Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry (2020) 141:2511–2526

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-020-10175-2

Numerical simulation and parametric analysis of latent heat thermal

energy storage system
Manoj Kumar Soni1 · Nisha Tamar1 · Suvanjan Bhattacharyya1

Received: 5 February 2020 / Accepted: 6 August 2020 / Published online: 4 September 2020
© Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, Hungary 2020

Abstract
This paper presents the numerical analysis of the transient performance of the latent heat thermal energy storage unit estab-
lished on finite difference method. The storage unit consists of a shell and tube arrangement with phase change material
(PCM) filled in the shell space and the heat transfer fluid (HTF) flowing in the inner tube. The heat exchange between the
HTF, wall and PCM has been investigated by developing a 2-D fully implicit numerical model for the storage module and
solving the complete module as a conjugate problem using enthalpy transforming method. A comparative investigation of the
total melting time of the PCM has been performed based on natural convection in liquid PCM during the charging process.
The novelty of this paper lies in the fact it includes convection in PCM and this investigation includes a detailed parametric
study which can be used as a reference to design latent heat storage. The results indicate that natural convection accelerates
the melting process by a significant amount of time. In order to optimize the design of the thermal storage unit, parametric
study has been accompanied to analyze the influence of various HTF working conditions and geometric dimensions on the
total melting time of the PCM. Another important feature considered in this work is the influence of the inner wall of the
tube carrying the HTF on the entire melting time of the PCM. An error of around 7.2% is reported when inner wall of the
tube is ignored in the analysis.

Keywords  Natural convection · Enthalpy · Transforming method · Phase change material · Thermal energy storage · Latent
heat
List of symbols Re Reynolds number
a Thermal diffusivity ­(m2 s−1) St Stefan number
c Specific heat (J kg−1 K−1) T Temperature (K)
D Diameter of tube (m) t Time (s)
G Dimensionless acceleration due to gravity V Volume
h Convection heat transfer coefficient W Dimensionless velocity
H Volume enthalpy (J m−3) w Velocity m s−1
L Length of tube (m) X Dimensionless coordinate along axial direction
m Mass flow rate (kg s−1)
Greek symbols
P Dimensionless pressure
χ Dimensionless enthalpy
p Pressure (Pa)
⋋ Thermal conductivity (W mK−1)
Pr Prandtl number
Θ Dimensionless temperature
q Latent heat capacity (J kg−1)
ρ Density (kg m−3)
R Dimensionless coordinates along radial direction
Τ Dimensionless time
r Coordinate along radial direction (m)
μ Dynamic viscosity (Pa-s)
ϑ Kinematic viscosity ­(m2 s−1)
* Suvanjan Bhattacharyya ¥ Melt fraction
suvanjan.bhattacharyya@pilani.bits‑pilani.ac.in
1
Subscripts
Center for Renewable Energy and Environment Development
f HTF
(CREED), Department of Mechanical Engineering, Birla
Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, Pilani Campus, ii Internal radius of inner tube
Vidya Vihar, Pilani, Rajasthan 333 031, India io External radius of inner tube

