Heat Transfer in Laminar Flow With a Phase Change Boundary

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Abstract
Thermal analysis of a shell-and-tube heat exchanger with a phase change material (PCM) on the shell side and a heat transfer fluid flowing through the tube is presented. The phase change material was initially liquid at its solidification temperature. The heat transfer fluid originates from an isothermal reservoir at a temperature which is lower than the temperature of the phase change material. Numerical results of finite difference method are obtained with a ratio of the thermal properties of the phase change material to the fluid to represent n-octadecane, wax-water system. Variations of the temperature distribution for the fluid, and the PCM, and the interface position of the phase change material in the radial and axial directions are presented. The bulk temperature of the fluid is shown to be a function of the Stefan number, the Fourier number and the velocity profile. It is also shown that the Biot number varies in the axial direction and the heat capacity effects of the phase change material, even at low Stefan numbers are significant.

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