MELTING IN A 2-COMPONENT PACKED-BED

The melting of a multi-component mixture that consists of melting and nonmelting components is examined. A numerical solution is obtained by solving the energy equation and continuity equations for both solid a nd liquid phases for a one-dimensional system. Both constant volume an d constant porosity melting models are explored. Experiments were cond ucted to confirm the numerical results. During the experiments, heat w as applied at the bottom of a rectangular packed bed containing salol (benzoic acid 2-hydroxyphenylester) and glass beads. The experiments w ere conducted with various sizes of glass bends ranging from 120 mu m to 450 mu m in diameter with salol having an average diameter of 90 mu m. During the melting process, the volume fraction of the phase-chang e material (salol), temperature, and applied heat flux were measured. The volume fraction of the salol was measured utilizing gamma attenuat ion. Upon melting, the salol moves as two fronts, one downward due to gravity and one upward due to capillary action. The constant porosity model yields results which compare well with the experimental data.