Enhancing Phase Change Material Efficiency in Wavy Trapezoidal Cavities: A Numerical Investigation of Nanoparticle Additives
Phase change materials (PCMs) are widely used in latent heat thermal energy storage systems (LHTESSs), but their low thermal conductivity limits performance. This study numerically investigates the enhancement of thermal efficiency in LHTESSs using nano-enhanced PCM (NePCM), composed of paraffin wax...
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2025-05-01
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| author | Ilias Benyahia Aissa Abderrahmane Yacine Khetib Mashhour A. Alazwari Obai Younis Abdeldjalil Belazreg Samir Laouedj |
| author_facet | Ilias Benyahia Aissa Abderrahmane Yacine Khetib Mashhour A. Alazwari Obai Younis Abdeldjalil Belazreg Samir Laouedj |
| author_sort | Ilias Benyahia |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Phase change materials (PCMs) are widely used in latent heat thermal energy storage systems (LHTESSs), but their low thermal conductivity limits performance. This study numerically investigates the enhancement of thermal efficiency in LHTESSs using nano-enhanced PCM (NePCM), composed of paraffin wax embedded with copper (Cu) nanoparticles. The NePCM is confined within a trapezoidal cavity, with the base serving as the heat source. Four different cavity heights were analyzed: cases 1, 2, 3, and 4 with the heights D of 24 mm, 18 mm, 15 mm, and 13.5 mm, respectively. The finite element method was employed to solve the governing equations. The influence of two hot base temperatures (333.15 K and 338.15 K) and Cu nanoparticle volume fractions ranging from 0% to 6% was examined. The results show that incorporating Cu nanoparticles at 6 vol% (volume fraction) enhanced thermal conductivity and reduced melting time by 10.71%. Increasing the base temperature to 338.15 K accelerated melting by 65.55%. Among all configurations, case 4 exhibited the best performance, reducing melting duration by 15.12% compared to case 1. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-245d4701d969421f9b32072ea3cfcfab |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2624-8174 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| series | Physics |
| spelling | doaj-art-245d4701d969421f9b32072ea3cfcfab2025-08-20T03:16:36ZengMDPI AGPhysics2624-81742025-05-01721710.3390/physics7020017Enhancing Phase Change Material Efficiency in Wavy Trapezoidal Cavities: A Numerical Investigation of Nanoparticle AdditivesIlias Benyahia0Aissa Abderrahmane1Yacine Khetib2Mashhour A. Alazwari3Obai Younis4Abdeldjalil Belazreg5Samir Laouedj6Laboratoire de Physique Quantique de la Matière et Modélisation Mathématique (LPQ3M), University of Mascara, Mascara 29000, AlgeriaLaboratoire de Physique Quantique de la Matière et Modélisation Mathématique (LPQ3M), University of Mascara, Mascara 29000, AlgeriaMechanical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi ArabiaMechanical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering in Wadi Alddawasir, Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University, Al kharj 16278, Saudi ArabiaLaboratoire de Physique Quantique de la Matière et Modélisation Mathématique (LPQ3M), University of Mascara, Mascara 29000, AlgeriaMaterials and Reactive Systems Laboratory (LMSR), Université Djillali LIABES, Sidi Bel Abbes 22000, AlgeriaPhase change materials (PCMs) are widely used in latent heat thermal energy storage systems (LHTESSs), but their low thermal conductivity limits performance. This study numerically investigates the enhancement of thermal efficiency in LHTESSs using nano-enhanced PCM (NePCM), composed of paraffin wax embedded with copper (Cu) nanoparticles. The NePCM is confined within a trapezoidal cavity, with the base serving as the heat source. Four different cavity heights were analyzed: cases 1, 2, 3, and 4 with the heights D of 24 mm, 18 mm, 15 mm, and 13.5 mm, respectively. The finite element method was employed to solve the governing equations. The influence of two hot base temperatures (333.15 K and 338.15 K) and Cu nanoparticle volume fractions ranging from 0% to 6% was examined. The results show that incorporating Cu nanoparticles at 6 vol% (volume fraction) enhanced thermal conductivity and reduced melting time by 10.71%. Increasing the base temperature to 338.15 K accelerated melting by 65.55%. Among all configurations, case 4 exhibited the best performance, reducing melting duration by 15.12% compared to case 1.https://www.mdpi.com/2624-8174/7/2/17wavy trapezoidal cavitymeltinglatent heat storagenanoparticle |
| spellingShingle | Ilias Benyahia Aissa Abderrahmane Yacine Khetib Mashhour A. Alazwari Obai Younis Abdeldjalil Belazreg Samir Laouedj Enhancing Phase Change Material Efficiency in Wavy Trapezoidal Cavities: A Numerical Investigation of Nanoparticle Additives Physics wavy trapezoidal cavity melting latent heat storage nanoparticle |
| title | Enhancing Phase Change Material Efficiency in Wavy Trapezoidal Cavities: A Numerical Investigation of Nanoparticle Additives |
| title_full | Enhancing Phase Change Material Efficiency in Wavy Trapezoidal Cavities: A Numerical Investigation of Nanoparticle Additives |
| title_fullStr | Enhancing Phase Change Material Efficiency in Wavy Trapezoidal Cavities: A Numerical Investigation of Nanoparticle Additives |
| title_full_unstemmed | Enhancing Phase Change Material Efficiency in Wavy Trapezoidal Cavities: A Numerical Investigation of Nanoparticle Additives |
| title_short | Enhancing Phase Change Material Efficiency in Wavy Trapezoidal Cavities: A Numerical Investigation of Nanoparticle Additives |
| title_sort | enhancing phase change material efficiency in wavy trapezoidal cavities a numerical investigation of nanoparticle additives |
| topic | wavy trapezoidal cavity melting latent heat storage nanoparticle |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2624-8174/7/2/17 |
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