Heat transfer enhancement in latent heat thermal energy storage system by using an external radial finned tube

The heat transfer enhancement in the latent heat thermal energy storage system by using an externally finned tube is presented in this paper. The melting in the phase change materials and heat conduction in the tube wall and fins are described by a temperature transforming model coupled to the heat transfer from transfer fluid. The forced convection inside the tube was solved by an analytical method. The results show that the local Nusselt number inside the tube cannot be simply given by the Graetz solution. The effects of the tube wall and initial subcooling on the heat transfer performance are also studied.