Experimental study on thermal performance of xylitol in a latent heat storage combined with sensible heat storage

An experimental study is conducted to investigate the achievement in heat transfer and appraisal of thermal performance in a vertical cylindrical shell and axially finned tube latent heat energy storage (LHES) in conjunction with sensible heat storage (SHS). Xylitol, one of the sugar alcohols is the phase change material (PCM) and water is the SHS medium used. Thermal characteristics of xylitol from DSC analysis are compared with the energy storing experimental results. The heat transfer during melting of the PCM is found influenced by the axial fins provided on the tube surface as well as by the temperature and flow rate of heat transfer fluid (HTF) in the cylindrical shell. During melting, HTF flows upward and the results depict that the movement of melt front in PCM is from bottom to top. The results show that the axial fins, incoming HTF temperature and its flow rate influence the heat transfer. The combination of SHS with the LHES enhanced the heat stored.