Energy Conversion and Management: X 11 (2021) 100098

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Energy Conversion and Management: X

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Melting of PCM inside a novel encapsulation design for thermal energy

storage system
M.R. Mohaghegh , Y. Alomair , M. Alomair , S.H. Tasnim , S. Mahmud , H. Abdullah
School of Engineering, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario N1G 2W1, Canada

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Phase Change Materials (PCMs) encapsulated inside different shape and size enclosures have been playing an
Pear-shaped encapsulation important role in designing thermal energy storage (TES) systems for a wide range of applications. In the present
Phase change material work, transient heat transfer and the melting process of n-octadecane PCM encapsulated in a novel Pear-Shaped
Thermal energy storage system
Thermal Energy Storage (PS-TES) system with and without constraint are numerically investigated and verified
Melting
Transient heat transfer
with experimental visualizations. An adiabatic cylindrical rod, placed at the axis of symmetry of the pear-shaped
enclosure, is used to create the constraint. A mathematical model is developed and numerically solved to study
energy transport processes inside the proposed PS-TES systems. The heat transfer characteristics such as melt
fraction, Nusselt number, and energy stored in the system and their temporal variation during the melting
process are determined. The melting process is visualized numerically to track the solid-liquid interface during
the melting process as well. Comparison of results from the unconstrained and constrained cases reveals that the
existence of the adiabatic constraint inside the system decreases the melting rate, as the total time required to
complete the melting process in the constrained melting (~178 min) is almost twice that of unconstrained
melting (~97 min). The effect of the Rayleigh number on the melt fraction, Nusselt number, and the stored
energy is studied and discussed as well. Furthermore, a comparison between the melt fraction results for pear-
shaped system and a convectional cylindrical container with the same height and same volume shows that the
complete melting time for the PS-TES system (~97 min) is less compared to the one for the cylindrical case
(~108 min). A comprehensive experimental setup is also developed using a constant temperature bath and
thermal regulator to visualize melting images and track the melting front during the phase change process.
Numerical images of heat transfer field and solid-liquid interface, as well as the temporal variation of melt
fraction in both test cases, are compared with experimental visualizations, and an excellent agreement is
reported.

hence less mass and volume of the material is required to achieve a

desired energy efficiency. Their isothermal behavior also prevents
Introduction
corrosion problems due to temperature variations. These systems are
applied effectively for applications that require thermal energy man­
Renewable energy, explicitly solar energy, has received a great
agement such as in such as in buildings [7,8], solar energy systems (e.g.,
attention of researchers in worldwide due to its clean, non-polluting,
solar water heater [9,10], solar air heater [11,12], and solar PV [13]),
available, and cost-free nature [1]. Thermal energy storage (TES) sys­
hybrid-electric vehicle (lithium-ion) batteries [14], food preservation
tems can store this energy in the form of the sensible heat of a liquid or a
and electronic cooling [15,16], and waste heat recovery applications
solid such as in water, oil, or in the form of latent heat of PCMs such as in
such as in power generation [17].
inorganic salt hydrates, organic petroleum substances such as paraffin
Technically, the heat exchanger design is one of the main challenges
and fatty acids, or in the form of thermochemical heat (chemical; i.e.,
in LHTES systems to work under unstable conditions reliably [18]. Many
exothermic and endothermic reactions) [2-5]. Among these types, the
studies have carried out experimental and theoretical investigations of
TES systems integrated with PCM (latent heat thermal energy storage
the transient behavior of the PCM in different geometries and configu­
systems: LHTES) are attractive due to their isothermal behavior during
rations, particularly shell and tube and encapsulated packed bed [19].
heat storing or releasing and high energy storage density [6]. Their heat
Farid et al. [20] presented an extensive review of PCM materials,
storage ability is generally larger than sensible heat storage materials;

E-mail address: smahmud@uoguelph.ca (S. Mahmud).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecmx.2021.100098
Received 7 June 2021; Received in revised form 21 July 2021; Accepted 23 July 2021
Available online 27 July 2021
2590-1745/© 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
M.R. Mohaghegh et al. Energy Conversion and Management: X 11 (2021) 100098

Nomenclature Greek symbols

α coefficient of thermal diffusivity [m2/s]
A porosity function β coefficient of thermal expansion [1/K]
cp specific heat [J/kg K] μ dynamic viscosity [Pa.s]
d diameter [m or cm] ρ density [kg/m3]
E energy [J] ∀ volume of the PCM [m3]
f liquid fraction
g gravitational acceleration [m/s2] Subscripts
H height of the system (container) [m or cm] h hot
h convective heat transfer coefficient [W/m2 K] l liquid PCM
hsl latent heat of fusion [J/kg] m melt
k thermal conductivity [W/m K] P pixel
N the number of pixels s solid PCM
q′′ heat flux [W/m2] 0 initial
S sink term in momentum equations Abbreviation
T temperature [◦ C or K] LHTES latent heat thermal energy storage system
ΔT temperature difference [◦ C or K] MF melt fraction, Eq. (15)
t time [s] Nu Nusselt number, Eq. (18)
u velocity component in r direction [m/s] PCM phase change material
w velocity component z direction [m/s] PS-TES pear-shaped thermal energy storage
x Cartesian coordinate, [m or cm] Ra Rayleigh number, Eq. (14)
z Cartesian coordinate, [m or cm] TES thermal energy storage

encapsulation, and several TES applications. A review of analytical, different applications.

