Development of ice storage tank

Abstract

An experimental study on the effects of varying water (PCM) and ethylene glycol (HTF) temperature on the solidification of ice around a vertically finned tube is presented in this project. Two different fin heights of 27.5mm and 43.5mm at three different PCM temperatures of 5oC, 10oC and 20oC and HTF temperature of -20oC were tested, resulting in a total of five experiments. All experiments were performed with water as the PCM and Ethylene Glycol as the HTF. Images of the solidification phase front of ice will be captured with a camera and analyzed with CAD modeling. Temperature recordings obtained from thermocouples attached to the vertical fin will also be presented. Results showed that by increasing the fin height and decreasing the initial PCM temperature of the system, an overall increase in ice formed and energy stored can be increased. The rate of solidification is faster and onset of solidification is earlier with lower initial PCM temperature. An increase in fin height results in a more significant change in total ice formed and energy stored than a decrease in initial PCM temperature.