Melting heat transfer inside ducts and over external bodies Original Research Article

The recent literature dealing with melting heat transfer inside ducts and over external bodies is reviewed mainly in the context of its application to the latent heat-of-fusion thermal energy storage. The emphasis in the paper is on the fundamental, physical transport phenomena observed during melting of phase change material as well as snow layer and porous media. The important role played by buoyancy-driven fluid flow is in particular discussed and some promising areas for further research are also identified.