Characterization of convective melting of granular porous media

Y. X. Tao, G. Vidhuvatavan, Adrian S. Sabau

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

15 Scopus citations

Abstract

An experimental investigation is conducted to study the melting characteristics of a packed bed. This experiment serves as a benchmark case for further validation of numerical modeling on two-dimensional convective melting of a packed bed. The packed bed consists of ice grains of an initially uniform, segmental-cylindrical shape and is initially saturated with still liquid. As the liquid flows through the bed, the solid grains melt. The downstream of the packed bed is bounded by a perforated plate through which liquid can flow while the ice particles are retained. Both vertical and horizontal flow configurations are tested. From the digital video images the local packed bed thickness is measured under controlled flow rate and supply water temperature, and the melting rate is determined. The temperature distribution of the melt and ice grains for horizontal flow are determined by the use of an infrared camera over the open test section and the thermocouples along the flow direction in the liquid. The melting rates are presented as a function of upstream flow velocity, upstream flow temperature and initial packed mass. Within the experimental conditions, it is found that two-dimensional melting characteristics is strongly influenced by combined thermal diffusion and fluid-melt mixing. A mixing zone is quantified, and the repacking of melting particles can be characterized by a transitional Reynolds number, based on the initial particle diameter, of 1,125.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)13-20
Number of pages8
JournalAmerican Society of Mechanical Engineers, Heat Transfer Division, (Publication) HTD
Volume357
Issue number3
StatePublished - 1998

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