The effect of hot wall configuration on melting flow of nano-enhanced phase change material inside a tilted square capsule

Abstract

The aim of this study is to investigate the influence of the hot wall configuration on the thermal performance of an inclined square capsule containing the nano-enhanced phase change material (NePCM). The porosity-enthalpy technique is used to track the melting flow. The correctness of the obtained numerical results is verified through the experimental data from the literature. Three different configurations for the hot wall of the tilted square capsule are considered. For the square capsule heated from the side wall, the inclination angle of 85° shows the maximum charging power while the minimum charging power occurred at 5°. The charging power for the optimum angle (85°) was 16 % higher than that of 5°. For the enclosure equally heated from the side wall and bottom, the inclination angles of 25° and 65° provide the maximum charging power. Moreover, an enclosure mostly heated from the side wall (2/3) and partially heated from the bottom (1/3), produces the maximum charging power at 25°. The results also indicate that GNPs with 1 % wt produce the maximum charging power.