ANALYSIS OF MIXED CONVECTION MELTING OF A PURE METAL

Abstract

A computational methodology for simulating mixed convection melting of a pure substance is presented. The mathematical model employs a stream function-vorticity-tem-perature formulation in conjunction with a time-variant mesh. Unlike most transformed grid techniques, the position of the phase front is determined implicitly on application of the Stefan condition. The model is then applied to the melting of a pure metal, gallium, for forced to free convection-dominated heat transfer. Results indicate that according to the relative intensity of buoyancy and inertia forces, the movement and the shape of the solid-liquid interface are considerably perturbed.