13
Vol.:(0123456789)

2512
in Inlet
initp Initial of PCM
initf Initial of HTF
initw Initial of wall
l Liquid phase of PCM
m Melting
mmin Minimum melting
oi Internal radius of outer shell
oo External radius of outer shell
out Outlet
p PCM
R Dimensionless coordinate along radial direction
r Coordinate along radial direction
s Solid phase of PCM
w Wall
x Coordinate along axial direction
Introduction
Fossil fuel depletion and increasing environmental con-
cerns have resulted in a considerable shift of focus toward
non-conventional sources of energy which are renewable in
nature for meeting the energy demands of the present era
[1, 2]. In order to achieve the objective of green energy and
sustainable growth, solar power energy is reflected as one of
the most promising alternative as it has enormous potential
to meet the energy requirements of nation, but the only area
of concern is the irregular nature of solar power energy and
its availability period [1, 2]. Therefore, large-scale operation
of solar power energy requires the development of an effec-
tive thermal storage system that can store energy when it is
available and deliver it in times of need.
Phase change storages are largely used to take care of
fluctuations in energy supply to minimize the possibility
of energy crisis by reducing the inconsistency between the
supply and demand of energy. This improves the system per-
formance and makes it more reliable. Latent heat storages
are gaining more importance these days because of its high
volumetric energy density, high storage capacity and nearly
isothermal operation [1]. The latent heat of fusion of PCM
and energy storage density are higher in comparison with
the specific heat, and thus, phase change storages provide
a compact storage medium as compared to sensible storage
[2]. In the past few decades, many researchers have stud-
ied a wide range of phase change materials with different
properties such as organics (paraffinic and non-paraffinic),
inorganics (hydrated salts) and salt eutectics. Encapsulations
of PCMs provide higher surface area for thermal transport,
volume control due to phase change and reduction in sen-
sitivity (e.g., flammability, corrosion, decomposition, etc.)
[2]. PCMs are also found application in solar thermal power
plants. Thermal energy storage systems used PCMs to store
13
M. K. Soni et al.
energy which can be utilized in nights or when the sky is
unclear. Among the different available phase change materi-
als, composite PCMs are considered over paraffin wax due to
its high latent heat capacity, thermal conductivity, enthalpy
of fusion, density and melting point [3]. Moreover, they are
non-corrosive in nature which is again a very important
property required for efficient working of LHTES. Paraffin
is a mixture of alkanes in which crystallization of ­CH3 chain
is mainly liable for absorption of large amount of energy.
Although inorganic PCMs have thermal conductivity twice
as high as organic PCMs, they suffer from phase segregation
and super cooling. Moreover, these are thermally unstable
which is highly undesirable.
Despite of several advantages of latent heat storage, low
thermal conductivity, corrosion, phase separation, thermal
stability, etc., of PCMs are the major limitations of the phase
change storage unit. Low thermal conductivity results in the
formation of high thermal gradients in the transient process,
and the rate of charging and discharging is even not up to
the desired level which limits the large-scale exploitation of
LHTES. Corrosion and low thermal stability result in waste
of efforts and cost and inefficient system [4]. Therefore,
in order to increase the thermal efficiency of storage units
engaging PCMs, several techniques such as use of thermal
conductivity enhancement, multiple PCMs, microencapsula-
tion of PCM and use of extended surfaces are widely used.
The thermal conductivity of PCMs can enhance impreg-
nation and dispersion of high conductivity material into
PCMs. Microencapsulation results in increase in surface
area for heat transfer, reduction in the reactivity and control
of the change in volume [5]. Zhang and Faghri [6], using
the temperature transforming model, numerically studied
the heat transfer augmentation (HTA) in LHTES employ-
ing an external radial finned tube. It was revealed from
the study that local Nusselt number calculated using given
model is differed from one calculated using Graetz solu-
tion. This is because the temperature is considered constant
at the wall in Graetz solution, while the observation made
from present model shows variation of temperature along
axial direction. Nithyanandam and Pitchumani [1] numeri-
cally analyzed the HTA of latent heat thermal energy stor-
age system with embedded thermosyphons in three differ-
ent arrangements, i.e., two vertical thermosyphons (2-VT),
three thermosyphons with Tri-Star pattern (3-*T) and three
thermosyphons with Y pattern (3-YT) for both discharging
and charging cycles using Fluent solver. It was reported that
Tri-Star pattern has higher effectiveness during the charg-
ing, while three thermosyphons with Y pattern show highest
effectiveness during discharging. Besides this, 2-VT have
fastest melting rate and 3-YT have fastest solidification rate.
Several mathematical models with different assumptions
are available in the literature to offer the foundation for
further optimizing the design of the storage unit. Pirasaci
Numerical simulation and parametric analysis of latent heat thermal energy storage system 2513
and Goswami [7] proposed a design for latent heat storage
unit with effectiveness as design criterion. The influence of
length of storage unit, flow rate of heat transfer fluid, diam-
eter and spacing of tubes on effectiveness are also addressed.
Sari and Kaygusuz [8] experimentally investigated the use of
stearic acid as potential latent heat energy storage material.
The thermal performance and thermal transport behavior of
stearic acid were analyzed. The authors revealed that stearic
acid as PCM is more stable in radial direction than axial
direction, but the heat capacity of storage unit is low. The
authors concluded based on experimental observation that
heat transfer is enhanced with horizontal position resulting
in shorter charging and discharging time due to the existence
of large air space on the PCM in the tube located at the hori-
zontal position that increases the conduction heat transfer
compared to the vertical position of the tube. Mehta et al.
[9] performed a comparative thermal assessment of vertical
and horizontal storage unit and reported that in vertical con-
figuration; convective heat transfer is operational throughout
the charging process resulting in almost constant melting
rate unlike horizontal unit. In horizontal configuration, the
liquid PCM forms a recirculation in the normal direction and
around the HTF tube, and hence, the melted PCM quickly
fills the upper part of the unit, and once it melts completely,
the temperature becomes uniform lowering the convection
strength. However, in vertical unit, the melted PCM gradu-
ally fills the upper part, and hence, molecular movement
exists through the process.
Rathod and Banerjee [10] numerically investigated latent
energy storage unit with three different designs as rectan-
gular container, cylindrical container and shell and tube
container. Through the analysis, they found that shell and
tube container takes least time for freezing of PCM for same
surface area and mass as heat losses are minimum in shell
and tube configuration. Seddegh et al. [11] performed an
experimental investigation of the impact of geometric and
operating parameters on the thermal performance of storage
and concluded that optimum selection of geometric param-
eters along with operating conditions has a critical influence
on charging and discharging time. Similar study was done
by [12]. Parry et al. [13] developed a numerical model for
shell- and tube-type energy storage unit. The results obtained
numerically were validated with experimental data. Bellan
et al. [14] also numerically investigate the LTES system.
The design consists of spherical capsules filled with sodium
nitrate in a cylindrical tank. Therminol 66 is used as heat
transfer fluid. From the study, they found that with decrease
in size of spherical capsules, heat transfer rate and flow
rate of HTF increased, while the charging and discharging
time decreased. Trp et al. [15] performed experimental and
numerical investigation on shell- and tube-type LTES system
used for solar heating application. The authors observed that
the results obtained through numerical study are in good
agreement with experimental investigations. Vyshak & Jilani
[16] numerically investigated the LTES system with three
designs of same area and volume. Through the study, it was
revealed that cylindrical shell container performs best. Simi-
lar kind of results was also given by Rathod and Banerjee
[10]. Anica Trp [17] presented numerical and experimen-
tal studies of heat transfer during discharging and charging
process of LHTES unit without considering the effect of
natural convection in liquid PCM. With experimental study,
she observed that melting of PCM occurs non-isothermally,
while solidification is isothermal and is in good agreement
with numerical study. It was also reported by author that
if a fluid with moderate Prandtl number is used as thermal
transport fluid, then heat transfer is low to PCM and resulted
in waste of energy in downstream. Bagheri et al. [18] stud-
ied the transient performance of LHTES using enthalpy
transforming method ignoring the influence of convection
in liquid region of PCM. The major objective of this study
was to find out the influence of variable thermal properties
of PCM and the effect of the thermal resistance of shell wall
on the charging period of the storage system. A delay in the
charging time of the storage unit was reported by the authors
when the thermal resistance of shell wall was included in the
model. Reddy et al. [19] performed experimental investiga-
tion on thermal energy storage unit based on PCM for solar
water heating applications and carried out parametric analy-
sis by varying flow rates of HTF and geometric dimensions.
Adine and Qarnia [20] studied computationally the thermal
performance of shell and tube storage unit using two differ-
ent PCMs with various melting temperatures. An energy
conservation-based mathematical model was developed by
them to compare the performance of heat storage units with
different PCMs. They reported that thermal storage units are
equally efficient for same HTF inlet pressure, while latent
heat storage unit is more efficient at low mass flow rate. They
ignored the thermal resistance of inner pipe and considered
the effect of natural convection by introducing effective ther-
mal conductivity in the liquid phase of PCM. Bellecci and
Conti [21] simulated a solar receiver system with a built-in
storage system by enthalpy method for space applications.
An enthalpy method has been used to treat the phase change
process. They investigated and reported that the convective
heat extraction process can be suitably defined in terms of
heat transfer correlations.
Phase change materials have several applications. It may
even be explored to increase the thermal mass of buildings
by mixing them with concrete in order to reduce the vari-
ation in indoor temperature of the buildings. Behzadi and
Farid [22] carried out the thermal building computations by
using a SUNREL to deliver predictions for a room located
in New Zealand. The study proposes the use of RT21, a
mixture of paraffin as impregnation with building concrete
to provide thermal energy storage benefits. Their results
13