numerical, and experimental approaches to investigate the melting/so­
lidification processes of PCM within containers with different geometric Numerical modeling
shapes is conducted by Dhaidan et al. [21]. The performance of PCM
charging (melting) and discharging (solidification) inside differently A pear-shaped geometry can be configured as a combination of a
shaped geometries, such as spherical, cylindrical, rectangular, and circle and a triangle (such as an ice cream cone). Fig. 1 shows the
conical enclosures, has been investigated in different studies. Table 1 configuration of the pear-shaped container (capsule) with main
presents a brief literature review of recent works on PCM encapsulation dimensional parameters, where H2 and R are the height of the bigger
in the various geometric shapes and summarizes their findings. triangle and radius of the circle, respectively, as the circle is surrounded
Several important characteristics were reported for the foregoing by the bigger triangle. These two parameters are the main parameters of
geometries while studying the melting process inside these geometries. the shape with this configuration, and by having them, the other
For example, conduction, combined conduction and convection, and dimensional parameters such as r1 , r2 , α, H1 are determined mathe­
convection dominated melting regimes, close contact melting, and matically. According to the figure, the side surface slope angle θ can be
appearance of the natural convection cell formation. These cells impact determined as:
the melting process at the bottom of the solid PCM inside the conical π
enclosure, and natural convection is the dominating factor at the upper θ= − α (1)
2
part of the spherical enclosure [21]. Akgun et al. [36] and Seddegh et al.
[37] also showed that conical (unsymmetrical) encloser accelerates where the angle of α (associated with the angle of the bottom vertex) can
melting process compared with the cylindrical system (symmetrical) due be calculated by following steps. It is evident from the figure that the
to natural convection augmentation. Therefore, it is a subject of interest relation between the height of the larger triangle H2 and the smaller
to study a novel geometry where the bottom of the enclosure should be triangle H1 is as:
narrower than the top (i.e., an inverted truncated cone), while the top
H2 = H1 + Rsinα + R (2)
has some resemblance with spherical geometry. A geometry close to this
requirement is a pear-shaped geometry. A thorough review of the On the other hand,
literature reveals a number of works on spherical, cylindrical, and
Rcosα Rcos2 α
rectangular, and a few conical enclosures, while no research work is tanα = →H1 = (3)
H1 sinα
performed on PCM encapsulated in pear-shaped geometry. In order to
design an efficient PCM encapsulation, it is critical to understand the Substituting Eq. (2) into Eq. (3) and applying cos2 α +sin2 α = 1 yield
melting behavior of PCM during phase change inside its capsule. the following equation:
Therefore, the present paper is aimed to investigate transient heat ( )
transfer and the behavior of the melting process of PCM encapsulated in R
α = sin− 1 (4)
pear-shaped thermal energy storage (PS-TES) systems in which is ex­ H2 − R
pected to enhance the natural convection effects and provide a uniform Base on the dimensions of the pear-shaped container used for the
solid-liquid interface during melting. For this purpose, two uncon­ experimental work H2 = H = 125.57 mm and dmax = 81.81 mm (and
strained and constrained (with constraint in the symmetry axis) cap­ therefore R = dmax = 40.91 mm), where the dmax is the maximum diam­
2
sules, filled with n-octadecane as PCM, are studied, both numerically eter of the container (Fig. 20). Then α, H1 and θ can be determined by
and experimentally. Analysis, design and modeling, and data provided Eqs. (1), (3) and (4) as α = 28.9◦ , θ = 61.1◦ and H1 = 64.88 mm.
in this study would have meaningful impacts in designing compact The three-dimensional (3D) and two-dimensional axisymmetric (2D-
thermal energy storage systems and improving their performance for axi) view of the geometry of the unconstrained and constrained PS-TES

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M.R. Mohaghegh et al. Energy Conversion and Management: X 11 (2021) 100098

Table 1
Summary of recent studies on melting/solidification processes of encapsulated PCM in various geometries.
Ref. Year Geometric shape Method and studied problem Major outcomes and findings

[22] 2011 Spherical: constrained • An experimental study on the melting behavior of the Paraffin • Unconstrained melting was faster than the constrained melting
and unconstrained wax • For constraint melting conditions, solid PCM was restricted from
sinking by the tube inside the sphere, while in unconstrained
melting solid, PCM sank to the bottom of the container
[23] 2011 Conical • A numerical study of conical holes with developing roof’s effect • Among various PCM, n-Eicosane showed better performance, and
on the cooling load the proposed conical geometry had a better thermal effect. The
conical holes reduced the heat flux of the roof up to 39% for a
particular PCM
[24] 2014 Cylinder (horizontal) • Melting and solidification of dodecanoic acid: An experimental • At the beginning of charging, conduction heat transfer was
study dominant
• Enhancing heat transfer by adding longitudinal copper fins • In the middle stages of melting, convection heat transfer was
dominant
[25] 2015 Cylindrical (vertical) • Numerical study of a cylindrical enclosure filled with PCM and • Heat transfer rate had a significant effect on the temperature of
HTF passed throw a pipe in the center the HP bottom and top regions of the PCM when either the input,
• Enhancing heat transfer by adding Cu nanoparticles output or both increases.
[26] 2015 Rectangular • A comparative study between rectangular and curved units • It was found that the design of the enclosure has a significant
considering vertical heating wall effect on the meting and natural convection process
• The curved geometry decreased the thermal storage time by
30.6% compared to the rectangular-shaped enclosure
[27] 2015 Cylindrical • An experimental work to study melting and solidification of n- • A small effect of the system orientation on the solidification rates
octadecane for nearly all cases was observed as a result of the dominancy of
• Investigation of the effect of inclination angle during phase the conduction heat transfer regime
change processes • For the melting process, system orientation due to the presence of
• Enhancing heat transfer by adding heat pipe and metal foam or natural convection might significantly alter the liquid fraction for
foil cases without foam or foils
• Irrespective of the angle orientation, the HP-Foil-PCM composite
could decrease 11% and 3% of the melting and solidification
completion duration, respectively, compared with that of a non-
enhanced system
[28] 2017 Square cavity • A numerical study on the melting process of a nano-enhanced • Phase change interface and the liquid fraction were found to be
PCM in a square cavity with a hot cylinder placed in the center significantly affected by the volume fraction of nanoparticles and
of the cavity the thermal conductivity parameter
• Higher melting rate (faster melting) as Fourier number increase
from 0 to 0.5, while a reduction in melting rate was observed for
further increase in Fourier number
[29] 2017 Inclined rectangular • A numerical study to investigate the effect of uniform magnetic • Any increase in either inclination angle or Hartmann number
enclosure field on the phase change heat transfer of a PCM in a cavity (regarding magnetic field) leads to a decrease in the rate of the
melting rate
• The effect of mentioned parameters becomes more significant for
the higher Fourier numbers
[30] 2018 Cylindrical • A numerical and experimental study of the melting process of • The three different heat transfer regimes (conduction, mixed, and
bio-based nano- PCM convection) were observed during the melting process
• Investigation of the effects of different nanoparticles volume • Adding nanoparticles to PCM did not show a significant effect on
fraction on the melting process the melting rate at the early stages, while for further times, it
improved the melting rate in the PCM
• An increase in the volume fraction of nanoparticles decreased the
total energy stored inside the system. However, the opposite
trend was observed if the Rayleigh number would be defined
based on nano-PCM properties
[31] 2018 Concentric cylindrical • Melting a nano-PCM inside a concentric cylindrical thermal • Temporal variation of Nusselt number showed three distinct
enclosure energy storage: Tall and short systems patterns based on the regimes of melting. An increase in φ
improved the melting process
[32] 2020 Elliptical (two • Numerical investigation of the melting process of paraffin wax • Oblate capsule experienced having a relatively faster melting
orientations) under the constant wall heat flux condition process and therefore lower time than prolate capsule (depends
on heat flux, maximum 7.71% less).
• In comparison with a spherical capsule with the same volume, an
elliptical capsule required less time to complete the melting
process.
[33] 2020 Rectangular enclosure • A numerical analysis to investigate the effect of enclosure size • The presence of the porous medium (copper foam here) increase
on the melting rate of LHTES systems embedded in a porous the melting rate; however, the dimension parameter showed a
medium more significant effect on the melting process as decreasing the
high of the system would increase the melting rate significantly
[34] 2020 Cylindrical (vertical • Numerical simulation of charging and discharging encapsulated • The contribution of convection in the case of PCM with low
and horizontal) PCMs (binary-eutectic alloy Al-12.6Si paraffin wax (Rubitherm Prandtl number was less significant as (less than 7% and 22% in
GmbH) the vertical and the horizontal orientations, respectively; due to
close contact melting at the bottom of the horizontal case, it
showed larger impact)
(continued on next page)

