Experimental investigation of melting behavior of PCM by using coil heat source inside cylindrical container

Experiments were performed for different inlet temperatures of HTF 70 °C, 80 °C and 90 °C and for different volume flow rates 5 lpm, 10 lpm and 15 lpm. The transient variation of the molten fraction, the percentage of thermal energy storage and the average Nusselt number are obtained. A significant effect of the inlet HTF temperature more than that of volume flow rate on the paraffin melting process is observed. Also, empirical correlation for the molten fraction and percentage of heat stored are deduced in terms of the operating conditions.