4.

Comparison of conventional heating method with

shamsunders modified model
In the previous chapter we have carried out the cost analysis on various PCMs
and have selected erythritol as the PCM which we are going to use for our project. In
this chapter we will compare the traditional method of heating which is by means of
electrical heating with our storage tank. Here we will ignore the losses which will occur
during the heat transfer since it will be equal in both of them.
Here the cost of heating of an application which has the following application:
Heat requirement: 2KW
Period of requirement: 12 hrs.
Inlet temperature: 25 0C
Outlet temperature: 970c
Units required per hour: 2 units
Cost: 7.0Rs
Total cost of heating per day: 14*12=158 Rs
Total cost per year: 61320Rs
Years for recovery considering solar energy available throughout the
year=202725/61320
=3 years 2 months
Years for recovery considering solar energy available for 8 months =4.8 years
Here it is important to note that solar energy is a green energy hence it is more
valuable than the heat energy available through induction process. After 3.2 years the
latent heat storage tank will become absolutely free whereas the average life of solar
based latent heat is more than 10 years.

In many remote areas where electricity is not available the solar energy is a boon and
there this technology is not comparable. Moreover on a given day if solar energy is
available then it is confirmed that we will get the heating throughout day whereas
electricity cutout is very common nowadays. Electricity generated through coal fired
power plants generate a lot of pollution hence the world is moving on to solar energy.
Our chief minister Narendra Modi is himself a promoter of solar energy hence
considering all such facts this technology is proven and at the same time feasible.

As we know that total electricity consumption in world is approximately equal to

2324600 MW in 2012 so we can assume that minimum 0.1% electricity is utilized for
heating purpose which is equivalent to 2324.6 MW. Now if we calculate the price in
terms of currency then a very huge amount of money savings is possible. Also
electricity crisis is now a big problem in developing countries specially in India.
Hence we conclude from this chapter that after 4 years of installation a very
large amount of saving in terms of money and energy is possible using this project.

Ch-5 Conclusion
A brief introduction of PCM is given in chapter 1. Preliminary design of the latent heat
storage system for different application is proposed in this project in chapter 2. Shell-and-tube
type design is selected as the best configuration for heat exchanger. It stores thermal energy by
means of a PCM filling the space outside the tube heat exchanger. A HTF flowing through the tube
heat exchangers exchange the thermal energy with the PCM.Criteria is to select an appropriate
PCM for a given heating application. HTF had to be selected according to the desired parameters.
An analytical thermal modeling of the Latent heat storage was derived based on the model
suggested by
Shamsundar. In this derivation, the thermal resistance and the thermal conductivity of the tube
wall and frozen fraction F are taken into consideration. For the case study four different PCMs are
selected and 3 input parameters, For the parametric anlaysis we had used scilab 5.3 and Microsoft
excel for coding programs the result obtained from scilab were exported and on that basis charts
are plotted for different PCMs
From the summary part of chapter 3, Erythritol emerged as the most suitable for its high
latent heat of fusion compared to other potential PCM candidates. Its melting point is 118 0C.
Although its cost is highest but due to its favorable properties. The maximum desired temperature
for the application is 97oC .HTF was also selected for its long-term operation and other relevant
properties. For this study, the HTF selected was Duratherm. Shamsundar and the modification
method of Shamsundar.
As discussed in chapter-4 initial cost of solar based heat exchanger is very high. But almost
after a 4 years our heat exchanger will give its desired benefits.

Chapter-6-future scope
Developing an understanding in the phase change process is a complex procedure as the
Experiment, observation; model building and analysis are involved. Therefore, there is a need to
complete this theoretical project by building a storage unit and comparing the experimental results
with the theoretical results obtained in this study.
A drawback in Erythritol is its low thermal conductivity. Several means of improving this heat
conductivity needs to be explored such, as the utilization of fins into the heat exchanger surface of
the tube to increase effectiveness of the latent shell-and-tube heat exchanger.
It is recommended that future investigation focuses on the areas of heat conduction enhancement,
long term testing of the unit and to improve the sizing and the performance of the latent shell-andtube heat exchanger.

Chapter-7-references
Agyenim, F., Hewitt, N., Eames, P. and Smyth, M. (2010). A review of materials, heat
transfer and phase change problem formulation for latent heat thermal energy storage
systems (LHTESS). Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 14(2): 615-628.
Anon. (2008). Copper Tubes-ASTMB 88M. http:// www.EngineeringToolbox.com. Accessed
5/01/2008
Anon (2009). Duratherm extended life fluid. http://www.heat-transfer-fluid.com. Accessed
8/02/2009
Cengel, Y. (1997). Heat transfer: a practical approach. New York: Mc Graw-Hill.
Sharma, A., Tyagi, V.V.,Chen, C.R. and Buddhi, D. (2009). Review on thermal energy
storage with Phase Change Materials and applications. Renewable and Sustainable Energy
Reviews, 13(2):318-345.
Shamsundar, N. (1982). Formulae for Freezing outside a Circular Tube with Axial Variation
of Coolant Temperature. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 25:16141617.
Scilab version 5.3 beta 5 (1989-2010). (Computer software).France:INRIA.
Farid, M.M., Khudhair, A.M., Razack, S.A.K. and Al-Hallaj, S. 2004. A review on phase
change energy storage: Materials and applications. Energy Conversion and Management, 45
(9-10):1597-1615.