A Cartesian grid solver for simulation of a phase-change material (PCM) solar thermal storage device.

A Cartesian grid solver is developed that is capable of simulating the convection-dominated melting processes in a latent-heat thermal storage device (TSD). The Navier-Stokes equations are solved using a dynamically refined mesh. The phase boundary is tracked using the enthalpy method. Conjugate heat transfer is calculated with a strongly coupled implicit scheme. The approach does not require the creation of a geometry-specific grid, and so allows for efficient prototyping of different complex geometric designs. Systematic benchmarking of the results against other numerical approaches is conducted, followed by tests of two basic prototypes for the design of a TSD. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]