Experimental and Numerical Studies of Phase Change Phenomena at Cryogenic Temperature

Abstract

The solidification and melting phenomena of a phase hanging material (PCM) are studied both experimentally and numerically. For this purpose, water is considered as the phase hanging material. The phase change phenomenon is initiated by dipping cryocooled steel sphere into a tank full of water. The results are presented in the form of variation of ice thickness at different angular locations with time, the solidification time, the melting time, and the average thickness of i e. The solidification of water and melting of ice showed an axisymmetric nature indicating the flow conditions to be laminar for the studied cases. However, it has been observed that the convection effect plays a major role during the melting process which results in an uneven melting of ice over the sphere.