Numerical Study of the Moving Boundary Problem During Melting Process in a Rectangular Cavity Heated from Below

Abstract

We present an analysis of the melting process in Phase Change Materials (PCM) in a horizontal cavity heated from below, driven by the coupling of transient heat conduction in the solid phase and steady state laminar natural convection in the liquid phase with one of the boundaries of the solution domain that moves. We state the problem in the Cartesian coordinate system; involve the use of a control volume method to solve the full vorticity equation together with the stream function and energy equation. The moving boundary was linearized by a coordinate transformation and immobilized in step time calculation. The results show that the melting front was stabilized at a well defined position when the steady state was reached and the higher solid phase was preserved.