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M.R. Mohaghegh et al. Energy Conversion and Management: X 11 (2021) 100098

Table 1 (continued )
Ref. Year Geometric shape Method and studied problem Major outcomes and findings

• General correlations for melt fraction and normalized heat

transfer were provided
[35] 2020 Spherical (critical • Summarizing the research performed in investigation of heat • Orthogonal fins were found more effective than circumferential
review) transfer behavior of melting and solidification process of PCMS fins to accelerate phase change
in both constrained and unconstrained spherical shells. • Simulations were very sensitive to thermophysical properties;
therefore, they should be accurately measured, particularly in the
case of viscosity in the mushy zone
• The melt fraction, the rates of the energy storing and releasing,
the total time required for complete phase change were the
important parameters to be calculated in phase change
simulations

systems used for the current numerical simulations with dimensions presented as following:
used for subsequent experimental analysis is presented in Fig. 2 (a)-(d). Conservation of mass:
For the constrained case, a thin cylinder (constraint rod) with the radius
∂u u ∂w
of rc is considered at the center. In Fig. 2 (b) and Fig. 2 (d). Th is wall + + =0 (5)
∂r r ∂z
temperature. The detailed boundary conditions are provided in the
following sections. Conservation of r-momentum (radial direction):
( ) ( 2 )
∂u ∂u ∂u ∂p ∂ u 1 ∂u u ∂2 u
Physical model and mathematical formulation ρ +u +w = − +μ + − + + Sr (6)
∂t ∂r ∂z ∂r ∂r2 r ∂r r2 ∂z2
The initial temperature of the system (T0 ) is chosen lower than the Conservation of z-momentum equation (axial direction):
PCM melting temperature (Tm ). The surface temperature of the ( ) ( 2
container suddenly increases to a temperature Th that is larger than Tm . ∂w ∂w ∂w ∂p ∂ w 1 ∂w
ρ +u +w = − +μ +
This will initiate the melting process by transferring thermal energy ∂t ∂r ∂z ∂z ∂r2 r ∂r
2 )
from the outside to the inside of the container. As time advances, the ∂w
+ 2 + ρgβ(T − Tm ) + Sz (7)
amount of liquid PCM will increase, the solid part of PCM will shrink, ∂z
and the layers of liquid and solid PCMs will be separated by a thin mushy
Conservation of energy:
layer.
( ) [ ( ) ]
In numerical modeling, the liquid phase of PCM is considered as a ∂T ∂T ∂T 1 ∂ ∂T ∂2 T
Newtonian incompressible fluid, and flow is laminar. Considering the ρ Cp +u +w =k r + 2 (8)
∂t ∂r ∂z r ∂r ∂r ∂z
linear variation of density with respect to the temperature in the liquid
phase, the Boussinesq approximation is used to estimate the buoyancy where u and w represent the components of velocity in the radial (r) and
force due to natural convection in the melting process. Because of axial (z) directions, respectively. In these equations, also, t, p, g, and T
axisymmetric geometry, the problem is simplified to a 2-D axisymmetric represent time, pressure, gravitational acceleration, and temperature,
model. The conservation equations of mass, momentum, and energy are respectively. Parameters ρ, μ, β, k, Cp and Tm are related to the PCM
properties, which represent density, dynamic viscosity, coefficient of
thermal expansion, thermal conductivity, specific heat at constant
pressure, and melting temperature, respectively.
Pure paraffin n-octadecane is used as PCM due to its unique ther­
mophysical properties. With having a high value of the latent heat of
fusion and low relative melting point temperature, n-octadecane is an
appropriate PCM for many low-temperature applications [38,39].
Table 2 has listed the properties of n-octadecane used in the present
work. The last terms on the right-hand side of the momentum equations
(i.e., Eqs. (6) and (7)) are sink terms in the form of the Carman-Koseny
equation [40,41] related to the mushy region, which is described in
detail in the next section.

Mushy or transition zone

As phase change (i.e., solid to liquid) is a transition process, it is

assumed that the transition between the solid and liquid phases occurs
within a transition temperature interval Tm − ΔTm < T < Tm + ΔTm ,
where ΔTm represents half of the mushy zone temperature range and is
considered to a reasonable value of 1 ◦ C in this study [30]. In other
words, the phase change process of PCM during melting occurs from a
solid state to a mushy state and then to a liquid phase.
The thermophysical properties of the PCM within different temper­
ature ranges regarding the solid phase, the mushy layer, and the liquid
phase can be approximated by relationships summarized in Table 3.
Fig. 1. Configuration of the pear-shaped container with main dimen­ Note that dynamic viscosity is meaningful for the liquid PCM only (μl ),
sion parameters. and hence the changes of the dynamic viscosity are controlled and

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M.R. Mohaghegh et al. Energy Conversion and Management: X 11 (2021) 100098

Fig. 2. Schematic diagram of the PS-TES system (a) 3D view of the unconstrained case, (b) 2D-axi view of the unconstrained case in computation domain (c) 3D view
of the constrained case (d) 2D-axi view of the constrained case in computation domain.

considered in the mushy region as its value becomes very large in the function defined by Brent et al. [41] as following:
solid part. In these relations, f is the liquid fraction which varies from
0 in solid to 1 in the liquid state as following: (1 − f )2
A(f ) = Amush (11)
f3 + ε
⎧
⎪ 0 T < Tm − ΔTm
⎪
⎪
⎨ T − (T − ΔT ) where Amush mushy zone constant, which reflects the morphology of the
(9)
m m
f =
⎪ 2ΔTm
Tm − ΔTm ⩽T⩽Tm + ΔTm melting front and therefore determines how fast the velocity of fluid
⎪
⎪
⎩ approaches zero as it solidifies and ε is a small computational constant to
1 T > Tm + ΔTm
prevent division by zero [42,43]. Amush should be large and ε small
As seen, there is a significant increase in the value of specific heat enough to produce proper damping and suppress velocity in areas where
because of the absorption of heat in the form of latent heat within a small f→0 (solid part). The amount of 10-3 is usually considered for ε and Amush
temperature interval. Also, due to phase change, viscosity drops from a often ranges from 103 to 108 (e.g., [44–47]). A number of works (e.g.,
large value in the solid state to a low one in the liquid state. Further­ [45,47]) have used a value in this range with no justification or based on
more, in the boundaries of the mushy layer, the velocity of the fluid others’ works. The unsuitable selection of Amush can be a possible reason
varies from zero in the solid state to the natural convection velocity in for the discrepancy between the numerical results and experimental
the liquid state. To handle these variations, sink terms related to mushy data [48,49]. In the present computations, the value of Amush is set to 105
zone applied in the momentum equations are defined as following [41]: as it results in a good agreement between numerical and experimental
data (Table 4).
Si = − A(f )Vi (10)

where i index refers to the coordinated direction and the A(f) is porosity

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M.R. Mohaghegh et al. Energy Conversion and Management: X 11 (2021) 100098

