Phase change material solidification in a finned cylindrical shell thermal energy storage: An approximate analytical approach

Results are reported of an investigation of the solidification of a phase change material (PCM) in a cylindrical shell thermal energy storage with radial internal fins. An approximate analytical solution is presented for two cases. In case 1, the inner wall is kept at a constant temperature and, in case 2, a constant heat flux is imposed on the inner wall. In both cases, the outer wall is insulated. The results are compared to those for a numerical approach based on an enthalpy method. The results show that the analytical model satisfactory estimates the solid-liquid interface. In addition, a comparative study is reported of the solidified fraction of encapsulated PCM for different geometric configurations of finned storage having the same volume and surface area of heat transfer.