AUTHORS: Imen Jmal, Mounir Baccar
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ABSTRACT: Thermal energy storage got a significant role in the solar energy conservation in order to expand its use over time. To exploit solar energy continuously, we require a storage energy system. Phase Change Material (PCM) is used in this kind of systems in order to store a great amount of thermal energy. In fact, Latent heat storage in a PCM is very interesting because of its high-energy storage density and its isothermal behavior during the phase change process. Hence, heat accumulated during sunshine period, can be restituted to be used for air conditioning purposes in buildings. In this perspective, we propose in this work a numerical study based on an enthalpy formulation to investigate the solidification of a PCM in a heat exchanger with and without fins. This numerical approach gives simultaneously the temperature distributions in the PCM storage system and temporal propagation of the solidification front during the solidification of the PCM when it is exposed to a cold air flow. Also, we give in this study the transient evolution of the longitudinal air temperature profiles.
KEYWORDS: PCM, Numerical study, thermal energy, latent heat, fin
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