Pattern selection for thermocapillary flow in rectangular containers in microgravity
P. Sánchez, J. Porter, J.M. Ezquerro, I. Tinao, Ana Laverón-Simavilla
Abstract
The performance of Phase Change Material (PCM) devices in microgravity can be significantly improved by thermocapillary convection. However, the melting process in this case is affected by a series of instabilities and mode transitions due to the evolving size and shape of the liquid domain. We perform a numerical investigation of pattern selection for thermocapillary flow in ideal rectangular containers of liquid n-octadecane in microgravity and show how this can be applied to explain the more complex dynamics of melting PCMs. In particular, the locations of travelling and standing wave instabilities predicted in this way show very good agreement with numerical simulations of PCM melting.