2003 Volume 36 Issue 12 Pages 1421-1431
The thermal performance of the capric acid and lauric acid mixture (C-L acid), in the respective composition of 65% and 35% by mole was investigated for its cooling capacity. A vertical cylindrical storage capsule was employed for the study. A supplementary simplified numerical model for the behavior analysis of the C-L acid employing the experimental design was made. The mathematical model was numerically solved using a finite difference method. The radial temperature distribution, the melting time and solidification time results performed from the charge and discharge experiments are verified to evaluate the reliability of the assumptions made on the numerical model. A two-dimensional heat transfer is represented by a one-dimensional model accounted by the effective thermal conductivity that considers both the natural convection and two-dimensional effects. The numerically estimated radial temperature distribution during melting and solidification are within the experimentally obtained ranges.
