Flow and heat transfer evolution of PCM due to natural convection melting in a square cavity with a local heater

Growth of computing efficiency of electronic equipment closely related to design heat sinks and heat storage devices for temperature controlling inside the system. To remove of heat from the electronic devices and achieve a suitable temperature, the phase change materials are used. The present study is devoted to the problem of complex interaction of natural convection and melting of phase change material inside a square cavity with a local heater of volumetric heat generation. Thermal properties of the square heat source match the silicone characteristics at the working temperature about 330 K. Conservation equations of mass and momentum have been formulated using the dimensionless stream function and vorticity. To solve the governing equations of fluid flow, heat and mass transfer the finite difference method has been used. The effects of heat generation intensity and buoyancy force have been analyzed by varying the Rayleigh number, the Stefan number and the Ostrogradsky number. Evolution of temperature field and streamlines has been examined. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.