EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES OF MELTING PHENOMENA FROM A CONSTANT HEAT FLUX VERTICAL PLATE

This paper reports experimental studies on the melting phenomena of phase-change material (PCM) when constant heat flux is applied to the PCM in a rectangular enclosure. Heat transfer from a vertical heating plate, solid-liquid interface motion, and temperature distributions in the PCM during the complete melting process have been investigated. The transient melting phenomena is described in terms of the Fourier number multiplied by the modified Stephan number, i.e., Fo . Ste*. The result of the study reveals that at Fo . Ste* - 0.6, the natural-convection mode in the liquid phase of the PCM becomes dominant, and the ratio of the melted PCM volume to the initial volume is likely to be constant in the tested range.