2514 M. K. Soni et al.

showed that the mixing of PCM in concrete can decrease designs and configurations that could improve the system
the indoor building temperatures by 4 °C in summer days. performance without exploiting the resources at hand and
Lamberg [23] develops an analytical model to predict the hence eliminates wastage and results in dollar saving. The
location of solid–liquid interface and temperature distribu- simulated results could be verified with the literature as done
tion in the freezing and melting process of 2-D PCM stor- in this paper and hence gives way to evaluate several theo-
ages. The objective of their study was to find a genuine retical designs to optimize the system performance which
computational method to compare the PCM storage units. is implemented in this work by performing the parametric
They compared the results obtained by analytical model with study. This study can be effectively utilized to design an
results obtained using FEMLAB and Digital Fortran 5.0. optimized LHTES system which favorably utilizes the natu-
The results obtained through experimental analysis were ral recirculation current setup by gravity forces and hence
compared by them with FEMLAB results using effective improves the thermal performance of system for various
heat capacity method and enthalpy method. They observed storage applications such as backup for solar devices and
that the effective heat capacity method was the most accurate building heating [30–40].
computational method when compared with experimental
results.
In the present study, the heat exchange among the HTF, Mathematical model
PCM and the wall is numerically simulated by assuming
the presence of natural convection in the liquid phase of Thermal energy storage design
PCM [24, 28]. Natural convection plays a key role during
the melting phase of PCM. Initially for the first few hours of The LHTES consists of a shell and tube heat exchanger with
the charging process, conduction dominates, but as the PCM two concentric tubes of 1 m long. In the inner tube, HT fluid
begins to transform into liquid state, the melted PCM forms with moderate Prandtl number (Pr) flows, whereas organic
natural circulation due to buoyancy and gradually convection PCM initially in the solid state is filled in the shell area as
becomes the dominant mode of heat transfer. Seddegh et al. shown in Fig. 1. During melting process, the hot fluid enters
[11] demonstrated the thermal performance of cylindrical the storage unit from the top and leaves from the bottom.
and conical LHTES system and reported that conical sys-
tem advantageously utilizes the natural convection effect and
shows a better thermal performance over cylindrical system HTF in
during the charging process, whereas discharging process
shows no significant performance difference as conduction
is the dominant energy transfer mode during solidification.
The literature survey clearly brings out that natural con-
vection during charging and shell and tube configuration
due to minimal heat losses are the most promising factors
Wall
to be considered while designing LHTES, and hence, both
these aspects are effectively incorporated while performing
the current study [24].
In this study, not only the integrated domain consisting of
fluid, tube wall and PCM is analyzed but also the convection
PCM
effect is included by incorporating the convection term in
the non-dimensional governing equations instead of using
effective thermal conductivity. The mass, momentum and
energy equations are discretized and solved simultaneously
to determine the thermal performance of the system. In the
current analysis, the influence of the presence of tube wall
on the total melting time of PCM is also analyzed. Moreover,
HTF
thermophysical properties of PCM are taken to be different
in solid and liquid region to simulate the storage unit with
more accuracy. A parametric study is also done to determine
the influence of fluid inlet conditions and geometric dimen-
sions on the charging time of the PCM in order to optimize HTF out
the system design. Performing simulation is important over
experimental study as it helps to evaluate all the possible Fig. 1  Schematic of thermal energy storage system

13
Numerical simulation and parametric analysis of latent heat thermal energy storage system 2515

The various assumptions for solving the mathematical Table 2  Thermophysical properties of paraffin
model are listed as follows: Thermophysical properties Units Magnitudes

