Parametric study of solidification of PCM around a cylinder for ice-bank applications

This paper presents the results of a numerical parametric study of the solidification of a phase change material (PCM) around a cylinder carrying a heat-transfer fluid (HTF) inside. A pure conduction model is used for the PCM and tube wall, the finite volume method is used together with the interface immobilization technique for treating the phase-change process. The convection problem inside the tube is solved by an energy balance with a Nusselt number value, obtained from the steady-state values for constant wall heat-flux conditions. The effects of the HTF entry temperature, the initial PCM temperature and the thermal conductivity of the tube material on the evolution of the solidification front are studied. Results for the temperature distribution during the process, phase-change interface velocity and thermal energy stored in the system are also presented.