Abstract
Heat transfer phenomena during inward melting process of the phase change material were studied experimentally. N-docosane paraffin [$C_{22}H_{46}$] is used for phase change material and its melting temperature is $42.5^{\circ}C$. Experiments were performed for melting of an initially no-sub cooled or subcooled solid in a horizontal cylinder, in order to compare and investigate the radial temperature distribution, ratio of melting and melted mass, various energy components stored from the cylinder wall, figure of the melting front in the horizontal cylinder. The solid-liquid interface motion during phase change was recorded photographically. The experimental results reaffirmed the dominant role played by the conduction at early stage, by the natural convection at longer time during inward melting in the horizontal cylinder. Ratio of melting and melted mass are more influenced by wall temperature, rather than by the initial temperature of solid. The latent energy is the largest contributor to the total stored energy.
