Analysis of gravity and conduction-driven melting in a sphere
- Jet Propulsion Lab., Pasadena, CA (United States)
Melting processes within spherical containments have been of fundamental interest. The voluminous analytical literature on this subject, however, widely presumes that the yet unmolten part of the phase-change materials remains at the center of the sphere. This is an unlikely occurrence in the nature. The differing densities of the liquid and the solid may readily cause a force imbalance on the solid in gravitational and perhaps microgravitational environments, thereby moving the solid away from the center. The analysis and experiments on melting within cylinders have also overwhelmingly ignored or artificially restricted the movement of the solid due to gravity. There are, however, a few exceptions. Nicholas and Bayazitoglu (1980) assumed that the solid phase settles to the base of horizontal cylinder, and conduction was the heat transfer mechanism in the liquid phase. Limited experimental studies were also reported. Katayama and Utaka (1981) presented results of experiments concerned with contact heat transfer while melting took place. Moallemi and Viskanta (1985) analyzed the problem of melting around a moving cylindrical heat source and also performed experiments with paraffin. Of particular relevance to the present work are the analysis and experiments of Bareiss and Beer (1984). Using assumptions similar to the lubrication theory, they investigated melting in a horizontal cylinder and obtained a closed-form solution of the melting process. Their experimental results are in agreement with the theory. The thrust of the analysis in the present work is the application of a similar technique to melting within a sphere. This analysis, to the best of the authors knowledge, has not been reported in the literature before.
- OSTI ID:
- 6123744
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Heat Transfer (Transactions of the ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers), Series C); (United States), Journal Name: Journal of Heat Transfer (Transactions of the ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers), Series C); (United States) Vol. 109:3; ISSN 0022-1481; ISSN JHTRA
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Solid/liquid phase-change heat transfer around two horizontal, vertically spaced cylinders -- An experimental study on the effect of density inversion of water
The melting process within spherical enclosures