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Solidification of nano-enhanced phase change material (NEPCM) in a wavy cavity

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Abstract

The effects of surface waviness (λ = 0, 0.125, 0.25, 0.5) and nanoparticle dispersion (ϕ = 0, 0.05, 0.1) on solidification of Cu-water nanofluid inside a vertical enclosure are investigated numerically for different Grashof number (Gr = 105, 106, 107). An enthalpy porosity technique is used to trace the solid and liquid interface. Comparisons with previously published works show the accuracy of the obtained results. A maximum of 25.9% relative variation of freezing time with surface waviness was observed for λ = 0.5, while the relative variation of freezing time with nanoparticles in comparison with surface waviness was negative for high values of λ. It was observed that surface waviness can be used to control the solidification time based on enhancing different mechanism of solidification.

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Abbreviations

A:

Momentum source term function

C :

Constant

C p :

Specific heat

d p :

Nanoparticle diameter

f :

Liquid fraction

g :

Gravitational acceleration

Gr :

Grashof number, ρ2 gβΔTH 3/μ2

h :

Enthalpy

H :

Height of the enclosure

k :

Thermal conductivity

L :

Latent heat of fusion

L.F.:

Liquid fraction

M :

Morphology constant

n :

Direction normal to the surface

Nu :

Nusselt number

p :

Pressure

Pr :

Prandtl number, μ2 C p /k

s :

Distance along wavy wall

S :

Source term

Ste :

Stefan number, ΔTC p /L

t :

Time

T :

Temperature

u :

Velocity component along x-axes

v :

Velocity component along y-axes

x, y :

Cartesian coordinates

β:

Volumetric expansion coefficient

ε:

Constant

ρ:

Density

ϕ :

Volume fraction of solid particles

μ:

Dynamic viscosity

η:

The relative variation of freezing time

τ:

Non dimensional time

λ:

Surface waviness

ave :

Average

nf :

Nanofluid

0:

Stagnant

f :

Base fluid

s :

Solid

ref :

Reference

x :

Along x-axes

y :

Along y-axes

h :

Enthalpy

d :

Thermal dispersion

l :

Liquid

eff :

Effective

cr :

Critical

w :

Wall

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Islamic Azad University, Gorgan Branch, Kordkoy Center, Golestan, Iran

    S. Kashani

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Babol University of Technology, P. O. Box: 484, Babol, Iran

    A. A. Ranjbar & M. Abdollahzadeh

  3. Department of Electromechanical Engineering, Center for Aerospace Sciences and Technology, University of Beira Interior, Covilhã, Portugal

    M. Abdollahzadeh

  4. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Urmia University of Technology, Urmia, Iran

    S. Sebti

Authors
  1. S. Kashani
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  2. A. A. Ranjbar
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  3. M. Abdollahzadeh
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  4. S. Sebti
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Correspondence to M. Abdollahzadeh.

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Kashani, S., Ranjbar, A.A., Abdollahzadeh, M. et al. Solidification of nano-enhanced phase change material (NEPCM) in a wavy cavity. Heat Mass Transfer 48, 1155–1166 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00231-012-0965-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00231-012-0965-2

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