Phase Change
This example demonstrates how to model a phase change and predict its impact on a heat transfer analysis. When a material changes phase, from solid to liquid for instance, energy is added to the solid. Instead of creating a temperature rise, the energy alters the molecular structure of the material. Equations for the latent heat of phase changes appear in many texts but their implementation is nonstandard. Heat that is consumed or released by a phase change affects fluid flow, magma movement and production, chemical reactions, mineral stability, and many other earth science applications.In this 1D example, the Conduction application mode from the Earth Science Module is used to examine transient temperature transfer in a rod of ice that heats up and changes to liquid water. This example demonstrates how to handle material properties that vary as a function of temperatures.
This model proceeds as follows. First, estimate the ice-to-water phase change using the transient conduction equation with the latent heat of fusion. Next, run additional simulations to evaluate impacts of the temperature interval over which the phase change occurs. Finally, the solution from the analysis with the latent heat are compared to estimates that neglect it.
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Temperature estimates with latent heat at t=0:15:60,120:60:1200 s |
Engineering Fields
- Heat Transfer in Porous Media
Application Areas
- Geophysics