Numerical investigation of the melting process in a half horizontal cylinder with radial fins

In the present study, the melting phenomenon in a half horizontal cylinder cavity with rectangular heat sources is investigated using numerical lattice Boltzmann method. The cylinder is modeled two dimensionally and its boundaries are insulated. Also, the high temperature rectangular heat sources with constant area are located in radial position on cavity. The enthalpy-based lattice Boltzmann method is used for simulating the phase change problem in the cavity. Melting of lead with Stefan number of 0.86 and Prandtl number of 0.0236 is simulated in the cavity. The effects of pertinent parameters such as the aspect ratio of the fins 1,2.5,5,7.5, the Rayleigh number 10(3),10(4),10(5) and the angular position of the heat sources 0,15,45 are studied on the melting phenomenon. The results show that increasing the aspect ratio of the fin with constant area reduces the melting time and increases the liquid fraction at the same time. Also higher value of the Rayleigh number improves the natural convection effect and raises the rate of melting. Finally, it is observed that the highest rate of melting is obtained when two fins are positioned at 45 degrees with aspect ratio of 7.5 at Rayleigh number of 10(5).

Automated summary

In this study, the melting phenomenon in a half horizontal cylinder cavity with rectangular heat sources was investigated using numerical lattice Boltzmann method. It was found that increasing the aspect ratio of the fins reduces melting time and increases liquid fraction, while higher Rayleigh number improves natural convection effect and melting rate. The highest melting rate was observed when two fins were positioned at 45 degrees with an aspect ratio of 7.5 at a Rayleigh number of 10^5.