The melting process of ice from a vertical wall with time-periodic temperature perturbation inside a rectangular enclosure

A numerical investigation of natural-convection-dominated melting process of ice from a vertical wall of a square enclosure is reported. Time-dependent sinusoidal temperature perturbation is imposed on the vertical hot wall of the enclosure, and its effects on the heat transfer and buoyancy-driven flow during the melting process of ice are examined. For all the simulations conducted in the present study, a steady periodic melting regime at a frequency of the imposed time-periodic temperature perturbation emerges following a period of transient oscillatory melting process. The synchronous response of the melting process of ice to the imposed time-periodic perturbation on the hot wall temperature is found to be strongly affected by the density inversion phenomenon of water. Parametric simulations have been performed to unveil the effects of the relevant parameters on the heat transfer characteristics during the steady periodic melting regime of ice inside the enclosure. Results clearly demonstrate the feasibility of controlling the melting heat transfer in an ice-filled enclosure by means of the time-periodic perturbation of the wall temperature in conjunction with the density inversion phenomenon of water near 4°C.