An Approximate Analytical Solution for the Unsteady Close-Contact Melting on a Flat Surface with Constant Heat Flux

등열유속에 의한 평판위 비정상 접촉융해에 대한 근사적 해석해

This paper focuses on the unsteady close-contact melting phenomenon occurring between a phase change material kept at its melting temperature and a flat surface on which constant heat flux is imposed. Based on the same simplifications and framework of analysis as the case of constant surface temperature, an approximate analytical solution which depends only on the liquid-to-solid density ratio is successfully derived. In order to keep consistency with the known solution procedure, both the dimensionless wall heat flux and the Stefan number are properly redefined. The obtained solution proves to agree quite well with the published numerical data and to be capable of resolving the fundamental features of unsteady close-contact melting, especially in the presence of the solid-liquid density difference. The density ratio directly affects the film growth rate and the initial value of solid descending velocity, thereby controlling the duration of unsteady process. The effects of other parameters can be evaluated readily from the steady solution which is implied in the normalized result. Since the dimensionless surface temperature for the present boundary condition increases from zero to unity along the evolution path of the liquid film thickness, the unsteady process lasts longer than that for the case of isothermal heating.