%0 Journal Article %A Petrone, Giuseppe %A Cammarata, Giuliano %D 2013 %I Begell House %K phase change, rectangular enclosure, enthalpy method, natural convection %N 3 %P 227-237 %R 10.1615/ComputThermalScien.2013006360 %T NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF PHASE CHANGE MATERIALS MELTING PROCESS %U https://www.dl.begellhouse.com/journals/648192910890cd0e,2e2d35a1125a6cd1,6be7d6f2021c84f7.html %V 5 %X This study deals with a numerical investigation on the melting process of a phase change material (PCM) in a differentially heated rectangular enclosure. A finite-element-based software is used in order to solve Navier–Stokes and energy equations in the considered system. Adopting the enthalpy formulation, one single equation is used to solve transient conduction and convection heat transfer in both the solid and liquid phase. The liquid flow patterns during the melting process have been captured and the instantaneous marching of the liquid–solid interface is presented. In addition, the temperature distributions in the PCM are reported. A successful comparison between obtained numerical results with experimental ones found in the literature is presented. %8 2013-04-23