(a) The heat transfer fluid is Newtonian and incompressible Melting/solidification temperature K 300.7
in nature. Latent heat of fusion kJ kg−1 206
(b) The flow of HTF is taken to be laminar. Thermal conductivity solid/liquid W mK−1 0.18/0.19
(c) The properties (thermophysical) of HTF, PCM and tube Specific heat solid/liquid kJ kg−1 K−1 1.8/2.4
wall are not dependent on temperature, but for PCM, Density kg m−3 789/750
properties are different in solid and liquid region.
(d) Natural convection is considered in the liquid phase of
PCM. Mathematical equations
(e) PCM is homogenous and isotropic.
(f) System is axisymmetric. Referring to the above given assumptions, the dimen-
(g) Outer wall of the shell is taken adiabatic. sionless continuity, momentum and energy equations for
(h) Inlet temperature and velocity of HTF are constant. LHTES are given in the cylindrical coordinates as fol-
(i) Radial component of velocity of HTF is ignored in the lows. As radial component of velocity of HTF is neglected,
analysis. therefore, R-Momentum equation is not considered in the
analysis. Effect of gravity is taken into consideration while
Water is taken as HTF inside the tube, and technical solving the X-Momentum equation of the HTF as the sys-
grade paraffin as PCM is filled in the shell space. Water tem is vertical.
enters the tube at 45 °C with inlet velocity of 0.02 m s−1. HTF equations:
The system consists of two co-axial tubes with 1 m length. Continuity equation
The inner tube has internal diameter (Dii) of 0.033 m and ( )
external diameter (Dio) of 0.035 m, while the outer shell has 𝜕WX 1 𝜕 R ⋅ WR
(1)
+ =0
internal diameter (Doi) of 0.128 m and external diameter 𝜕X R 𝜕R
(Doo) of 0.133 m (Table 1). The inner tube is made up of
Momentum equation
copper, whereas shell is made up of brass. The thickness
of outer shell is neglected in the analysis. The outer radius 𝜕WX 𝜕WX 𝜕WX
boundary condition of the outer shell is taken to be adiabatic + WX ⋅ + WR ⋅
𝜕𝜏 𝜕X 𝜕R
in order to reduce the HT to the environment. During the 𝜕P
[ 2
1 𝜕 WX 1 𝜕
(
𝜕WX
)]
charging process, the HT to the phase change material is first =− + + ⋅ R⋅ + Gx
𝜕X Re 𝜕X 2 R 𝜕R 𝜕R (2)
by conduction because initially the PCM is in solid phase,
but as the melting continues, natural convection speeds up Momentum equation
the charging process until the temperature difference in the
𝜕WR 𝜕WR 𝜕WR
PCM becomes more uniform [25]. All the parameters con- + WX ⋅ + WR ⋅
sidered above are taken in order to perform the simulation 𝜕𝜏 𝜕X 𝜕R
[ 2 ( ) ]
once and obtain the temperature–time history of the PCM. 𝜕P 1 𝜕 WR 1 𝜕 𝜕WR WR
=− + + ⋅ R⋅ − 2
But in order to optimize the system design, the considered 𝜕R Re 𝜕X 2 R 𝜕R 𝜕R R (3)
parameters are varied in order to assess the influence of each
Energy equation
parameter on the melting time of PCM. The thermophysical
properties of paraffin are given in Table 2. The thermophysi- 𝜕𝜃f 𝜕𝜃f 𝜕𝜃 1
[ 2
𝜕 𝜃f 1 𝜕
(
𝜕𝜃f
)]
cal properties of HTF, i.e., water, are given in Table 3. + WX ⋅ + WR ⋅ f = + ⋅ R ⋅
𝜕𝜏 𝜕X 𝜕R Re Pr 𝜕X 2 R 𝜕R 𝜕R
(4)
Table 1  Dimensions and inlet conditions
Parameters Values
Table 3  Thermophysical properties of water
Internal diameter of inner tube 0.033 m
Thermophysical properties Units Magnitudes
Outer diameter of inner tube 0.035 m
Inner diameter of outer shell 0.128 m Dynamic viscosity Pa-s 0.0006159
Outer diameter of outer shell 0.133 m Thermal diffusivity m2 s−1 0.1539 × 10−6
Inlet temperature of HTF 45 °C Thermal conductivity W mK−1 0.635
Inlet velocity of HTF 0.02 m s−1 Density kg m−3 990.2

13

2516 M. K. Soni et al.

Tube wall equation: Table 5  Expressions for melt fraction

Energy equation Expression Condition
a w 𝜕 2 𝜃w 1 𝜕
[ ( )]
𝜕𝜃w 1 𝜕𝜃w Melt fraction (¥) 0 𝜃p < 𝜃s
= ⋅ + ⋅ R⋅ (5)
𝜕𝜏 Re Pr af 𝜕X 2 R 𝜕R 𝜕R (𝜃p − 𝜃s )∕(𝜃l − 𝜃s ) 𝜃s ≤ 𝜃p ≤ 𝜃l
1 𝜃p > 𝜃l
PCM equation:
Enthalpy equation without convection 𝜃s and 𝜃l are non-dimensional solidus and liquidus temperature,
respectively, of PCM
[ )]
𝜕𝜒p ap 𝜕 2 𝜒p 1 𝜕 𝜕𝜒p
(
1
= ⋅ + ⋅ R⋅ (6)
𝜕𝜏 Re Pr af 𝜕X 2 R 𝜕R 𝜕R
its initial value to Ts, i.e., solidus temperature, (2) latent
heat storage, when temperature is between Ts and Tl, i.e., in
Enthalpy equation with convection
mushy region, and (3) sensible storage in which temperature
rises from Tl, i.e., liquidus temperature to the HTF tempera-
[ )]
𝜕𝜒p 𝜕𝜒p 𝜕𝜒p ap 𝜕 2 𝜒p 1 𝜕 𝜕𝜒p
[ ] (
1
𝜕𝜏
+M
𝜕R
+
𝜕X
= ⋅
Re Pr af 𝜕X 2
+ ⋅
R 𝜕R
R⋅
𝜕R ture which is considered to be the final temperature of PCM.
(7)
Conditions
where 𝜒p is the dimensionless enthalpy of PCM. The conver-
sion formula for 𝜒p into 𝜃p is given as follows: (a) Initial condition τ = 0
𝜃p = Ab 𝜒p + Bb ⋅ Ab 0 < R ≤ 0.5, 0 ≤ X ≤ L∕Di
where Bb are conversion factors for non-isothermal phase WX = WR = 0
change which are grid point dependent and are given in 0 < R < RO , 0 ≤ X ≤ L∕Di
Table 4. 𝜃f = initf = 1.0, 𝜃p = initp = −0.27167
𝜃w = initw = (𝜃f + 𝜃p )∕2
Energy storage formulation and melt fraction
(b) Boundary conditions τ > 0
Usually, PCMs are considered to melt at a fixed temperature,
but practically many of the materials undergo non-isother- Inlet plane X = 0, 0 < R < 0.5, ⇒ WX = 0
mal phase change due to the presence of impurities. Voller WR = 0, 𝜃f = 1.0WR = 0, 𝜃f = 1.0
and Prakash [26] described isothermal and non-isothermal
𝜕𝜃
0.5 ≤ R ≤ Rw ⇒ 𝜕Xw = 0
phase change by adding a source term to the momentum Rw < R < Ro ⇒
𝜕𝜃p
=0
equations and pointed out that mixture melting results in 𝜕X

non-isothermal phase change which is true for most of the Outlet plane, X = L∕Di 0 < R < 0.5 ⇒ 𝜕Xx = 0
𝜕W

