Abstract
The melting of an initially solid phase change material (PCM) starts with conduction heat transfer that continues when the PCM starts melting. Natural convection in the melted PCM will take over conduction eventually. The question this paper answers is when and under what conditions is the onset of natural convection during melting happening? An experimental study was performed, in a cylindrical system, looking at the impact of the central heat source diameter, the initial PCM temperature and the heat source temperature, for two PCMs, on the required melted PCM volume and time for the heat transfer mode to transitioned from conduction to natural convection in the liquid PCM. From the experimental determination of the natural convection onset conditions, general correlations were obtained that predict the required volume of liquid PCM required for natural convection to start during the melting of a PCM.
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