Lattice Boltzmann Method Simulation of Power-Law Phase Change Materials' Solid-Liquid Phase Change

Solid-liquid phase change has been widely used in practice, but most of the existing literature focuses on Newtonian phase change materials, and there are few studies on power-law phase change materials (PLPCM). To study the heat transfer problem of PLPCM in the process of solid-liquid phase change, this paper combines the enthalpy method with Lattice Boltzmann method to study the melting process of PLPCM, and the effect of the power-law index is analyzed. The results show that, under the same conditions, the increase of the power-law index will reduce the natural convective heat transfer strength, which leads to a slower average temperature rise rate and a slower melting rate. Besides, the effect of nonlinear wall temperature on the phase change process is also investigated. The results show that the melting efficiency is higher for the enhanced temperature distribution, and the smaller the power-law index is, the higher the efficiency.