally and numerically. Ezan et al. [42] investigated energetic and
Fig. 2. Schematic view of the experimental facility. exergetic performances of horizontal latent energy storage systems

Fig. 3. Construction details of the test module.

 M. Avci, M.Y. Yazici / Energy Conversion and Management 73 (2013) 271–277 273

Fig. 6. Transient temperatures during melting at some radial points.

both for charging and discharging processes. Ismail and Lino [43] for studying the effect of the inlet temperature of HTF. As the focus
experimentally studied enhancement of the melting process of the present study, a special attention is paid to understand the
through the usage of fins and turbulence promoters in a horizontal physics of the melting and solidification characteristics based on
tube-in-shell storage system. Hosseini et al. [44] experimentally time-histories of temperature field inside the PCM, which will be
studied the role of buoyancy effects on the melting of a PCM in a base for better performances or designs.
the horizontal tube-in-shell storage unit.
The aim of the present study is to experimentally investigate 2. Experimental study
melting/solidification characteristics of paraffin in horizontal
tube-in-shell storage geometry. The storage geometry is the annu- 2.1. Heat storage material
lar space (where PCM is loaded) between a tube in which the HTF
(water) is flowing and a shell (a tube-in-shell heat exchanger sys- In the present study, paraffin of P56-58 is used as PCM, which is
tem). Both charging and discharging experiments are conducted supplied from the MERCK. Paraffin is known to be an attractive,
274 M. Avci, M.Y. Yazici / Energy Conversion and Management 73 (2013) 271–277

temperature of the PCM. After the charging process, the above cy-
cles are repeated and the stored energy is extracted by passing the
cold water (discharging process).
The construction details of the test module are shown in Fig. 3.
It consists of a copper tube with an outer diameter of 28 mm sur-
rounded by a coaxial shell with an inner diameter of 110 mm
which formed an annular gap around the tube (tube-in-shell).
The shell is made of polypropylene (k = 0.1 W/m K) with a thick-
ness of 7 mm in order to minimize the heat conduction along the
test module. The PCM’s quantity filled in the test module is
3.3 kg. An air gap (15% of the total volume) is left at the top of
the module to accommodate the volume increase of the PCM dur-
ing melting process.
The temperature field of the PCM is measured by using five
identical thermocouple rake probes. Each probe includes four
0.1 mm outer diameter T-type thermocouples spaced at 10 mm
apart (Fig. 4). For installing the temperature probes in the module,
five holes spaced at 45° apart are drilled around the shell. The axial
Fig. 7. Transient temperatures during melting at the second radial measurement distance among these holes is kept 50 mm in order to avoid the
stations (T12, T22, T32, T42, and T52). blockage effect (Fig. 3). In addition to PCM temperature field, the
outer surface temperature of the copper tube at the same axial
locations (Tc1 Tc5), HTF temperatures at the inlet (Ti) and the out-
let of the test module (To) and at the exit of the rotameter (Tro) are
measured (see Fig. 2). The detailed view of the thermocouple loca-
tions is shown in Fig. 4. All the thermocouples having a measuring
range of 10 to 100 °C with an accuracy of ±0.2 °C have been cal-
ibrated. All the thermocouples are read in a 40-channel data logger
system capable of storing up to 120 data records per minute
(Keithley 2701). In experiments, it stored the entire temperature
set once every minute. The volumetric flow rate of the HTF is
controlled by changing the gate opening of the valve at the down-
stream of the rotameter.
All the experiments were carried out in a conditioned room,
where the ambient temperature is 30 °C. The experiments were re-
peated at least three times with similar results. All the transient
temperatures recorded were found to be repeatable within ±2%.
To prevent any heat loss to the surrounding, the entire system is
covered using 38.1 mm thick fiberglass insulation with an alumi-
nized outer surface, having an average thermal conductivity of
Fig. 8. Effect of the inlet temperature on the total melting time. 0.038 W/m K.

chemically stable and non-toxic material without regular degrada- 3. Experimental results and discussion
tion and it has high latent heat storage capacities over a narrow
temperature range. The thermo-physical properties of the paraffin Experiments have been conducted to determine the charging
used in the study are given in Table 1. Fig. 1 shows results of the and discharging behaviors of the PCM unit. The experiments are
DSC analysis. performed for various inlet temperatures of the HTF, water. For
the charging experiments, three different values for the inlet tem-
perature of the water have been tested, which is set above the
2.2. Experimental apparatus and procedure
melting temperature of the paraffin under consideration: Ti = 75,
80 and 85 °C. Here, it should be noted again that experiments both
The schematic of the experimental facility used in this investi-
for the charging and discharging are run at a constant value of the
gation is shown in Fig. 2. It consists of two main loops, namely,
mass flow rate, which is 280 kg/h. Following the charging experi-
the primary and the secondary loops. The primary loop includes
ments, discharging experiments are started, which are carried
a constant temperature bath, a rotameter, a horizontal test module
out for the same mass flow rate at Ti = 20, 25 and 30 °C. In the fol-
(PCM storage container) and a data acquisition unit with connect-
lowing, the results for the charging and discharging experiments
ing pipes. The constant temperature bath (LABO DX-300) control-
are given separately.
ling the inlet temperature of the heat transfer fluid (HTF) has a
temperature range of 20/+100 °C with accuracy of ±0.03 °C and
delivers up to 700 l/h of water. Distilled water is used as the heat 3.1. Melting process
transfer fluid. Coming from the constant temperature bath, the
HTF is firstly circulated through the secondary loop in order to At first, temporal variation of temperature at different radial
adjust its desired inlet temperature before entering the test mod- points given in Fig. 5 are obtained for all the inlet temperature val-
ule. Then, the HTF is led to flow through primary loop and the ues considered. For the brevity, only the results for Ti = 80 °C is de-
charging process in the test module is started. This process is picted in Fig. 6, which represents a typical transient behavior. As
assumed to end when all the temperature recordings in the test seen, melting starts peripherally near the wall of the HTF tube.
module (PCM container) present higher values than the melting Then it extends to the radially outwards. Just after the initiation
 M. Avci, M.Y. Yazici / Energy Conversion and Management 73 (2013) 271–277 275