industrial grade PCM. For these kinds of materials, a blurry 𝜕WR 𝜕𝜃

= 0, 𝜕Xf = 0
phase boundary is formed and a mushy zone consisting (c) 𝜕X
𝜕𝜃
0.5 ≤ R ≤ Rw ⇒ 𝜕Xw = 0
of two phases develops during the melting process. It was 𝜕𝜃
reported by a few researchers that PCM melting in a tem- Rw < R < Ro ⇒ 𝜕Xp = 0
Axes of symmetry, R = 0 0 < X < L∕Di ⇒ WR = 0
perature range melts faster than the PCM with fixed melting (d) 𝜕Wx 𝜕𝜃
temperature [14]. In this analysis, the paraffin is assumed 𝜕R
= 0, 𝜕Rf = 0
to melt between 27.7 and 35 °C. Hence, the melt fraction is (e) Fluid–wall interface R = 0.5 0 < X < L∕Di ⇒ WX
𝜕𝜃 ⋋ 𝜕𝜃
given in Table 5 [14]. = WR = 0, 𝜕Rf = ⋋w 𝜕Rw
f
For finding out the energy stored (Table 6) in the PCM (f) Wall–PCM interface, R = Rw 0 < X < L∕Di ⇒
𝜕𝜃w
=
⋋p 𝜕𝜃p
𝜕R ⋋w 𝜕R
region, three stages are considered including (1) sensi-
ble storage in which temperature of PCM increases from
Table 6  Expressions for energy stored
Table 4  Conversion factors for non-isothermal phase change
Expression Condition
Ab Bb Condition
Energy 𝜌s cs (Tp − Tinitp ) Tp < Ts
1 𝜌l cl 0 χp < 0 stored 𝜌s cs Ts − Tinitp + 𝜌f cf (Tp − Ts ) + 𝜌f q¥
( )
Ts ≤ Tp ≤ Tl
St 𝜌s cs
0
( )
1 𝜌l cl ΔTm
0 ≤ 𝜒p ≤
𝜌s cs ΔTm
+1 𝜌s cs Ts − Tinitp + 𝜌f cf (Tl − Ts ) + 𝜌f q + 𝜌l cl (TT >T
p p− Tl ) l
St 𝜌s cs ΔTm +𝜌l q 𝜌l q
1 1 (𝜌l cl −𝜌s cs )ΔTm 𝜌s cs ΔTm
St St 𝜌l q
𝜒p ≥ 𝜌l q
+1 cf = (1 − ¥) cs + cl ¥ is the specific heat in the melting interval [29]

13
Numerical simulation and parametric analysis of latent heat thermal energy storage system 2517
(g) Outer wall, R = Ro 0 < X < L∕Di ⇒
𝜕𝜃p
= 0.
𝜕R
Numerical models
The transient 2-D problem is solved numerically using finite
difference method along with enthalpy transforming method
for modeling phase change process. Because of θ symme-
try, the computational domain is two-dimensional, divided
into HTF, wall and PCM. The solution domain is indepen-
dently discretized into small grids with varying grid size for
the three sub-domains, i.e., HTF, wall and PCM, as shown
in Fig. 2. The unsteady-state governing equations for the
given problem have been discretized using implicit method
in time. For the given domain, convection–diffusion terms
are treated using upwind scheme. The diffusion terms are
discretized by means of central difference as it is second-
order accurate, whereas convection terms are discretized
using backward scheme because of the limitation imposed
on the Peclet number. Velocity of HTF in the radial direction
has been neglected, and only axial velocity is considered
varying with the radial distance. For finding out the veloc-
ity profile of HTF in the inner tube, X-momentum equation
has been solved taking a constant value of pressure gradient
for simplicity throughout the domain. The pressure gradient
has been calculated taking into consideration the vertical
elevation and frictional losses. The resulting algebraic equa-
tions are solved using Jacobi iteration until convergence is
reached. The convergence is assumed to be achieved when
the difference between the two consecutive iteration values
is found to be less than 1­ 0−6. For solving this axisymmetric
transient problem numerically, a code is written in Visual
Studio C and corresponding velocity and temperature pro-
files are obtained for HTF, wall and PCM to investigate the
thermal performance and efficiency of PCM in charging
process. The flowchart for the solution algorithm is given
in “Appendix”.
Fig. 2  Computational domain
divided into fine grids
r=0
For simulation of the thermal behavior of PCM during
charging process, a full-fledged code is written incorporat-
ing the discretized momentum and energy equation so as to
determine the temperature difference of PCM with axial and
radial distance at changed time intervals until it completely
melts. The melting temperature range of technical grade par-
affin with 17–20 carbon atoms is from 27.7 to 35 °C [17].
For the purpose of simulation, water (Pr = 7) is taken as HTF
and copper as the wall material in conjunction with technical
grade paraffin (17–20 carbon atoms) as the PCM. For melt-
ing, the PCM is initially at 23 °C in solid state filled in the
shell space, whereas the fluid initially at 45 °C flows through
the inner tube of the shell and tube arrangement. The flow
of HTF in the inner tube is taken to be laminar with inlet
velocity of 0.02 m s−1 and Reynolds number less than 2300.
As the time progresses, heat flows from HTF to wall and
then to PCM, and hence, the temperature of wall and PCM
increases. For carrying out the simulation, 40 grid points are
considered in the axial direction in the entire system with
6 grid points in radial direction for HTF, 4 grid points in
wall and to precisely capture the temperature trend in PCM,
25 grid points are considered in the PCM. In total, 35 grid
points are taken in the radial direction. The simulation is
run for 21,600 time steps, i.e., for 6 h with 0.60606 as the
dimensionless time step size.
Results and discussion
The heat exchange among the HTF, PCM and the wall is
numerically simulated by assuming the presence of natural
convection in the liquid phase of PCM. In the current analy-
sis, the influence of the presence of tube wall on the total
melting time of PCM is also analyzed. A parametric study
is also done so as to determine the influence of fluid inlet
conditions and geometric dimensions on the charging time
of the PCM in order to optimize the system design.
θ
r R
13

