Abstract
Experimental and theoretical studies were made of the heat transfer characteristics of a latent heat storage unit used for a natural circulation cooling /latent heat storage system. Heating and cooling curves of the latent heat storage unit undergoing solid-liquid phase change of a PCM (lauric acid) was obtained by using anatural circulation loop of R22 which consisted of an electrically heated evaporater, a water cooled condenser and the latent heat storage unit. The latent heat storage unit showed a heat transfer performance which was high enough for practical use. An approximate theoretical analysis was conducted to investigate transient behavior of the latent heat storage unit. Predictions of the refrigerant and outer surface temperatures during the melting process were in fair agreement with the experimental data, whereas that of the refrigerant temperature during the solidification process was considerably lower than the measurement.
