Analysis of Solid–Liquid Phase Change Under Pulsed Heating

Solid/liquid phase change occurring in a rectangular container with and without metal foams subjected to periodic pulsed heating is investigated. Natural convection in the melt is considered. Volume-averaged mass and momentum equations are employed, with the Brinkman–Forchheimer extension to Darcy’s law used to model the porous resistance. A local thermal nonequilibrium model, assuming equilibrium melting at the pore scale, is employed for energy transport through the metal foams and the interstitial phase change material (PCM). Separate volume-averaged energy equations for the foam and the PCM are written and are closed using a heat transfer coefficient. The enthalpy method is employed to account for phase change. The governing equations for the PCM without foam are derived from the porous medium equations. The governing equations are solved implicitly using a finite volume method on a fixed grid. The coupled effect of pulse width and natural convection in the melt is found to have a profound effect on the overall melting behavior. The influence of pulse width, Stefan number, and Rayleigh number on the temporal evolution of the melt front location and the melting rate for both the cases with and without metal foams is investigated.