Thermo-physical Property of phase change latent heat storage material erythritol and heat transfer of natural convection in a horizontal enclosed rectangular container

Abstract

The thermo-physical properties of the phase-change latent heat storage material erythritol were elucidated in order to examine its temperature dependency and supercooling phenomenon. Heat transfer by natural convection was also investigated in a horizontal enclosed rectangular container filled with erythritol which was heated at the lower surface and cooled at the upper surface. The supercooling of erythritol was clearly influenced by the cooling rate, and two kinds of supercooling phenomena were found. It was also found that the heat transfer coefficient of the liquid phase coincides well with the conventional heat-transfer correlation of natural convection heat transfer in a horizontal enclosed rectangular container by applying the values of thermo-physical properties obtained in the present work. © 2012 The Society of Chemical Engineers, Japan.