The S curve of energy storage by melting

A. Bejan, S. Ziaei, and S. Lorente

Citation: Journal of Applied Physics 116, 114902 (2014); doi: 10.1063/1.4894869
View online: http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4894869
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JOURNAL OF APPLIED PHYSICS 116, 114902 (2014)

The S curve of energy storage by melting

A. Bejan,1 S. Ziaei,1 and S. Lorente2
1

Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
27708-0300, USA
2
Universit
e de Toulouse, INSA, 135 Avenue de Rangueil, 31077 Toulouse, France

(Received 5 August 2014; accepted 25 August 2014; published online 15 September 2014)
This is a treatment of the phenomenon of energy storage by melting in an enclosure where the
heating is provided by an invading line of higher temperature. We show that the melting process
consists of two phases: invasion thermal diffusion along the invading line, which is followed by
consolidation as heat diffuses perpendicularly to the invading line. We report the duration of
both phases and the evolution of the melt layer around the invading line during the twodimensional and three-dimensional invasion. The amount of melted material increases in time
according to a curve shaped as an S. Diffusion sweeps the territory faster as the complexity of the
C 2014
tree design increases meaning the S-curve of the history of the process becomes steeper. V
AIP Publishing LLC. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4894869]
q00 dt qhsf dd;

I. INTRODUCTION

The fundamentals of melting by conduction and in the

presence of convection have received considerable attention
in the literature,116 particularly with respect to applications
to the design of systems for energy storage.1723 Most of
these advances were made with reference to systems where
the heating was provided by simple surfaces, plane walls,
and embedded pipes. More recently, the energy storage literature was introduced to the use of tree-shaped surfaces as
constructal designs for volumetric heating and cooling.2426
Reviews of the progress with constructal design are provided
by Refs. 2729.
In this article, we unveil the fundamentals of storage by
melting when seen from an entirely different perspective: the
S-curve histories of all freely morphing flow architectures
that distribute a flow to (or collect a flow from) a finite
space.3032 The heating surface is not a static object adjacent
to or implanted in the phase-change material. The source of
heat is an invading line, like the mercury in the capillary of
the thermometer, which melts the material as it transfers heat
to its sides. In addition to uncovering the fundamental scales
of this process, the challenge in constructal design is to discover how to configure the paths of the invading lines such
that the energy storage process can be made faster.

(1)

where hsf is the latent heat of melting. We assume that the

melt layer is thin such that the temperature distribution
across it is linear. In this limit q00 kDT=d, where k is the
conductivity of the liquid. The layer thickness is
d at1=2 ;

(2)

2kDT
:
qhsf

(3)

where
a

The time is marked by the advance of the layer along the

centerline, t x/V, and this means that the instantaneous
shape of the layer is
d

  1=2
ax
:
V

(4)

II. INVASION AND CONSOLIDATION

The square domain L  L is filled with a solid at its

melting temperature (Tm). The configuration is twodimensional. At the time t 0, a plate (shown as a line) of
higher temperature (Tm DT) begins to grow along the centerline, from x 0 toward x L. The speed (V) of its tip is
constant.
Layers of liquid of thickness d(x) form on both sides of
the advancing line, Fig. 1. Assume that the layers are slender,
d(x)  x. The thickness d is determined from the balance
between conduction heat flux q00 into the melting front and
the rate of melting at the front
0021-8979/2014/116(11)/114902/7/$30.00

FIG. 1. Square shaped construct containing the line-shaped invasion advancing with a constant speed V and the excess temperature of DT.

116, 114902-1

C 2014 AIP Publishing LLC

V

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114902-2

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J. Appl. Phys. 116, 114902 (2014)

III. SIMILARITY SOLUTION

The instantaneous area occupied by melt material is

2
4
Ai 2 d x V a1=2 t3=2 :
3
3

(5)

At the end of the line invasion period, t ti when x L, the

melt area is
Ai;end

 3=2
4
1=2 L
Va
:
3
V

(6)

To develop the similarity solution for the melt layers

during the invasion period, attach the new frame xy to the
tip of the invading line (Fig. 3). The x axis points in the
same direction as V, toward the rest of the invading line of
instantaneous length x. Two more layers of thickness d(x)
form on both sides of the invading line. The energy conservation equation for the melt region is
V

After ti, melting continues in the y direction, above and

below the layers of length L and average thickness (at t ti)
 1=2
2
L
a
:
d
3
V

(6

Equation (1) continues to apply, this time with y (in place of

d) for the position of the melting front
k

DT
dt qhsf dy:
y

Integrating from y d at t ti yields



1
2
kDT t  ti qhsf y2  d ;
2
2
y d a t  ti  1=2 :

(7)

(8)
(9)

(10)

Note the continuity of the melt area at t ti, Ac(ti) Ai(ti).

