Thermal diffusivity measurement of erythritol and numerical analysis of heat storage performance on a fin-type heat exchanger

Highlights: • Thermal diffusivity of Erythritol was measured by temperature wave method. • Thermal diffusivity was measured in function of temperature and during phase change. • Database of temperature-dependent thermal properties is used for numerical analysis. • Heat transfer and heat storage were analyzed in a fin-type heat exchanger. • Use of temperature-dependent properties in calculations lead to longer melting time. - Abstract: Temperature dependency of thermal diffusivity of erythritol was measured by temperature wave analysis (TWA) method. This modulating technique allowed measuring thermal diffusivity continuously, even during the phase transition solid-liquid. Together with specific heat capacity and specific enthalpy measured by differential scanning calorimetry, the values of measured properties were utilized in a bi-dimensional numerical model for analysis of heat transfer and heat storage performance. The geometry of the model is representative of a cross section of a fin-type heat exchanger, in which erythritol is filling the interspaces between fins. Time-dependent temperature change and heat storage performance were analyzed by considering the variation of thermophysical properties as a function of temperature. The numerical method can be utilized for a fast parametric analysis of heat transfer and heat storage performance into heat storage systems of phase-change materials and composites.