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Model/experiment comparisons for TES (thermal energy storage) in phase-change materials (PCM's)

Conference · · 72nd AIChE Annu. Meet. Prepr.; (United States)
OSTI ID:6473025

Melting and freezing experiments were made with paraffin wax, used as a PCM for potential TES applications, in a laboratory apparatus designed for high-precision measurements of temperature profiles and phase boundaries. The experiments were carried out under the conditions of minimum natural convection. A microcomputer system was used to control the temperature in the heating and cooling coils and to collect average and standard deviation values from eight thermocouples. The measured temperature distributions were compared with those predicted from five different mathematical models describing heat transfer processes in PCM's. Each of the models was reliable if the solid thermal conductivity was about three times that of the liquid. The Plexiglas wall of the device effectively transferred heat around the wax, creating an observed bending of the phase front at the wall. Experiments were also made with calcium chloride hydrate as PCM.

OSTI ID:
6473025
Report Number(s):
CONF-791108-
Journal Information:
72nd AIChE Annu. Meet. Prepr.; (United States), Journal Name: 72nd AIChE Annu. Meet. Prepr.; (United States) Vol. 85B
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English