Fractional melting process in inclined containers using (NePCM) and hybrid nanoparticles

Abstract

Using substances of high latent heat such as phase change materials is a perfect technique in the energy storage units. Additionally, examining the heat transport and melting process for these materials is beneficial for a wide variety of solar-related applications. Therefore, this study aims to examine the time-dependent fractional melting process within inclined containers filled with Nanoparticles-enhanced Phase-Change Materials (NePCM) via the model of the enthalpy-porosity. The used NePCM is octadecane and the fractional derivatives are considered for all the time-dependent variables, namely, velocities, temperature and liquid fraction. The Caputo definition is applied to estimate the non-integer derivatives and the fractional order takes the values between 0.75 and 0.95. The solution methodology is depending on the Finite Volume technique with SIMPLE approach. The range of the Fourier number is between 0.05 and 0.4 and the resulting data is presented in terms of melting interface, liquid fraction, streamlines, isotherms and heat transfer rate. The main findings revealed that the influences of order of the fractional derivatives more significant at the higher values of the Fourier number and the melting interface points move towards the heated wall as order of the fractional derivatives is reduced. Also, at higher values of the fractional derivative's order (0.9), the maximizing of inclination angle causes a diminishing in the rate of the heat transfer.