Experimental study on ice formation around finned tubes

Kamal A. R. Ismail, Fatima A. M. Lino

Phase change materials are being used for energy storage, thermal insulation of buildings and equipments due to their high storage capacity and isothermal behavior during the phase change processes. Their low thermal conductivity is a limiting factor for possible wider range of applications. The present study has the objective of investigating fins for enhancing the thermal performance of PCM storage systems. Experimental set-up was designed and instrumented to allow investigating the effects of the cooling fluid temperature, its mass flow rate, and diameter of the fin on the interface position, interface velocity and the solidified mass. The results indicate that reducing the tube wall temperature enhances the solidification velocity and increases the solidified mass. The increase of the mass flow rate has similar effects on the phase change process. The increase of the fin diameter increases the interface position, solidified mass of PCM and the interface velocity.