Latent Heat Thermal Energy Storage (LHTES) systems have become increasingly popular in recent years for storing thermal energy using Phase Change Materials (PCM). Shell and tube configurations have proven to be effective for such systems with high efficiencies in storing heat. However, there is limited knowledge of such systems in vertical configurations in the literature. This work aims to provide experimental and numerical data to better the understanding of melting/solidification processes in vertically placed heat exchangers. Cycle times obtained from experiments were compared with numerical solutions using ANSYS FLUENT and acceptable agreements were found. Results from this study conclude that direction of flow of Heat Transfer Fluid (HTF) viz. air vs gravity has a considerable impact on the charge/discharge cycles of the PCM. It was also observed that use of metal foam significantly reduces cycle times due to an increase in the effective thermal conductivity of the PCM - metal foam arrangement.
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