Experimental analysis of a thermal storage with a PCM-loaded finned heat exchanger

A new latent thermal energy storage (LTES), made of a finned heat exchanger dipped in the paraffinic phase change material (PCM) RT50 is studied experimentally. Several tests are performed to analyse the LTES storage capacity and thermal performance during PCM melting and solidification. The experimental tests are run for different temperatures of the hot and cold water flowing inside the heat exchanger. For each test, three different water flow rates through the heat exchanger are considered. Results show how, charging (discharging) the LTES with a higher (lower) inlet water temperature and a higher water flow rate, the thermal power exchanged during the process grows considerably. For a fixed flow rate, a thermal power growth up to 146% is registered increasing by 15 K the inlet water temperature during melting. For a fixed inlet water temperature and for growing flow rates, an increase in thermal power up to 1 kW occurs.