Abstract
In melting process of a dynamic ice thermal storage system, warm water penetrates through a bed of ice particles with forming water channels. We have studied melting characteristic of a packed bed of ice particles with forming a water channel numerically. A numerical model assuming Darcy flow shows close agreement with experimental data about melting rate and the shape of ice bed. Melting characteristics of packed bed is impaired by expanding of a water channel and decrease of permeability of water into ice bed. Additionally, we discussed a mechanism of the melting process from the numerical results.
