HEAT TRANSFERS INSIDE AN EMULSION DURING THE MELTING OF THE DISPERSED DROPLETS

In a previous paper (Revue Generale de Thermique, no. 341, 1990, p. 267-273), experiments and a model for the study of the crystallizations of the undercooled droplets of an emulsion have mainly been described. The present paper concerns experimental results and a model for the melting of the crystallized droplets. The study concerns emulsions of hexadecane, octadecane or water inside a steadily heated metallic cylinder. The model is quite different from the model for the crystallizations since it takes into account the thermodynamical equilibrium inside the droplet and the thermal exchange between the droplet and the emulsifying medium. It is shown that, in the axis region, the temperature has for a long time almost the value of the temperature of fusion, the droplets melting only at the end of this lapse of time. The influence of different parameters is analysed.