Experimental determination of the heat transfer and cold storage characteristics of a microencapsulated phase change material in a horizontal tank

In the present paper, the performance of a microencapsulated phase change material (in 45% w/w concentration) for low temperature thermal energy storage, suitable for air conditioning applications is studied. The results are compared to a sensible heat storage unit using water. Thermo-physical properties such as the specific heat, enthalpy variation, thermal conductivity and density are also experimentally determined. The non-Newtonian shear-thickening behavior of the phase change material slurry is quantified. Thermal energy performance is experimentally determined for a 100 l horizontal tank. The heat transfer between the heat transfer fluid and the phase change material was provided by a tube-bundle heat exchanger inside the tank. The results show that the amount of energy stored using the phase change material is 53% higher than for water after 10 h of charging, for the same storage tank volume. It was found that the heat transfer coefficient between the phase change material and the tube wall increases during the phase change temperature range, however it remains smaller than the values obtained for water.