Solidification in a water-saturated porous medium when convection is present (response of solid-liquid interface due to time-varying cooling temperature)

✍ Scribed by Shigeo Kimura; Atsushi Okajima; Takahiro Kiwata; Takahiro Fusaoka

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2006
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 552 KB
• Volume: 35
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1099-2871
• DOI: 10.1002/htj.20109

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

A fundamental study on solidifying phenomenon in a rectangular space filled with water‐saturated porous medium has been carried out with a system, cooled from the upper boundary and heated from below, where vigorous convection develops in the un‐solidified liquid layer. The dynamic response of the solid‐liquid interface to the periodical cooling temperature with the bottom boundary kept at constant temperature T~H~ = 20°C, is investigated experimentally. In particular, the amplitude of the interface and the phase lag in respect to the oscillating cooling temperature have been monitored for various periods and average temperatures. A one‐dimensional numerical model, based on an assumption of constant heat flux from the vigorously convecting liquid regime has been also developed. The numerical model predicts quite well the time‐dependent behavior of the horizontally averaged ice‐layer thickness observed in the experiments. Our general findings are that the amplitude increases proportionally to the temperature fluctuation period and that both the thicker solid layer and the shorter period cause greater phase lags. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res, 35(4): 294–308, 2006; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/htj.20109