The thermal performance of phase change material (PCM) is significant to latent heat thermal energy storage applications. This paper's current effort is given to investigate the heat transfer pattern and melting process of a PCM (tin) inside a trapezoidal shape enclosure. This study aims to enhance heat transmission and verify the applicability of PCM in thermal storage facilities. The finite element technique is used to examine the transient heat transfer of the system numerically. The enclosure is initially filled with a portion of solid tin, and the remaining is liquid tin. Constant heat flux and fixed temperature are used as heat source and sink, respectively. The result includes qualitative visualizations of temperature and velocity distributions and quantitative thermal responses at a fixed point for relative comparison between PCM and liquid tin. The use of PCM is found advantageous in heat transfer improvement.

Recommended citation: Deb, N., Javed, S., Saha, S., & Islam, A. S. (2023). Evaluation of heat transfer and melting process of a PCM inside a trapezoidal shape enclosure.
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