Numerical simulation of PCM melting process

Abstract

Paper presented at the 9th International Conference on Heat Transfer, Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics, Malta, 16-18 July, 2012.

This study deals with a numerical investigation on the melting process of a PCM in a rectangular enclosure differentially heated. A FEM-based code is used in order to solve Navier-Stokes and energy equations in the considered system. Adopting the enthalpy formulation, one single equation is used to solve transient conduction and convection heat transfer in both the solid and liquid phase. The liquid flow patterns during the melting process have been captured and the instantaneous marching of the liquid-solid interface is presented. In addition, the temperature distributions in the phase change material are reported. A successfully comparison between obtained numerical results with experimental ones found in literature is presented.