Numerical study of the melting rate enhancement of nano phase change material in a modified shell and tube heat exchanger

Abstract

The current investigation employs numerical analysis using ANSYS Fluent software to explore the melting behaviour of phase change material (PCM) and nano-PCM in a semi-circular shell and tube heat exchanger, utilizing dual side heating for enhanced conduction and convection rates of heat transfer. The study incorporates aluminium oxide nanoparticles at volume concentrations of 2 %, 4 % and 6 % within paraffin wax and assessing their impact on melting and thermal energy storage rates. Notably, the 2 % nanoparticle volume concentration exhibits an enhanced storage rate as compared to higher concentrations. The increase in nanoparticle concentration from 0 % to 2 %, 2 % to 4 % and 4 % to 6 % results in percentage reduction in melting time of 21 %, 3.51 % and 2.8 % respectively. Semi-circular configuration shows significant improvement in the energy storage rate as compared to the circular triplex tube configuration. The maximum energy storage rate of PCM for the semi-circular and circular configurations is 1.15 kW and 1.04 kW respectively, marking a 9.56 % increase over the circular configuration. Moreover, the semi-circular and circular configurations using nano-PCM achieve a maximum energy storage rate of 1.19 kW and 1.14 kW, representing a 4.20 % increase over the circular configuration.