Numerical simulation of melting between two elliptical cylinders

Abstract

In this paper, melting process between two elliptical cylinders is simulated and analyzed. The shapes of the shell and the central tube are assumed to be circular or elliptical. Since the ellipse can be oriented vertically and horizontally, three possibilities can be accounted for each of the cylinders which lead to nine different heat exchangers. In order to study the effect of the orientations, melting front and flow field are presented for same shell shape. The process is more comprehensively investigated via presenting melt fraction versus time. Results show that regardless of the tube shape and orientation, horizontal ellipse is the best shape for the shell whereas vertical elliptical tube leads to faster pace of heat absorption. Keywords: Phase change material, Heat exchanger, Melting, Ellipse