2518 M. K. Soni et al.

Figure 3 shows the melting profile of PCM along with
the temperature field of fluid and wall at different time steps.
The PCM was primarily in solid phase at 23 °C. As time
progresses, the heat gets transferred from HTF via wall to
PCM and the temperature curve moves upward on graph as
shown in Fig. 8. The melting occurs non-isothermally in a
narrow temperature range of 27.7 to 35 °C. The temperature
profile does not reach steady state until the entire PCM gets
melted and reaches fluid inlet temperature, this is due to low
thermal conductivity and small thermal diffusivity of PCM,
and it takes around 6 h for the entire PCM to melt. It has also
been observed that melting front moves slower in the radial
direction when compared to axial direction.
The work presented in this paper is novel from the stand-
point of parametric study performed along with numerical
simulation of charging process considering natural convec-
tion to determine the impact of various operating conditions
1.4
1.2
Non dimensional temperature
of the thermal storage unit on the overall melting process.
This work gives an overall descriptive study at one place.
The results of the simulation validate well with the litera-
ture of latent heat thermal storage unit. The temperature
distribution shown in Fig. 3 of this work complies well with
Trp et al. [15] as shown in Fig. 4 in terms of trend in HTF,
wall and PCM. The temperature at axis is maximum, i.e., at
R = 0 and then decreases in HTF due to heat transfer, and
then, heat is transferred via wall to PCM; due to further heat
transfer, the temperature gradient is visible in PCM which
becomes uniform as steady state is reached and entire PCM
melts. In this study, outer shell walls are considered adiaba-
tic and no heat loss is considered.
In the mentioned reference Trp et al. [15], the melting
of PCM is achieved in 11 h as they have not considered the
effect of natural convection which is very much in line with
the results of present study.
Figure 5 shows the impact of increase in mass of PCM
on melting time from Vyshak and Jilani [16], which is very
well demonstrated by the results of this study in terms of
change of length of storage and internal diameter of inner
tube, i.e., as mass of PCM increases, melting time increases.

1.0
But melting time is also determined by other factors such
as rate of heat transfer which in turn is governed by many
0.8 factors such as area of heat transfer, thermal conductivity of
0.6 fluid and material that is why in the study for length of tube
increased from 1 m to 2 m, melting time got increased from
0.4
t = 120 s 6 h to 7 h as with increase in length, the area of heat transfer
t = 240 s
0.2
t = 1800 s also got increased which slightly enhanced the heat transfer
0.0
t = 3600 s rate but with further increase in length to 3 m, mass of PCM
t = 10800 s
t = 18000 dominated over increase in area, and hence, melting time got
– 0.2 t = 21600
considerably increased to 10.7 h.
– 0.4
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0
Figure 6 shows the impact of increase in HTF temperature
Non dimensional radial distance on melting time from Vyshak and Jilani [16] which is in line
with our results demonstrated in Fig. 10. Even the tempera-
Fig. 3  Temperature variation in LH storage with radial distance at ture trend with time is very similar. The only difference is
X = 12.73 that the melting process is isothermal in Vyshak and Jilani

Fig. 4  Radial dimensionless 1.2

temperature distribution at Wall
X = 12.73 in different times dur- 1.0
PCM
ing melting [13] 0.8 τ = 13091
0.6
τ = 10909
0.4
Θ

0.2 τ = 6545
HTF τ = 2182
0.0
τ = 1091
– 0.2 τ = 145
τ = 73
– 0.4
– 0.6
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0
R

13
Numerical simulation and parametric analysis of latent heat thermal energy storage system 2519

Fig. 5  Impact of mass of PCM 2000

on total melting time [14]
1800 Cylindrical shell
1600 Rectangular
1400

Total melting time/min

1200

1000

800

600

400

200

0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Mass of PCM/kg

Fig. 6  Impact of inlet tempera- 80

ture of HTF on total melting
time [14]
70 80 °C

70 °C
60
60 °C
Temperature/°C

50 50 °C

40
40 °C

30

20

10
0 25 50 75 100 125 150 175 200 225
Time/min

[16], but in this study, it is considered non-isothermal melt-
ing from 27.7 to 35 °C for paraffin wax.
The temperature profile in the current study is constant
initially with zero slope as PCM has very low thermal con-
ductivity and diffusivity, so it takes time to gain temperature;
then, it is linearly increasing with slope greater than 45°
which indicates the sensible heating, and finally, it is increas-
ing with lesser slope which indicates mushy region where
both melting has started. Since non-isothermal melting is
simulated, hence profile is increasing instead of being a line
with zero slope.
Figure 7 depicts that parabolic velocity profile is obtained
for HTF flowing in the inner tube of the storage unit. With
zero velocity at the wall side, maximum velocity is obtained
at the center of the tube at different time intervals. For find-
ing out the velocity profile, only radial variation of the axial
component of velocity is taken into consideration because of
the assumed condition of completely developed flow. R0–R6