The melting process ends at t tc when y L/2, namely,
L2 5L

tc
:
4a 9V

(12)

where a k=qcP is the thermal diffusivity of the melt substance. Equation (12) shows that in the melt region the thermal penetration distance y scales with ax=V1=2 . This
recommends the similarity variables
g

y
ax=V

1=2

T  Tm
:
DT

(13)

Equation (12) becomes

h00
1
 g;
2
h0

The total area occupied by melt during this consolidation

period (Fig. 2) is
Ac 2 y L 2 Ld a t  ti  1=2 :

@T
@2T
a 2;
@x
@y

(14)

where 0 d=dg. Integrated

h0 h0 g0 , Eq. (14) yields

from

dh
2
h0 g0 eg =4 ;
dg

g0

where

(15)

where h0 g0 is a negative constant to be determined next.

Integrated from g 0 where h 1, to the melting front g
~ where h 0, yields
d
0

1 h g0
(11)

d~

eg =4 dg:

(16)

At this time, Ac,end L2.

Here, d~ d=ax=V
is the dimensionless value of the
layer thickness, where T Tm.
Equation (16) establishes a relation between two
~ and the heat flux at y 0,
unknowns, the layer thickness d,
0
which is h g0 . A second relation between the two emerges
if we account for the melting process on the front. The heat

FIG. 2. The S-shaped history of the dimensionless melt area of the square
domain: invasion followed by consolidation.

FIG. 3. The evolution of the diffused area around the invading line during
invasion period.

1=2

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114902-3

Bejan, Ziaei, and Lorente

J. Appl. Phys. 116, 114902 (2014)

flow from the base of the d  x layer matches the enthalpy

rise of the solid that undergoes melting as it flows longitudinally through the layer thickness d
x

q00 dx qVdh0 sf ;

(17)

Ai

 1=2
2
4
a
2dx d~
x3=2 ;
3
3
V

(23)

for which d~ is provided by Eq. (21). This Ai estimate can be

compared with the earlier estimate [Eq. (6)] for Ai at the end
of invasion (x L)

where h0 sf hsf 12 cP DT; and the second term accounts for

the sensible heating of the liquid. The factor 12 in front of
cP DT is approximate: it reflects the assumption that the temperature varies almost linearly across the liquid, from
Tm DT at y 0 to Tm at y d.
Next, we replace q00 with k@T=@yy0 , and after using
Eq. (13) we arrive at
h0 0

qh0 sf a ~
 d:

2kDT

(18)

Ai Eq: (23) ~
1=2
d 2Ste
:
Ai Eq: (6)

(24)

In the limit Ste  1, this ratio becomes

Ai Eq: (23)
21=2 0:707:
Ai Eq: (6)

(25)

In conclusion, the two solutions agree within a factor of

order 1 in the small Ste limit. The similarity solution applies
over a wider Ste domain than the simpler solution, Eq. (6).

Combining Eqs. (16) and (18), and using Eq. (3) we obtain
a
1 d~
a

d~

eg

2 =4

dg:

(19)

This establishes the melt layer thickness d as a function of

the dimensionless group
a
h0 sf
1
1
2Ste ;

a 2cP DT
4

(20)

where the Stefan number is defined as Ste cP DT=hsf .33

The function d~ Ste is plotted in Fig. 4. Note that Eq. (19) is
also written as
4p1=2 Ste ~
d erf d~;
2 Ste

(21)

which in the limit Ste  1 reduces to

d~ Ste1=2 :

(22)

In the opposite limit, Ste  1, the dimensionless thickness

approaches a constant, d~ 4p1=2 .
The invasion area occupied by the two melt layers is

FIG. 4. Dimensionless value of the melt layer thickness as function of Ste

number.

IV. TREE INVASION

The natural tendency of all flow systems that are free to

morph is to develop configurations that provide greater
access to the currents that flow. In the case of storage by
melting, the flow is of heat, from the invading plate to the
rest of the domain, which is solid at Tm. In this section, we
endow the invading plate with freedom to change its shape
as it grows. The change is from the single line of Fig. 1 to
the tree-shaped paths of Fig. 5. More freedom means more
levels of bifurcation (n) in the invading tree of plates.
Relative to Fig. 5, the single-plate invasion scenario of Fig. 1
is the tree with one stem and no branches (n 0).
For analytical ease, consider the limit where the invading finger of melt is slender enough so that the melt generated during invasion is small in comparison with the melt
generated during consolidation. This is the limit of slender
melt layers on both sides of the invading plate, which is represented by
 
a
 1;
(26)
LV
and the results of Sec. II reduce to

FIG. 5. Two dimensional model of a tree-shaped line invasion of a conducting domain for one and two levels of bifurcation.