Table 2 ning of the heat transfer process. Then, the wall surface of the PS-TES
Thermophysical properties of n-octadecane [38]. system is suddenly exposed to a temperature Th that is higher than Tm
Property (unit) Value to initiate the melting process. In the non-constrained case, a symmetry
boundary condition is applied at the axisymmetric plane, while for the
Solid Liquid
constrained case, a thin adiabatic cylinder is considered at the center
Density; ρ (kg/m3) 867 770 (z = 0). The initial and boundary conditions for the unconstrained and
Viscosity; μ (Pa.s) – 0.00385
Specific heat capacity; cp (J/kg K) 1934 2196
constrained cases are presented in Eq. (12) and Eq. (13), respectively;
Thermal conductivity; k (W/m K) 0.358 0.148 Unconstrained case:
Coefficient of thermal expansion; β (1/K) 9.1 × 10-4 – Initial condition (t = 0): u = w = 0, T = T0
Melting Temperature; Tm (oC) 28 Outer pear-shaped wall: u = w = 0, T = Th
Latent heat of fusion; hsl (J/kg) 243,500
∂u ∂T
Unconstrained wall : r = 0, w = = =0 (12)
∂r ∂r
Table 3 Constrained case:
Thermophysical properties of the PCM at different temperature zones [38,39]. Initial condition (t = 0): u = w = 0, T = T0
Property Range of Temperatures Outer pear-shaped wall: u = w = 0, T = Th
T < Tm − ΔTm Tm − ΔTm ⩽T⩽Tm + T > Tm + ∂T
ΔTm (mushy layer) ΔTm Constrained wall : r = rc , u = w = =0 (13)
∂r
Density ρs f ρl + (1 − f)ρs ρl In Eq. (13), rc is the radius of the constrained cylinder road placed at
Thermal ks fkl + (1 − f)ks kl the axis of symmetry of the pear-shaped enclosure.
conductivity
( ) ( )
Heat capacity ρ cp ( ) ( ) ρ cp
s f ρ cp l + (1 − f) ρ cp s + l
Results and discussion
( )
ρs + ρf hsf
2 2ΔTm In this section, the numerical simulations and results are presented
Viscosity 106 μl (1 + A(f) ) μl
and discussed. The numerical results include temperature counters
during the melting process, melt fraction percentage, Nusselt number
(Nu), the rate of energy storage, and total energy storage during phase
Table 4 change. The effect of the Rayleigh number (Ra) (based on the height of
Time steps/intervals used to examine the time dependency. H, defined by Eq. (14)) also is investigated on the mentioned parame­
Time intervals (s) Time step (s) ters. In this study, Rayleigh number variation is in the range corre­
Time step 1 Time step 2 Time step 3 sponding to the laminar flow (O(108)). For natural convection, the
Grashof number (Gr) of order 109 is a transition value from laminar to
0–10 0.1 0.01 0.005
10–100 1 0.1 0.05
turbulent flow in all fluids [50]. As the Prandtl number (Pr) here is
100–12,000 100 10 5 around 50, and as Ra = Gr.Pr, therefore the critical Rayleigh number for
the current problem will be of order 5 × 1010. Therefore, flow in the
melted part induced by natural convection in the present problem is
laminar (Ra ≺ Racr ).

gβ(Th − Tm )H 3
Ra = (14)
αν
As seen, the Rayleigh number represents the four different groups of
main parameters in the problem, including PCM thermophysical prop­
erties (i.e., β, α, ν and Tm ), boundary condition (Th ), geometry (H), and
the constant of g (buoyancy force effect due to free convection heat
transfer). Expect Hother parameters are considered constant in this
study. So, the different Rayleigh numbers represent the different sizes of
the PS-TES system. Regarding the based geometry and dimensions (H),
the Rayleigh number for the experimental case is 1.47 × 108, so the main
numerical results are calculated based on this value. Finally, the results
obtained from experimental visualizations are provided, discussed, and
compared with the numerical results in the last subsection.

Grid and time step independency study

Equations (5)-(8) along with the initial and boundary conditions

Fig. 3. Melt fraction during melting process for three different mesh sizes.
Boundary and initial conditions
The system is considered at the initial temperature T0 at the begin­
given in Eqs. (12) and (13) are solved numerically using a 2D axisym­
metric model developed by the finite element based COMSOL Multi­
physics® software. The first step in the numerical solution is to represent
the continuous domain by grids. Mesh generation and distribution are
based on the desired level of accuracy and gradients of dependent var­
iables in the problem. For instance, a high mesh resolution close to the
surface where temperature gradients are large is required to resolve and
capture the physic of the problem accurately. In order to choose an
appropriate mesh for the current problem and to test the dependency of
numerical results on the computational grid, a mesh study has been

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M.R. Mohaghegh et al. Energy Conversion and Management: X 11 (2021) 100098

Fig. 4. (a) Unstructured mesh generated inside the pear-shaped geometry, (b) Near field resolution of grids close to the wall boundary of the geometry.

carried out. For this purpose, the three different mesh sizes with 3752,
8762, and 20,538 elements are used for calculating the percentage of
melt fraction (MF) parameter, which is formulated by the following
equation:
Volume of the liquid PCM
MF = × 100 (15)
Total (liquid + solid) volume of PCM
The results of all mesh sizes are depicted in Fig. 3. As can be seen,
there is no significant difference among the three computational grid
sizes, except a slight difference towards the end of the melting process.
Therefore, to keep the accuracy and reduce the computational time, the
mesh size with 8802 elements is used for further calculations. The mesh
considered for the numerical simulations and its magnified view in the
wall boundary is shown in Fig. 4(a) and (b), respectively.
As the problem is unsteady, the independence of the solution from
the time step is also examined. For a similar case, the melt fraction is
calculated using three different time steps/intervals, as shown in Fig. 5.
As it can be, the results are almost identical for all time intervals.
Therefore, the time independency of the model is also concluded. The
middle time interval is used for the subsequent results. It should be
noted that the default values 0.01 and 5 × 10-4 (for all variables, i.e.,
temperature, velocity, and pressure) are considered for the relative and
absolute tolerances in the model, respectively.

Fig. 5. Melt fraction during the melting process for three different time
steps/intervals.

