Experimental study on melting and solidification in a rectangular enclosure under simulated low-gravity environment: Ultrasound measurement of solid thickness.

摘要

Experimental tests were conducted to study the solidification and melting processes of an electrically conductive Phase Change Material (PCM) inside a confined rectangular enclosure in the presence of variable static magnetic fields to simulate low gravity environment on earth. When the electrically conductive liquid flows in a magnetic field, an electric field will result, and then the Lorenz force which the magnetic/electric field induced opposes the fluid motion. Experimental results showed that the presence of a magnetic field had a marked effect on phase change rate as well as on the shape of the solid/liquid interface when the natural convection existed.; The ultrasonic measurement technique in through-wave-transmission mode was employed to detect the solid/liquid interface location at the center of the test cell. In addition, some flow visualization results are presented in this report.