Fig. 9. Transient temperatures during solidification at some radial points.

of the charging process, all the points close to the surface of the in the lower region. This is much clearer from temporal radial dis-
HTF tube reaches to the melting temperature, i.e. the PCM in the tribution given in Fig. 7 for a very close radial position to the HTF
region close to the HTF tube wall immediately melts, as result of tube wall (the second radial measurement positions where the
conduction. It is mainly due to the higher HTF-PCM temperature thermocouples are inserted). This figure clearly illustrates evolu-
difference at the vicinity of the tube wall that makes the PCM near tion of temperature at the radial points located radially equal dis-
the walls to melt faster. However, melting behavior dramatically tance to the HTF tube wall. The radial temperature of the PCM at
differs for the points located in the upper region than those located the specified radial position gradually increases with time. As seen,
in the lower region. The molten PCM ascends to the top part of the initially, conduction is the dominant mechanism in the heat trans-
storage container as a result of natural convection currents. The fer (for t 6 30 min). Then, natural convection is on the scene, being
melt region extends radially upward. In result, the points in the more heavily effective in the upper part of the annular storage con-
upper region reach the melting temperatures earlier than those tainer (t > 30 min). The physical characteristics of the PCM during
276 M. Avci, M.Y. Yazici / Energy Conversion and Management 73 (2013) 271–277

Fig. 11. Effect of the inlet temperature on the total solidification time.

Fig. 10. Transient temperatures during solidification at the second radial measure- transfer. Then, conduction becomes the dominant mechanism
ment stations (T12, T22, T32, T42, and T52). solely in the heat transfer with lower convection effects when
compared to the charging or melting case. This can also be
explained by the fact the natural convection-affected circulation
the charging process were well explained by Aydın et al. [1]. Two
volume of the melted PCM gets smaller with an increase in time,
regions coexist during the charging processes, which are: the
through solidification outward the HTF tube. Similarly, decreasing
melted PCM region in the liquid phase and the non-melted PCM re-
the inlet temperature for the discharging process will speed up the
gion in the solid phase. In the solid region, the conduction inside
solidification process, as seen in Fig. 11.
the solid matrix of the PCM is responsible for the heat transfer pro-
cess inside and this region receives heat from the melted part by
convection. When the solid matrix of the PCM melts, convection 4. Conclusions
mechanism of the heat transfer drives the recirculation in the
melted the PCM, which is due to the buoyancy forces induced by In this experimental study, melting and solidification character-
the density gradients as a result of temperature differences. This istics of a paraffin have been investigated. A horizontal shell-in-
recirculation inside enhances mixing and heat transfer within the tube thermal energy storage unit has been considered. Melting
molten PCM, which can be explained by the fact that the points behavior has been found to dramatically differ for the points lo-
near the upper part reach to the melting temperatures in shorter cated in the upper region than those located in the lower region.
times than the lower points do. Note that the density of the molten The molten PCM ascends to the upper part of the storage unit as
PCM is lower than that in the PCM in the solid phase. At larger a result of natural convection currents. The melt region extends
operating times, the region of the molten PCM extends to cover lar- radially upward, which, in result, leads to radially asymmetric tem-
ger regions of the PCM container. perature field. In result, the points in the upper region reach the
As expected, increasing the inlet temperature will enhance melting temperatures earlier than those in the lower region. For
melting inside. In follows, with an increase in Ti, it will take shorter the solidification behavior, natural convection has been observed
times for all the points inside PCM to reach melting temperature, to be initially effective on the heat transfer, which has been then
which fact is shown in Fig. 8 for a specific point. suppressed by conduction. As expected, increasing (for the charg-
ing process) or decreasing (for the discharging process) of the
HTF inlet temperature is found to enhance phase change process
3.2. Solidification process inside the PCM (melting or solidification). The asymmetric behav-
ior observed may lead to new innovative designs.
Discharging or solidification process experiments are conducted
in the opposite direction of the charging experiment by passing the Acknowledgements
cold water through the system. Fig. 9 illustrates time variations of
the temperatures at different radial points represented in Fig. 5 for The authors greatly acknowledge the financial support of this
Ti = 25 °C. Initially, the PCM is in the liquid-phase at a temperature work by the Karadeniz Technical University Research Fund under
of 67 °C. Running the system for discharging process introduces Grant No. 2010.112.003.3.
abrupt changes in temperature due to larger temperature differ-
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