Numerical simulation of a phase transition problem with natural convection using hybrid FEM/EFGM technique

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study the flow and heat transfer characteristics of a phase transition, melting problem. In this problem, phase transition between solid and liquid takes place within a square enclosure in the presence of natural convection. Design/methodology/approach – The physical problem, described with non-linear partial differential equations, is simulated using a hybrid finite element and element free Galerkin method (FEM/EFGM) approach. In energy conservation equation, the fixed-domain, effective heat capacity method is used to take into account the latent heat of phase change. The governing partial differential equations are solved with a meshfree, EFGM near the phase transition front while in the region away from the front with uniform nodal distribution; problem is simulated with traditional FEM. Findings – A sensitivity analysis of characteristic dimensionless numbers Rayleigh number (Ra), Prandtl number (Pr), Stefan number (ste) is presented in order to investigate their impact on thermal and flow fields. Typically computational times of EFGM are higher than that of FEM. Therefore, by using EFGM only in that portion of physical problem where phase transition occurs, the hybrid FEM/EFGM strategy employed in present paper could reduce the computational time of EFGM while still retaining its accuracy. Also, the consistent performance of the results obtained with this hybrid approach is validated with those already available in literature for some special cases. Originality/value – The hybrid methodology adopted in this paper, is quite new for solving such type of phase transition problem.