A continuum model for transport phenomena in convective flow of solid-liquid phase change material suspensions

Heat and mass transport is modeled in convective flow of a dilute binary mixture of a continuous fluid with mono-dispersed particles (PCM suspensions), in which solid-liquid phase change can take place. The model is based on the mixture continuum approach together with an approximate enthalpy formulation, in which the temporal and spatial variations of phase change fraction in the particles are considered explicitly. Derivations are given for a set of equations governing conservation of mass, momentum, species, and energy of the suspensions, as well as the evolution of phase change fraction of the dispersed particles.