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114902-4

tin0

Bejan, Ziaei, and Lorente

L
;
V

n0
Ai;end

4 1=2 1=2 3=2

a V
L ;
3

J. Appl. Phys. 116, 114902 (2014)

tcn0

L2
: (27)
4a

These values serve as reference design in the search for

faster melting designs, Fig. 5.
If the invading plate bifurcates once (n 1) and completes the T-shaped tree shown in Fig. 5, the corresponding
performance is represented by
tin1



L
n1
n0
; Ai;end
Ai;end
1 23=2 ; tcn1 tcn0 :
V

(28)

The two terms inside (1 23/2) come from the fact that the
T-shaped tree is a construct of two plates: one of length L,
which starts at t 0 along the stem (L/2) and continues as
one branch (L/2), and the other of length L/2, which is the
n1
is 35% greater than An0
other branch. Note that Ai;end
i;end ; as
shown in Fig. 6. Also note that tcn1 tcn0 comes from the
observation that during the consolidation period the melting
front advances to a distance of approximately L/2, but less
than L/2 over quadrants (a) and (b), from which the inequality sign in tcn1 tcn0 . Equation (28) account for the position
of the n 1 curve relative to the n 0 curve in Fig. 6.
When the invading plate undergoes two levels of bifurcation (n 2, Fig. 5), the melting history is described by


1 L L L
5
n2

tin0 ;
(29)
ti
2 2 4 2
4
" 
 3=2
 3=2 #
3=2
5
3
1
n2
n0
;
(30)
Ai;end

2
Ai;end
4
4
2
1
tcn2 tcn0 :
4

(31)

The three terms on the right side of Eqs. (29) and (30) represent three generations of invading planes: the oldest (length:
L/2 L/4 L/2), the second oldest, from the first bifurcation
(length: L/4 L/2), and the two youngest, from the second
bifurcation level (length: L/2). Equations (29)(31) indicate

the position of the S curve of the n 2 tree relative to the S

curves of the single-plate (stem) invasion (n 0).
n2
Specifically, Eq. (30) shows that Ai;end
is 2.76 times greater
n0
than Ai;end .
The broad view offered by Fig. 6 is that more freedom
leads to designs with a steeper S curve and more freedom
leads to tree designs with more levels of bifurcation, which
provide greater access for the conduction heat currents that
push the melting fronts. More freedom leads to designs that
accelerate the energy storage process.3032

V. THREE-DIMENSIONAL INVASION
AND CONSOLIDATION

The scales of the S-history change if the spreading is

from one point to a volume, instead of from one point to an
area. Instead of the two-dimensional configuration of Fig. 1,
consider the three-dimensional geometry shown in Fig. 7.
This time, the invading line of higher temperature (Tm DT)
is a thin needle of radius r0 and tip speed V. Melting occurs
around the needle, as it invades the solid. The small and finite r0 is necessary in order to describe the phenomenon
analytically.
The melt zone is a body of revolution with the radius d
(x, t). Equation (1) still holds, except that q00 is the heat flux
that arrives at the melting front
 
@T
00
:
(32)
q k
@r rd
Assuming that the melt zone is slender, axial conduction is
negligible relative to radial conduction, and the temperature
distribution in the radial direction has the form:34 T C1
ln r C2. The constants (C1, C2) are determined from the
boundary conditions T(ri) DT and T(d) 0, therefore
T DT

ln r=d
:
ln r0 =d

(33)

This provides the temperature gradient at the melting front

[needed in Eq. (32)], which combined with Eq. (1) and integrated from d r0 at t 0 to d at t yields

FIG. 6. The effect of the number of the bifurcation levels on the shape of the
S-curve.

FIG. 7. Cylindrical enclosure filled with the phase change material invaded
by the hot line of temperature T DT advancing along the centerline.

