Numerical investigation of heat transfer mechanism in a vertical shell and tube latent heat energy storage system

The thermal behavior and heat transfer characteristics of a vertical cylindrical shell and tube latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES) unit are investigated using a pure thermal conduction model and a combined conduction-convection heat transfer model, respectively. The results from numerical simulation are validated with published experimental data which indicate that the combined convection and conduction model can better describe the energy transfer in the phase change materials (PCMs) during melting process. In contrast, heat transfer by conduction is more significant during the solidification process. In terms of total solidification time, the two models show little difference.