13

2520
Fig. 7  Velocity of HTF at dif-
ferent time intervals until steady 0.014
state is achieved
0.012
0.010
Velocity/m s–1
0.008
0.006
0.004
0.002
0.000
0.000
denote the 6 six radial positions in the inner tube of the shell
and tube arrangement. As time progresses, the velocity of
HTF increases from zero at initial time step to 0.01 m s−1
at the axis of the tube in steady-state condition as shown in
Fig. 3. The steady state for velocity profile is achieved very
quickly within 6 min.
Figure 8 shows the surface plots illustrating the varia-
tion of non-dimensional temperature of PCM with axial
and radial distance at different time intervals until the entire
PCM melts. Initially, the temperature gradient in the axial
and radial direction increases due to conduction of heat, but
as the tie progresses and PCM begins to melt, the gradi-
ent in the two directions stabilizes because the temperature
becomes more uniform and system tends to achieve the
steady state.
Figure 9 represents the effect of presence of natural
convection in the liquid phase of PCM on the total melt-
ing time during the charging process. Conduction is the
major heat transfer phenomenon present in the solid state
of phase change material, but as the PCM melts with time,
natural convection becomes dominant and quickens the
charging process. As shown in Fig. 9, without convection,
PCM reaches only 32 °C when charging end, i.e., after
6 h because of very low thermal conductivity of PCM and
temperature of PCM becoming more uniform and lowering
the overall rate of heat transfer, but with convection, the
entire PCM melts by the end of the process and reaches
35 °C in the end, i.e., after 6 h. The melting time of the
13
M. K. Soni et al.
t=6s
t = 30 s
t = 48 s
t = 66 s
t = 120 s
t = 210 s
t = 360 s
0.002 0.004 0.006 0.008 0.010 0.012 0.014 0.016 0.018
Radial distance/m
entire PCM without convection is around 15 h which is
more than twice of that with convection which is quite
evident from the fact that slope of curve without convec-
tion has almost flattened out after 6 h, and hence, even
rise of 3 °C is costing 9 more hours. Tao and He [27] cre-
ated a numerical model to investigate the impact of natural
convection and concluded that natural convection signifi-
cantly improves the thermal performance of the system.
Trp et al. [15] reported the total melting time of PCM to
be 11 h as they have not considered the effect of natural
convection which is very much in line with the results of
present study.
Figure 10 shows the energy stored in a PCM location with
time. Primarily, when the PCM is in solid state, the energy
stored consists of only sensible heat. Later on with time,
when PCM reaches the mushy region, the stored energy con-
sists of both sensible and latent heat components because
of non-isothermal melting of the PCM. It can be seen from
Fig. 7 that energy stored at grid location in PCM increases
with time from 0 to 46 kWh m−3 when the charging process
ends.
Figure 11 shows the comparison of total melting time of
PCM for different lengths of the thermal storage unit. As
length of the storage unit increases with all other dimen-
sions being constant, the mass of the PCM in the system
rises, and hence, the total melting duration of PCM filled in
the shell space shows a hike. It can be seen from this figure
that with 1-m length of storage, PCM melts at a faster rate
Numerical simulation and parametric analysis of latent heat thermal energy storage system 2521

Temperature
Temperature 0.4920
0.3740 1.0
0.4152
1.0 0.9
0.3090 0.3384
0.9 0.8
0.8 0.2440 0.2616
0.7
0.7 0.1790 0.6

Temperature
0.1848
0.6 0.1140 0.5
Temperature

0.1080
0.5 0.4
0.04900 0.03120
0.4 0.3
– 0.01600 0.04560
0.3 0.2
0.2 – 0.08100 0.1 0.1224
0.1 – 0.1460 0.0 0.1992
0.0 – 0.2110 – 0.1
– 0.2760
– 0.1 – 0.2
– 0.2760
– 0.2 – 0.3
– 0.3
n
tio
o n Rad ir ec
Rad cti ial d ld
ial d ire irect ia
irect ia ld ion Ax
ion Ax
(b) t = 5 s
(a) t = 1 s
Temperature
Temperature 0.8350
0.7950 1.0
0.7235
1.0
0.6875 0.6120
0.8
0.8 0.5800 0.5005
0.4725 Temperature 0.6 0.3890
Temperature

0.6 0.3650 0.2775

0.2575 0.4 0.1660
0.4
0.1500 0.05450
0.2
0.2 0.04250 – 0.05700
– 0.06500 0.0 – 0.1685
0.0 – 0.1725 – 0.2800
– 0.2
– 0.2800
– 0.2

n
tio
ti on Rad
ial d ir ec
Rad rec irect iald
ial d di ion Ax
irect ial
ion Ax
(d) t = 240 s
(c) t = 120 s

Temperature Temperature
0.7950 0.8920
1.0 1.0
0.7570 0.8062
0.9
0.8 0.6590 0.7204
0.8
0.5610 0.6346
0.7
Temperature

0.6 0.4630 0.6 0.5488

0.5
Temperature

0.3650 0.4680
0.4 0.4
0.2670 0.3772
0.3
0.1690 0.2914
0.2 0.2
0.07100 0.2056
0.1
0.0 – 0.02700 0.0 0.1198
– 0.1250 – 0.1
0.03400
– 0.2 – 0.2
– 0.3

on n
Rad cti tio
ial d d ire Rad
ial d irec
irect ial irect iald
ion Ax ion Ax

(e) t = 1800 s (f) t = 3600 s

Fig. 8  Two-dimensional variation of non-dimensional temperature in PCM at different time intervals

13

2522 M. K. Soni et al.

Temperature Temperature
0.9560 0.9880
1.0 1.0
0.8858 0.9308
0.9 0.9
0.8156 0.8736
0.8 0.8
0.7 0.7454 0.7 0.8164
0.6 0.6752
Temperature

0.6 0.7592

Temperature
0.5 0.6050 0.5 0.7020
0.4 0.4
0.5348 0.6448
0.3 0.3
0.4646 0.5876
0.2 0.2
0.1 0.3944 0.1 0.5304
0.0 0.3242 0.0 0.4732
– 0.1 – 0.1
0.2540 0.4160
– 0.2 – 0.2
– 0.3 – 0.3

n
tio tio
n
Rad
ial d irec Rad ec
ld ial d ir
irect
ion xia irect iald
A ion Ax
(g) t = 10800 s (h) t = 21600 s

Fig. 8  (continued)

54
52 With convection 50
50 Without convection
48
46
40
Energy stored/KWh m–3

44
Temperature/°C

42
40
38 30
36
34
32
30 20
28
26
24
10
22
20 Energy stored at i = 16 & j = 35
18
16 0
0 5000 10000 15000 20000 25000 0 5000 10000 15000 20000 25000
Time/s Time/s