7
M.R. Mohaghegh et al.
Fig. 6. Progression of the melting process and comparison it in unconstrained and constrained PS-TES system at six selected times (Ra=1.47 × 108).
Progression of the melting process and trend of melt fraction
Fig. 6 shows the progression of the melting process of PCM inside
both PS-TES systems during the melting time. For the unconstrained
case, five selected times (Fig. 6(a)-e)) and for the constrained case, ten
selected times are considered as constrained melting lasts longer (Fig. 6
(f)-o)). As it can be seen, the isothermal floods representing thermal
fields nicely track and show the melting phase front (solid–liquid
interface) and the trend of melt fraction variation for both cases.
The initial temperature of the system is 0◦ C, which is well below the
melting temperature of the PCM (i.e., Tm = 28◦ C). The container surface
is suddenly exposed to an environment with a temperature of Th which is
higher than the melting point of the PCM (i.e., Th = 35◦ C). Hence,
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Energy Conversion and Management: X 11 (2021) 100098
thermal energy starts to transfer from the heated walls of the PS-TES
system to the solid PCM as a result of the temperature gradient at the
walls. It leads to an increase in the solid PCM temperature continuously
until it reaches the melting temperature. At this stage, a very thin layer
of liquid PCM attached to the PS-TES system wall appears, which is
formed in a shape similar to a hollow shell pear-shaped container (Fig. 6
(a), (f), and (g)). At the early stages of the melting process, due to the
dominance of the viscous force over the buoyancy (or inertial) force, the
liquid layer remains nearly motionless, and thus conduction is the
dominant heat transfer regime (the same result was reported by
[31,51,52]).
As melting proceeds, the thin liquid layer will grow in size, buoyancy
force increases, and finally, overcome the viscous force in the liquid
M.R. Mohaghegh et al.
Fig. 7. Velocity vectors due to natural convection flow in melted part in the unconstrained and melting constrained melting along with a magnified view of the top
and the bottom parts.
PCM region. It leads to initiate the upward motion of warm liquid PCM,
which can be observed in the top of the conical shell of the PS-TES
system where warmer PCM is gathered due to natural convection and
natural convection cell is formed in the liquid PCM (Fig. 6(b) in un­
constrained and Fig. 6(h) in constrained melting). In this stage, the heat
transfer regime will be dominated by convection in the upper part of the
PS-TES system, while conduction will still be dominant at the bottom
part (mixed regime). However, the effects of natural convection in the
bottom part in constrained melting are more visible than unconstrained
melting as a result of the existence of the constraint rod, which causes
that solid PCM to stick to that.
The natural convection cell formation can be further verified and
observed from the velocity vector plots depicted in Fig. 7. As can be seen,
natural convection cell is formed at the top of both cases (Fig. 7(b) and
(e), while for the bottom part, it is observed just for constraint melting
(Fig. 7 (f)). However, comparing melting times shows that natural
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Energy Conversion and Management: X 11 (2021) 100098
convection flow in the top of the container is more significant in the
unconstrained melting than the constrained melting resulting in a faster
melting in the unconstrained case.
As time advances further, the natural convection region grows, and
parallelly solid PCM shrinks. While solid PCM is settled on the bottom of
the container in unconstrained melting, it is stuck to the constraint rod
and shrieked around it in constrained melting. Due to the high natural
convection circulation and thermal stratification effects, a higher frac­
tion of PCM is melt and is gathered at the top of the PS-TES system (Fig. 6
(c)-(e) and (i)-(o)). A comparison of images at the same time confirms
that the unconstrained melting is faster than the constrained one. This
result is further verified in Fig. 8.
Towards the end of the melting process, a large upper portion of the
PS-TES system is occupied by hot liquid, and the temperature gradients
are reduced. Therefore, the rate of melting slows down. As can be seen
from Fig. 8, the slope of graphs for both cases at this stage is less steep
M.R. Mohaghegh et al.
Fig. 8. The trend of melt fraction as the function of time for both test cases
(Ra=1.47 × 108).
Fig. 9. Schematic of pear shaped (left) and cylindrical (right) TES system with
the same height (H=125.57 mm) and same volume (∀ = 2 × 10− 4 m3 ).
than the slope at earlier melting. Once the melting process is completed
(MF = 1), heat transfer from relatively hotter liquid PCM to the colder
liquid PCM will still be continued at a slower rate until the temperature
of the entire PS-TES system reaches the hot wall temperature (Fig. 9).
Comparison of results of unconstrained and constrained cases in
Fig. 6 and Fig. 8 reveals the fact that the existence of the adiabatic rod
inside the system decreases the melting rate, as the time duration
required to complete the melting process is increased in the constrained
case compared to the unconstrained case. This constrained rod also af­
fects the solid–liquid interface shape due to the viscosity effects of liquid
PCM on the constraint. The time duration required to complete the
melting process is 5840 s (about 97 min) for the unconstrained case and
10670 s (about 178 min) for the constrained case.
The effect of the container shape is prominent on the melting process
for pear-shaped container compared with geometries such as cylindrical,
reported by [21,30]. In the pear-shaped container, the cross-sectional
area from the bottom to the top increase gradually; hence natural con­
vection effect on the melting process is augmented, and thus, the sol­
id–liquid interface forms uniform (Fig. 10).
The variation of the melt fraction during the melting time of PCM
inside a pear-shaped container is compared with a cylindrical container
10
Energy Conversion and Management: X 11 (2021) 100098
Fig. 10. Comparison of the variations of melt fraction during the melting PCM
inside the pear-shaped and the cylindrical TES system (Ra=1.47 × 108).
Fig. 11. Position of probe points inside the system.
with the same height and same volume (both unconstrained). As can be
seen, with the appearance of natural convection effects in the heat
transfer regime (around t ≻ 500 s), the melt fraction and consequently
rate of heat transfer is higher for the pear-shaped system compared to
the cylindrical system, as the complete melting time (about 97 min) is
less compared to the one for the cylindrical case (about 108 min). This
meaningful difference can be justified by the geometrical shape of the
pear-shaped system that augments the natural convective current and
therefore presents better thermal performance during the phase change
(Fig. 11).
Temperature distribution inside the PS-TES system
The transient temperature profiles at five different locations (i.e.,
probe points) inside the PS-TES System for unconstrained and con­
strained cases are depicted in Fig. 12(a) and Fig. 12(b), respectively. The
general trend of temperature profiles for both test cases is almost the
same. The radial position for the temperature points is considered fixed
(i.e., r = 0), while five equal intervals are selected for their axial
M.R. Mohaghegh et al.
Fig. 12. The transient temperature profiles inside the PS-TES system at five
different locations: (a) Unconstrained case, (b) Constrained case.
locations (i.e., z = 0.1H to z = 0.9H).
The trend of the transient temperature variations in these figures
indicates three distinct patterns as following:
(i) Sensible heating inside the solid PCM: While the temperature at
the probe point is under the melting point, heat transfers sensibly from
relatively hotter solid PCM to colder solid PCM, and temperature in­
creases from T0 to Tm – ΔT with a relatively faster rate. For a small
period of time, temperatures increase almost linearly with time.
However, the rate of variations (slope of linear profiles) is different
for each probe point as for locations closer to the wall (z = 0.1H and z =
0.5H), the rate is faster than the middle locations (z = 0.2H, z = 0.3H, z
= 0.4H). Curvature and nonlinearity in the temperature profiles appear
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Energy Conversion and Management: X 11 (2021) 100098
Fig. 13. Temporal variation of the average Nusselt number for both cases.
Fig. 14. Temporal variation of the dimensionless energy transfer through the
hot wall during the melting process for both cases.
as melting font approaches close to the probe point.
(ii) Latent heating inside the mushy PCM: For a period of time within
the phase transition range (i.e., Tm − ΔT ≤ T ≤ Tm + ΔT), temperature
variations are slow, and temperature profiles for each prob point are
nearly flat. Because in this transition zone, latent heat is transferred, the
phase change occurs, and as expected, the temperatures are roughly
constant. However, the length of this zone (time period) is distinctly
different at different probe points as it increases with decreasing the
height of the prob location. For probe point z = 0.1H, the transition zone
remains for a longer period of time due to the slowest progression of the
melting front. In contrast, the phase transition occurs in the fastest time
for z = 0.5H as a result of the early formation of boundary layers and
natural convection at this location. As can be seen from both figures, the
M.R. Mohaghegh et al. Energy Conversion and Management: X 11 (2021) 100098

Fig. 15. Effect of different Ra on the temporal variation of melt fraction (un­ Fig. 17. Effect of different Ra on the temporal variation of the dimensionless
constrained case). energy transfer (unconstrained case).

