COMPARISON OF ONE-DIMENSIONAL INTERFACE-FOLLOWING AND ENTHALPY METHODS FOR THE NUMERICAL SOLUTION OF PHASE CHANGE

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
The phenomena of melting and solidification occurs in a large number of processes that are of engineering interest. The phase change behavior of lithium is of particular interest at this time, because it is the working fluid of choice in many space-based thermal power system designs. An interface-following method has been developed for the numerical analysis of the phase change process in a one-dimensional pipe. The results from the interface method are assessed against an enthalpy method for iron, lithium, and an artificial test material that changes phase over a temperature range. Finite difference techniques were applied to one-dimensional versions of the governing equations from both methods, and a FORTRAN computer code was written to carry out the solution. The results of the three test cases established that the interface method is capable of correctly modeling phase change behavior in constant property materials with a discrete melting temperature, materials that undergo phase change over a temperature range, and in materials with temperature-dependent properties.