Numerical evaluation of convective heat transfer properties of two-dimensional rotating PCM melt in the unilaterally heated rectangular container

This paper carried out numerical investigations on the flow and heat transfer characteristics of a phase change with two-dimensional rotation of the three-dimensional paraffin (RT -27)-filled rectangular encapsulated container (PCM-REC) in space. A three-dimensional transient numerical heat transfer model was established and the enthalpy method was used to simulate the solid-liquid phase transition process and the flow evolution at the PCM interface. In this paper, the solid-liquid interface distribution, temperature distribution and melting time of PCM in PCM-REC heated at a constant temperature on one side were compared when rotated at different angles (0°, arctan (0.4), 2arctan (0.4) and 90°) along the heating direction and vertical heating direction. Results demonstrated that the peak value of maximum natural convection velocity increased from 0.0072 m/s to 0.0184 m/s with increasing radial height when PCM-REC was rotated in vertical heating direction. When PCM-REC was rotated in two dimensions by the same angle, the melting time was fastest when γ was an obtuse angle, and with the increase of the obtuse angle, the melting time shortened from 17 min to 6 min; when γ was an acute angle, the melting time was slowest, and with the decrease of the acute angle, the melting time lengthened from 49 min to 288 min.