Fig. 16. Effect of different Ra on the temporal variation of the average Nusselt Fig. 18. Effect of different Ra on the temporal variation of the cumulative
number (unconstrained case). energy transfer (unconstrained case).

transition zone is larger for all prob points in the unconstrained case Heat transfer and average Nusselt number
compared with the constrained case as a result of having a larger total
melting time. Heat transfer through the hot wall to PCM can be represented by the
(iii) Sensible heating inside liquid PCM: In this temperature zone, the dimensionless average Nusselt number. The rate of the heat transferred
temperature of all prob points increases from Tm + ΔT to a few degrees through the system boundaries (wall) to cold PCM by means of con­
below the hot wall temperature (Th) sensibly. The slope of the profiles is duction in the normal direction to the boundary surface can be defined
relatively higher as a result of the natural convection current, which is by Fourier’s law as:
well established in this stage. As discussed earlier, the rate of heat ∫ ∫ ⃒
∂T ⃒
transfer slows down towards the end of the melting process. Hence, Q̇(t) = q′′ dA = − k ⃒⃒ dA (16)
∂n w
temperatures at all the prob locations increase extremely slowly towards A A

the hot wall temperature.

where nis the normal direction to the surface (i.e., surface vector), and A
is the area of the container surface. Regarding energy balance at the

