ABSTRACT
Heat transfer with phase change has been analysed using a new approach, saving computational time and simplifying the analysis to a great extent so that it may be applied to practical systems. The phase change is assumed to occur in a finite region with an assumed melting range. An effective heat capacity, which is a function of temperature, is used to account for the latent heat effect in the region. The method is compared with the well-known variable space network method and with some experimental measurements, showing reasonable agreement. The effect of the melting range of the phase change material has been studied and is found to be significant only with large variations.
