Experimental study on the convection heat transfer of latent functionally thermal fluid in a circular tube

An experimental study on the heat transfer characteristics of microencapsulated phase change material (MCPCM) suspension flow in a circular tube was conducted. The MCPCM particles consist of tetradecane as the phase change material and a polyoxymethylene urea wall. The employment of MCPCM particles significantly enhances the heat transfer between the fluid and wall and decreases the temperatures of wall and fluid. The heat transfer increases along the wall and the temperatures of wall and fluid are held approximately steadily in the melting region. The enhancement of heat transfer occurs mainly in the melting region and increases with the increase of the particle fraction in the fluid and with the increase of Reynolds number.