Improvement in Thermal Storage Effectiveness of Paraffin with Addition of Aluminum Oxide Nanoparticles

Dawit Gudeta Gunjo; Vinod Kumar Yadav; Devendra Kumar Sinha; Mohamed Abdelghany Elkotb; Gulam Mohammed Sayeed Ahmed; Nazia Hossain; Mostafa A H Abdelmohimen

doi:10.3390/ma15134427

Improvement in Thermal Storage Effectiveness of Paraffin with Addition of Aluminum Oxide Nanoparticles

Materials (Basel). 2022 Jun 23;15(13):4427. doi: 10.3390/ma15134427.

Authors

Dawit Gudeta Gunjo¹, Vinod Kumar Yadav², Devendra Kumar Sinha¹, Mohamed Abdelghany Elkotb^{3

4}, Gulam Mohammed Sayeed Ahmed^{1

5}, Nazia Hossain⁶, Mostafa A H Abdelmohimen^{3

7}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Mechanical Engineering, Adama Science and Technology University, Adama 1888, Ethiopia.
² Department of Mechanical Engineering, G. L. Bajaj Institute of Technology and Management, Greater Noida 201306, India.
³ Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, King-Khalid-University, P.O. Box 394, Abha 61421, Asir, Saudi Arabia.
⁴ Mechanical Engineering Department, College of Engineering, Kafrelsheikh University, Kafr El-Sheikh 33516, Egypt.
⁵ Center of Excellence (COE) for Advanced Manufacturing Engineering, Program of Mechanical Design and Manufacturing Engineering, Adama Science and Technology University, Adama 1888, Ethiopia.
⁶ School of Engineering, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC 3001, Australia.
⁷ Shoubra Faculty of Engineering, Benha University, Cairo 11629, Egypt.

Abstract

The output of the latent heat storage devices (LHSDs), based on some phase change materials (PCMs), depends upon the thermophysical properties of the phase change material used. In this study, a paraffin-based nanofluid, blended with aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃) nanoparticles, is used as PCM for performance evaluation. A three-dimensional (3D) numerical model of regenerative type shell-and-tube LHSD is prepared using COMSOL Multiphysics^® 4.3a software to estimate the percentage of melt and the average temperature of the analyzed nanofluids. The results of this study are in close agreement with those reported in the literature, thereby ensuring the validation of the numerically predicted results. The effects of adding the nanoparticles on the rate of melting, as well as solidification and rate of stored/liberated energy, are studied. The results revealed that, by adding 10% nanoparticles of Al₂O₃, the melting rate of pure-paraffin-based LHSD improved by about 2.25 times. In addition, the rate of solidification was enhanced by 1.8 times. On the other hand, the heat of fusion and specific heat capacities were reduced, which, in turn, reduced the latent and sensible heat-storing capabilities. From the outcomes of the present research, it can be inferred that combining LHSD with a solar water heater may be used in technologies such as biogas generation.

Keywords: Al2O3 nanoparticles; PCM; melt fraction; nanofluid; paraffin.

Grants and funding

(RGP.2/94/43)./The authors extend their appreciation to the Deanship of Scientific Research at King Khalid University for funding this work through Large Groups (RGP.2/94/43).