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Bejan, Ziaei, and Lorente

J. Appl. Phys. 116, 114902 (2014)


kDT
1
t ln r0 d2  r20 
qhsf
2

ln dd dd;

(34)

r0

and in dimensionless form



1 2
1
1
~t d~ ln d~ 
;
2
2
4

(35)

where
d
d~ ;
r0

~t t

kDT
:
qhsf r20

(36)

As in Sec. II, the invasion time is ti L/V, where L is

the axial length traveled by the tip of the needle. The instantaneous needle length is x Vt, and this allows us to deduce
from Eq. (35) the profile of the needle, Fig. 8


1 2
1
1
;
(37)
C3 x~ d~ ln d~ 
2
2
4
where
C3

k D TL
:
qhsf r20 V

Beyond this stage, we assume that r0 is sufficiently small

so that d~  1 and Eq. (37) reduces to
1 ~2 ~
d ln d:
2

(42)

where d~ ~
x is given by Eq. (37). Because ln d~ is a slowly
increasing function of d~ (and of x~), the following quantitative
conclusion is worth noting: d~ is approximately proportional to
x~1=2 , and this means that the volume B is approximately proportional to x~2 and t2. This behavior of accelerated (increasing
rate of growth) characterizes the invasion phase, and is qualitatively the same as in the two-dimensional scenario, Eq. (5).
This is confirmed by Fig. 9, where we plotted the dimensionless volume of melt material, BC3 =pr20 L versus ~t . This curve
was obtained by eliminating d~ between Eqs. (35) and (42).
The log-log presentation of Fig. 9 shows that in the range 1 <
~t < 100 the slope of the curve increases monotonically, from
approximately 1.54 to 1.7. In other words, BC3 =pr20 L
10 tn
where the n exponent is comparable with the 3/2 exponent in
the Ai(t) relation, Eq. (5).
The volume of melt at the end of invasion (Bi) is
Bi
1 4
C3 d~i ln d~i ;
2
4
pr0 L

(38)

At the end of invasion ~

x 1; at t ti , the largest needle radius (at its root, x~ 1) is d~i ,


1 2
1
1
:
(39)
C3 d~i ln d~i 
2
2
4

C3 x~

and, after using Eq. (37)



B
1 ~4
1
1
1 4 ~
~

d~ ln d;
C3 d ln d 
2
4
4
16 4
pr0 L

(43)

where d~i is given by Eq. (40) with x~ 1

C3

1 ~2 ~
d lnd i :
2 i

(44)

Eliminating d~i between Eqs. (43) and (44), and noting the
slow variation of ln d~i with d~i , we conclude that
2
Bi  p d~ r2 L, which in view of Eq. (44) indicates the approx2

i 0

imate scaling
(40)
Bi 

The volume of the needle of profile dx is

p k D TL2
:
ln d~i qhsf V

(45)

(41)

Beyond the end of invasion (ti, di), melting expands

essentially in the radial direction. We model the movement
of the melting front as purely radial, based on the view that

FIG. 8. The advance of the melt layer along the centerline of the threedimensional configuration.

FIG. 9. The evolution of the dimensionless melt volume during the threedimensional invasion phase in the logarithmic scale.

x
B pd2 dx;
0

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Bejan, Ziaei, and Lorente

J. Appl. Phys. 116, 114902 (2014)

2

FIG. 10. The cylinder approximation of the volume of melt at the end of
invasion in the system of Fig. 7.

the body of revolution of melt at t ti is approximated by a

concentric cylinder of length L and thickness d 21=2 di ,
such that the cylinder has the same volume as the body of
revolution, cf. Fig. 10.
^ ~t during the
The progress made by the melting front d

consolidation phase, from ti ; d to tc ; d L=2 is described
by the same solution as in Eq. (37)


1 ^2
1
1
^
~t d ln d 
;
(46)
2
2
4
 At the end of consolidation (t tc and d L/
where d^ d=d.
 the total duration of the melting
2, and assuming L=2  d),
process in the entire cylinder is
 
L2
L
L
(47)
tc ln  ;
4a
V
2d
where a is defined in Eq. (3).

VI. CONCLUSIONS

In this article, we unveiled the fundamental features (the

basic scales) of melting when a phase-change material is
invaded by a line of higher temperature. We showed that the
melting phenomenon occurs in two regimes, invasion followed by consolidation. These two regimes occur in
sequence in all configurations, two-dimensional and threedimensional.
For clarity in this theoretical treatment of the phenomenon, we assumed that the longitudinal and transversal
dimensions of the phase-change material are equal (Figs. 1
and 7). The more general case where the two dimensions are
distinct is important in practice, because it serves as the elemental system (building block) in the design of larger and
more complicated storage units where the heating is provided by invading lines. In such designs, the challenge will
be to determine the architecture of the invading paths such
that the time needed to melt the material entirely is the
shortest.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This research was supported by a grant from the

National Science Foundation.
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