12
M.R. Mohaghegh et al.
Fig. 19. Schematic diagram of the constrained PS-TES system experimental setup.
wall, the surface averaged convective heat transfer coefficient can be
defined by:
⃒ 0
∫ ⃒
− k∂∂Tn ⃒⃒ dA
Q̇(t) A
h= = w
(17)
A(Th − Tm ) AΔT
Now, the average Nusselt number can be calculated by the following
equation:
hH
Nu = (18)
k E0 = ∀sys cp,s ρs (Tm − T0 ) + s
Fig. 13 shows the transient distribution of the average Nusselt
number. The trend of Nu profiles is observed as opposed to the MF
profiles presented in Fig. 8.
As discussed earlier, at the beginning of the melting process, where
conduction is the dominant regime of heat transfer, a thin liquid layer is
formed around the hot surface, resulting in a high temperature gradient
and a high heat flux. Therefore, according to Eqs. (17) and (18) the
magnitude of the heat transfer coefficient and Nu number is very high at
the initial stages of the melting process. As time advances, Nu drops
rapidly as a result of the growth of the mentioned liquid layer. For
further times, flow current occurs, and convection forms a thermal
boundary layer. In this mixed regime, conduction and convection have
the opposite trend as time proceeds. Hence, a change in the slope of
Nu − t profiles (i.e., the transition regime) is observed as the rate of drop
of Nu decreases, while Nu itself consciously but gradually drops toward
the end of the melting process as a result of decreasing temperature
gradians and thus heat flux. At the end, once thermal equilibrium inside
the PS-TES system is achieved, Nu reaches zero.
Energy storage
Energy stored during the melting process is an essential parameter in
encapsulated PCMs as TES systems. This energy is transferred from the
hot surface of the container to the PCM during the melting process. By
using the time integration on the rate of heat transfer during the melting
process, the cumulative stored energy inside the system can be calcu­
lated over the optional period of melting time as following:
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Energy Conversion and Management: X 11 (2021) 100098
∫ t
E= Q̇(t)dt (19)
where Q̇(t) the rate of heat transferred through the hot wall to PCM and
is calculated using Eq. (16).
A dimensionless form of stored energy can be obtained by fraction E/
E0, where E0 is the maximum possible energy that can be stored inside
the PS-TES system during the melting process:
[ (ρ + ρ ) ]
l
hsf + cp,l ρl (Th − Tm ) (20)
2
where ∀sys is the volume of the PS-TES system. As seen from Eq. (20), E0
is the summation of total sensible heating in solid, latent heating in the
transition zone, and sensible heating in liquid.
For both test cases, the dimensionless cumulative energy (E/E0) is
presented in Fig. 14. As seen, E/E0-t profiles increase nearly linearly
with respect to the time as the melting process progresses. As discussed
earlier, towards the end of melting, heat transfer from the hot wall
significantly drops, the rate of energy storage drops; thus, profiles
become non-linear until they approach 1 as expected.
Effect of different Rayleigh numbers
In this section, the effect of Rayleigh number variations on the
melting rate, heat, and energy transfer characteristics are investigated.
All previous results were presented based on Ra = 1.47 × 108, which was
obtained based on geometry sizes reported in Fig. 20. As thermophysical
properties and boundary condition (Th ) are fixed, the different Rayleigh
numbers actually represent the system with different sizes (volumes).
According to the base volume of the pear-shaped system used for
experimental results (Fig. 20), the height of the system (H) is 125.57
mm, and the maximum diameter (dmax ) is 81.81 mm. In order to keep the
shape of the system fixed, the ratio of dmax /H = 0.65and the side surface
slope angle (θ = 61.1◦ ) are kept constant for other dimensions (vol­
umes). The three different Ranumbers, 1 × 108, 1.47 × 108 (experi­
mental case size), and 3 × 108, are considered based on three different
adjustments system size to investigate the effect of Ranumber variations.
Corresponding results in this subsection are presented for the uncon­
strained case. The same effects were observed for the constrained case,
M.R. Mohaghegh et al.
Fig. 20. Schematic diagram of the (a) 3-D image of the pear-shaped container, (b) Side view of the container with dimension sizes, and (c) top view of the container
with dimension sizes.
which is prevented from the repeated report.
Fig. 15 presents the trend of melt fraction at different Ranumbers
during the melting process. As, higher Ra represents a higher height (i.e.,
larger system), an increase in Ra number results in a larger time of
melting to achieve the same value of melt fractions.
An opposite trend is observed for average Nusselt numbers depicted
in Fig. 16. At a given time, increasing Ra leads to an increase in the
magnitude of Nu number. Because, higher Ranumbers imply stronger
buoyancy force, which means larger convection and thus larger Nu
number.
The effect of different Ra on the temporal variation of the average
dimensionless energy transfer is depicted in Fig. 17. Although increasing
Ra number resulting in increasing system volume increases the energy
stored in the system, it is observed a decreasing trend in dimensionless
energy transfer (E/E0) at a larger Ra number. The reason behind this
paradox is just a mathematical interpretation. The ratio of E/E0 is al­
ways less than 1 (approach to 1 at the end of the melting process), and
the amount of E0 is diffident for different Ra numbers. Hence to reflect
the effect of Ra number, it is better to plot the variation of absolute
cumulative energy (E) during the melting time (Fig. 18).
As seen from Fig. 18, at a given time, larger Raresults in higher
14
Energy Conversion and Management: X 11 (2021) 100098
energy transfer, as expected. A higher slope at the beginning of the
melting process is observed at larger Rayleigh number, which is due to
the larger amount of heat transfer through the larger surface area. As
time advances further, the convection regime becomes dominant, so
larger Ranumbers give a significant increase in melting. Therefore, the
difference in stored energy profiles is significantly evidenced for
different Ra numbers in this stage.
Experimental work
In this section, the progression of the melting process of the PS-TES
system for both test cases is experimentally investigated, and the results
obtained at different selected times are compared with the current nu­
merical results. For this purpose, an experimental setup is constructed
and equipped with appropriate sensors. In the following subsections, a
brief description of the pear-shaped container, material preparation,
experimental setup, experimental methodology, and data acquisition
are provided.
Experimental setup
The melting experimental setup consists of a pear-shaped container,
M.R. Mohaghegh et al.
Fig. 21. Comparison of numerical results with the experimental data for the
temporal variation of melt fraction (unconstrained case and Ra = 1.47 × 108).
Fig. 22. Comparison of numerical results with the experimental data for the
temporal variation of melting fraction in both test cases (unconstrained case
and Ra = 1.47 × 108).
a thermal regulator, an 8-mm thick transparent acrylic tank filled with
deionized water, a digital camera, and a computer, as shown in the
schematic diagram in Fig. 19. The pear-shaped container was made of
Pyrex glass, having 160.21 mm total height, 125.57 mm effective height
for melting process, an outer diameter of 81.81 mm, a wall thickness of
3.5 mm, and the side surface slope angle is 61.1◦ , as shown in Fig. 20.
The purpose of choosing a transparent container in this study is for the
direct visualization of the melting process. The PCM expansion during
melting is accommodated in the neck of the pear-shaped container.
Thermal regulator (model: HCTB-3020, manufacturer: Omega) is used
to create an isothermal environment with precision stability of ±0.1 ◦ C.
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Energy Conversion and Management: X 11 (2021) 100098
To provide a uniform temperature inside the tank, a discharge pump
circulates the heated water continuously. To minimize the turbulence of
the water circulation, a 30 cm × 20 cm acrylic barrier is positioned
between the heater and the PCM enclosure and 5 cm above the bottom
surface of the water tank. A data acquisition (DAQ) system (model:
National Instruments NI9213) is connected to a T-type thermocouple
(model: Omega, TT-T-30-36) placed in the water to monitor the required
water temperature before and during the experiments. The digital
camera (model: Canon, EOS rebel T5) is used to capture the melting
process of the PCM periodically. A computer is used to record the tem­
peratures and save the PCM melting images.
Experimental procedure
The experimental work was carried out in sequential steps. Before
each charging experiment, filling the empty pear-shaped container was
done by slowly pouring melted PCM into the container. Then, the filled
container is placed inside the water bath that maintains the PCM at a
constant initial temperature (Ti = 0 ◦ C). To minimize air gaps formation
during the PCM melting, a layer by layer strategy was implemented. At
each step, a small amount of the liquid PCM was poured and then so­
lidified, creating a thin layer. The pear-shaped container was filled to the
line where the upper surface of the PCM was lined up with the bottom of
the container’s neck. To prepare the sample for the melting experiment,
the filled enclosure was allowed to stay at the initial temperature for at
least 24 h to assure initial temperature uniformity within the PCM
sample.
Then, the thermo-regulator heats the water to a temperature (Th)
above the melting point temperature (Tm) of the PCM. A melting
experiment was then started by quickly moving and submersing the
pear-shaped container to the high-temperature water tank. The tem­
perature of the water inside the tank serves as a constant temperature
boundary condition. One T-type thermocouple (TC) was mounted 1 cm
below the neck into the PCM, to ensure the initial temperature is
reached. The melting experiment was started after removing the pear-
shaped enclosure from the constant temperature bath and placing it
inside the water container. Each set of experiments was performed three
times to verify the repeatability and accuracy of the experiments.
Comparison of the results of melt fractions showed a negligible
devotion.
Experimental visualization: Validation of the numerical results with the
experimental data
A comparison of the temporal variation of melt fraction values ob­
tained from visualized experimental data and numerical modeling for
unconstrained and constrained melting is presented in Fig. 21 and
Fig. 22, respectively. As seen, numerical results have well simulated the
trend of the melting process and melt fraction values from the start to the
end of the melting process. In general, an excellent agreement between
numerical simulations and experimental data is observed for both cases.
The experiments also showed that the time duration required to com­
plete the melting process is 96 min for the unconstrained case and 188
min for the constrained case, which are in excellent agreement with
numerical values obtained in the last section (less than 6% difference for
both cases).
Upon submerging the PS-TES system in the water tank, the digital
camera starts capturing images periodically to track the solid–liquid
interface and melting behavior of the PCM. In the present paper, a line
based method [53,54] is used to track the solid–fluid interface using
high quality images from experimental visualizations. Then, the image is
digitized (by GetData Graph Digitizer software) to find the coordinates
(i.e., x, y) of solid–liquid interface data points (Fig. 25). Subsequently, a
numerical integration is performed on the coordinated data points to
calculate the area, and then the volume of the solid part of PCM is ob­
tained by revolving (360◦ ) this area with a radius of centroid coordinate
(x), as geometry is axisymmetric. To calculate the melt fraction, the solid
PCM volume is subtracted from the total volume, and the result is
M.R. Mohaghegh et al.
Fig. 23. Experimental visualization of melting processes inside the PS-TES and comparison with present numerical results (unconstrained case and Ra = 1.47 × 108).
divided by the total volume (Eq. (15)).
In order to evaluate the numerical results associated with the melting
front location and its variations during phase change, the images ob­
tained from numerical simulations are compared with the experimental
visualizations for six selected times and are presented for unconstrained
and constrained test cases in Fig. 23 and Fig. 24, respectively. Corre­
sponding melt fractions also are provided. The selected times almost
cover the entire range of the melting process. A comparison of numerical
images with the experimental ones reveals that the numerical model has
16
Energy Conversion and Management: X 11 (2021) 100098
well tracked the melting front and well simulated the melting pattern in
both test cases. The solid–liquid interface and progression of the
shrinking solid at the upper edge is well identified from the images for
both test cases. It is evident that PCM in the unconstrained container
melts faster, and the melting process is completed earlier than the
constrained container. Hence, at a given time, the melt fraction is
qualitatively identified higher, which confirms results obtained from
numerical simulation, once again (see Fig. 8).
A relative error analysis between the values melt fractions obtained
M.R. Mohaghegh et al.
Fig. 24. Experimental visualization of melting processes inside the PS-TES and comparison with present numerical results (constrained case and Ra = 1.47 × 108).
from the numerical model and experimental visualizations depicted in
Fig. 23 and Fig. 24, is made and presented in Table 5. In general, good
agreement between numerical simulations and experimental data is
achieved. The numerical model has well simulated the entire melting
process. However, there are some discrepancies. These discrepancies
can arise from some possible simplifications, e.g., considering PCM
properties as constant values during temperature change, ignoring the
thermal expansion of PCM during phase change, and the level of accu­
racy of experimental visualizations and measurements. The next section
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Energy Conversion and Management: X 11 (2021) 100098
provides an uncertainty analysis of the melt fraction calculations ob­
tained from experimental vacuolations.
Uncertainty analysis of experimental visualizations
As earlier discussed, the line based method is implemented to track
the solid–fluid interface in the experimental images. Identifying the
accurate location of the solid-liquid interface is essential in this method,
and any inaccuracy can be a source of error in melt fraction calculations.
The main uncertainty of these calculations comes from the pixels located
M.R. Mohaghegh et al. Energy Conversion and Management: X 11 (2021) 100098