Fig. 9  Comparison of total melting time of PCM with and without Fig. 10  Energy stored in PCM at location X = 12.73 and R = 1.939
natural convection in liquid phase at location X = 12.73 and R = 1.939

in comparison with two and three meters of storage length.
Therefore, the total melting time for 1 m long unit is around
6 h, i.e., reached 35 °C in the end, whereas that for two and
three meters of unit is around 7 h and 10.7 h with only 34 °C
and 31 °C, respectively, reached at the end of charging, i.e.,
after 6 h. Although with increase in length of the storage
unit, area of HT increases, the effect of increased mass of
PCM is more pronounced on the melting time.
Figure 12 demonstrates the effect of internal diameter
of the inner tube of thermal storage unit on the melting of
PCM. With same thickness of the inner wall and constant
diameter of outer shell, the total charging time for 15 mm
diameter unit is more as compared to 25 mm and 33 mm
diameter system. Therefore, PCM filled in 33 mm unit melts
faster than 25 mm and 15 mm as at the end of charging
process, i.e., after 6 h, unit with 33 mm internal diameter
reaches 35 °C, whereas unit with 25 mm and 15 mm diam-
eter reaches only 34 °C and 32 °C, respectively.
As the internal diameter of the inner tube is varied for
fixed diameter of outer shell and constant thickness of tube
wall, the size of annulus changes, which in turn changes
the mass of the PCM filled in the shell area. Hence, with
decrease in internal diameter of inner tube, mass of PCM in
the shell increases and consequently, the melting duration

13
Numerical simulation and parametric analysis of latent heat thermal energy storage system 2523

50 70
48 L=1m Tfin = 45 °C
65
46 L=2m Tfin = 55 °C
44 60
L=3m Tfin = 65 °C
42
Temperature/°C

55
40
38 50

Temperature/°C
36
34
45

32 40
30
28 35
26 30
24
22 25
20
20
0 5000 10000 15000 20000 25000
Time/s 15
0 5000 10000 15000 20000 25000

Fig. 11  Comparison of total melting time of PCM for different Time/s

lengths of the storage unit at location X = 12.73 and R = 1.939
Fig. 13  Effect of fluid inlet temperature on the charging time of PCM
at location X = 12.73 and R = 1.939
54
52
50
48 44
46 42
44 40
Temperature/°C

42 38
40 36
38
Temperature/°C

34
36
34 32
32 30
30 28
28 26
26 24
24 Di = 0.015 m 22
22 With wall
Di = 0.025 m 20
20 Without wall
18 Di = 0.033 m 18
16 16
0 5000 10000 15000 20000 0 5000 10000 15000 20000 25000
Time/s Time/s

Fig. 12  Effect of internal diameter of inner tube on melting of PCM Fig. 14  Effect of wall of inner tube on the melting time of PCM at
at location X = 12.73 and R = 1.939 location X = 12.73 and R = 1.939

of the PCM also increases. Moreover, with decrease in inner
diameter of tube, mass flow rate of HTF (given same density
and inlet velocity) and area of heat transfer decrease which
is further responsible for increased melting period of PCM.
But this influence of internal diameter diminishes at higher
and higher values.
Figure 13 shows the influence of working fluid inlet
temperature on the melting profile of PCM. As expected,
it is clearly visible in the above given figure that as the
working fluid inlet temperature rises, the melting of the
PCM becomes faster, and hence, the total charging time
falls. As shown in Fig. 11, the total charging duration for
45 °C inlet temperature is around 6 h which is more when
compared to 2.5 h and 1.8 h for 55 °C and 66 °C. For very
high temperatures of the working fluid, the melting time
of the PCM of the two consecutive inlet temperatures of
working fluid becomes smaller and smaller.
Figure 14 shows the influence of tube wall on the total
melting period of the PCM. One can see from the figure
that the difference in the total melting period of PCM for
the considered case of tube wall is very small. But still,
the melting of PCM with tube wall occurs comparatively
at a faster rate as the HTF fluid is in direct contact with
wall of higher thermal conductivity (400 W mK−1) instead
of being in direct contact with PCM of very low thermal
conductivity (0.18 W mK−1). An average error of around
7.2% is found in the results when tube wall is ignored in

13

2524 M. K. Soni et al.

the analysis, i.e., without wall, PCM takes 6.6 h to melt Appendix
completely and reach 35 °C.

Start
Conclusions

This paper presents the numerical investigation of heat Define the geometry and thermo-physical
exchange among the wall, PCM and HTF established on properes (HTF, wall & PCM)

finite difference method to simulate the thermal efficiency/

performance of a latent heat storage unit. After determining
Define the me step size and grid size
the operating and geometric parameters, discretized equa-
in radial and axial direcon
tions were solved iteratively using Jacobi iteration method
to obtain the temperature field within the solution domain
and determine the total melting period of PCM. Define the total no. of me steps as T
In this work, a comparative study of the total melting
period of the PCM based on the presence of natural convec-
tion in the liquid phase of PCM has been demonstrated.
After analyzing the results, it has been deduced that natu- Inialize the velocity (HTF) and
ral convection expedites the melting process and reduces the Temperature (HTF, Wall and PCM)

total melting time of phase change material by more than

half of that without convection. In addition to this, several
simulation experiments have been performed to investigate
the influence of inlet temperature of HTF, internal diameter Yes Input inial
of tube with same thickness of tube and outer diameter of if t=0 condions
shell and finally the length of storage unit on the total melt-
ing period of PCM. The present study reveals that the most No

optimum design is with L = 1 m and Di = 0.033 m which has Calculate the velocity in HTF
highest thermal performance. domain

After thorough discussion of outcomes, it has been

resolved that total melting period of PCM drops with Calculate the discrezaon
increase in inlet temperature of the working fluid. Moreover, coefficients and solve for HTF, wall &
PCM temperature
it has been deduced that this effect of HTF inlet temperature
reduces at higher values. Additionally, it is detected that as
the inlet diameter of tube decreases for same thickness and
outer diameter of shell and length of storage increases, the No
If
total melting period of PCM increases because of rise in the
mass of the phase change material. 0 -
Wx-Wx <10 6,Tf-Tf <10
0 –6

Yes

No
if t= T

Yes

Stop

13
Numerical simulation and parametric analysis of latent heat thermal energy storage system 2525

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