Experimental investigation on melting characteristics of ethanolamine–water binary mixture used as PCM

An experimental investigation of the melting process of ethanolamine–water binary mixture used as PCM (phase change material) in a rectangular enclosure with a heated vertical wall is reported in this work. The liquid–solid interfaces were captured and the instantaneous liquid fraction was presented. The effect of natural convection was studied in terms of the molten fraction and the shape of the solid–liquid interface. The correlations of molten fraction and time-averaged Nusselt number are obtained so that the time of the melting process can be predicted. The results indicate that natural convection enhances the rate of melting compared with the pure conduction model and that pure conduction mechanism only occurs at the initial stage of melting. Conduction–convection coupled model is necessary for predicting melting process exactly.