root-sum-squared method, the relative uncertainty associated with the

calculations of the melt fraction is obtained as [54]:
√̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅
̅
δMF (δx)2 (δy)2 ( δx)2 (δV )2
= + + + (23)
MF x y x V

Depends on the δNP (considering δNPX = δNPy ), the uncertainty is

±1.69% for δNP = 1, ±3.38% for δNP = 2, and ±5.08% for δNP = 3. The
higher relative uncertainties are associated with higher melt fractions
(lower solid PCM), and their maximum reaches ±6.76%.

Conclusion

In this paper, the transient heat transfer, melting process, and energy
storage characteristics of a PCM (i.e., n-octadecane) inside the pear-
shaped thermal energy storage (PS-TES) system were investigated
both numerically and experimentally. Simulations and experimental
works were carried out on two different prototypes of unconstrained and
constrained PS-TES systems. The key findings are summarized below:

• At the early stages of the melting process, conduction is the dominant

Fig. 25. A close up view of a portion of the PS-TES including both solid PCM
(brighter/white pixels) and liquid PCM (darker pixels) inside a pixel
grid system.
in the solid–liquid interface that are common between two phases
(mushy zone; including pixels with partial darkness and partial bright­
ness). A magnified view of the interface (Fig. 1) indicates that no more
than 1 to 2 pixels are located in the mushy zone. The corresponding
relative uncertainty is calculated by the following equation:
δx δNPX
= (21)
x NPX
δy δNPY
= (22)
y NPY
where NPi and δNPi represent the number of pixels and the absolute
measurement uncertainty at the interface pixels in the i-direction,
respectively.
Combining the relative uncertainties of each calculation using the
heat transfer regime. As melting advances, the thin liquid layer will
grow in size, and the heat transfer regime will be dominated by
convection in the upper part of the PS-TES system, while conduction
will still be dominant at the bottom part. However, the effects of
natural convection in the bottom part in constrained melting are
more visible than unconstrained melting as a result of the existence
of the constraint rod, which causes that solid PCM to stick to that.
• As time advances further, the natural convection region grows
(natural convection cell is formed), and parallelly solid PCM shrinks.
Both numerical and experimental images obtained from the melting
process confirmed these heat transfer regimes and their transition
trend within the melting time.
• The results showed a lower rate of melting and hence longer melting
time for the constrained melting compared with the unconstrained
melting as a result of the existence of an insulated thin cylindrical rod
inside the system. In other words, natural convection circulation was
significant in the unconstrained case; therefore, the melting rate was
faster.
• The effect of the container shape is prominent on the melting process
for the pear-shaped container compared with geometries such as
cylindrical. Increasing cross-sectional area from the bottom to the
top as gradually augments the natural convection current despite the
decreasing of the temperature gradients. Therefore, the solid–liquid
interface forms uniform. A comparison with a cylindrical shape
showed a better thermal performance for the pear-shaped capsule.
Hence, pear-shaped capsules are proposed as TES systems due to
having a higher thermal performance.
• The magnitude of the average Nusselt number is higher in the early
stages of the melting process (conduction regime) due to high tem­
perature gradient and high heat flux. As time advances, Nurapidly
drops as a result of the growth of the melted liquid layer. A change in
slope in the Nu − tprofile is observed, which indicates the initiation of
the mixed regime where conduction is decreasing while convection is

Table 5
A comparison between melt fractions during the melting process (%), obtained from the numerical model and experimental data.
Unconstrained Constrained

time (s) Numerical Experimental Relative error (%) time (s) Numerical Experimental Relative error (%)

600 19.6 16.1 21.4 600 13.0 16.0 18.6

1080 33.7 29.3 15.1 2160 31.6 35.3 10.4
2160 61.2 60.1 1.9 3600 47.8 46.8 2.1
3240 80.7 78.9 2.3 6480 76.8 76.5 0.5
4440 94.1 94.4 0.3 7920 88.9 85.9 3.5
4800 96.6 97.7 1.1 9360 97.0 93.9 3.3

18
M.R. Mohaghegh et al.
increasing. Nu consciously but gradually drops toward the end of the
melting process.
• The rate of energy stored in both PS-TES systems increases nearly
linearly with respect to the time as the melting process progresses
until towards the end of melting, where profiles become non-linear
as a result of decreasing temperature gradients and so dropping
heat transfer from the hot wall significantly.
• As the PCM is constant in this study, changes in Ra number reflect
changes in systems size (volume). Therefore, at a given time,
increasing the Ra number decreases the melt fraction while increases
the Nunumber and energy stored in the system.
• A comprehensive experimental setup was constructed to carry out
the melting process visualizations and verifying the numerical re­
sults. The experimental visualizations confirm that the melting pro­
cess pattern observed in the numerical simulations. An excellent
agreement between numerical simulations and experimental data
was also achieved.
• Image processing of the experimental visualizations along with the
numerical integration was implemented to calculate the melt frac­
tion. An uncertainty analysis associated with these calculations was
reported as well. The analysis showed higher values towards the end
of melting with a maximum of ±6.76%.
The present research findings would be useful to researchers and
engineers in gaining a deeper understanding of the melting process in­
side encapsulated PCM systems, designing efficient LHTES systems, and
conduct future works on novel PCM encapsulation designs. In this re­
gard, there are also challenges in measuring temperature in different
locations inside the system due to the geometric shape and size of these
systems (specifically the non-constraint case) that make it difficult.
Future works can investigate the solidification process inside the current
designs and discuss the challenges in geometric optimization modeling,
manufacturing, and economic aspects of such designs.
CRediT authorship contribution statement
M.R. Mohaghegh: Conceptualization, Methodology, Investigation,
Writing – original draft. Y. Alomair: Methodology, Investigation. M.
Alomair: Methodology, Investigation. S.H. Tasnim: Supervision,
Writing - review & editing. S. Mahmud: Supervision, Funding acquisi­
tion, Formal analysis, Writing - review & editing. H. Abdullah: Super­
vision, Funding acquisition.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
the work reported in this paper.
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