Photographic observation of the solid-liquid interface motion during melting of a solid heated from an isothermal vertical wall

Abstract

Results of an experimental investigation on melting of a paraffin (n-octadecane, melting point 28.2°C) from a heated vertical wall of a rectangular test cell are reported. The resulting melt shapes, the temperatures in the paraffin and the heat transfer coefficients at the solid-liquid interface and their timewise variation provide conclusive evidence of the importance of natural convection on heat transfer in the melt region.