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The low thermal conductivity of phase change materials has resulted in prolonged melting and freezing processes (charge and discharge) in these materials. This problem has limited the application of these materials in the field of thermal energy storage. In the present study, the effects of adding Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticles at various concentrations as well as applying the magnetic field on the melting process of paraffin as phase change material have been experimentally studied. Thereupon, a cubic chamber in which the left wall applied a constant heat flux was used. At the optimum concentration of nanoparticles (1 mass%), the constant magnetic field with the intensities of 0.01 T and 0.02 T was applied and compared with the case of without field. It was inferred that using Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticles, due to the increment of thermal conductivity, leads to a decrease in the temperature gradient in the horizontal direction and thus a decrease in melting time. Moreover, applying the magnetic field, due to the formation of high conductive clusters of nanoparticles, reduced the melting time and improved the heat transfer in paraffin. By using an optimum concentration of nanoparticles (1 mass%), in the absence and presence of the magnetic field, melting time is reduced by 8% and 12%, approximately.

In modern heat transfer systems, thermal storage not only causes the balance between demand and supply, but also improves the heat transfer efficiency in these systems. In the present study, a comprehensive review of the applications of micro- or nano-encapsulated phase change slurries (MPCMs/NPCMs), as well as their effects on thermal storage and heat transfer enhancement, has been conducted. MPCMs/NPCMs have a myriad of applications and various usages such as pipe and channel flows, photovoltaic/thermal, solar heaters, air conditioning systems, storage tanks and heat pipes that have been categorized and studied. It was found that there are many advantageous adding MPCM/NPCM to the base fluid. The most important effect is that the addition of PCMs to the base fluid can intensify the capacity of energy absorption in the base fluid. These materials can absorb a high proportion of received energy by changing their phase and prevent temperature increment of the base fluid. Thereupon, the specific heat of the fluid in the presence of the micro-/nano-capsules increases. Moreover, in most studies reviewed, heat transfer coefficient and Nusselt number increase by the addition of micro-/nano-capsules to the base fluid. Also, the addition of MPCM/NPCM to the base fluid could make this material pumpable, although increment in the concentration of micro-/nano-capsules raises the viscosity of the working fluid and thereupon the pumping power. On the other hand, for a same heat load, the pumping power decreases due to the lower required flow rate in comparison with pure working fluid. The most important factor that must be considered in the application of MPCMs/NPCMs is the complete phase change of the material. Given the favorable thermal and fluid characteristics of MPCMs/NPCMs, the utilization of these materials could be a promising method to transfer heat and store it with high efficiency and low pumping power.

The effect of the hybrid suspension on the intrinsic characteristics of microencapsulated phase change material (MEPCM) slurry used as a coolant in counterflow microchannel heat exchanger (CFMCHE) with different velocities is investigated numerically. The working fluid used in this paper is a hybrid suspension consisting of nanoparticles and MEPCM particles, in which the particles are suspended in pure water as a base fluid. Two types of hybrid suspension are used (Al2O3 + MEPCM and Cu + MEPCM), and the hydrodynamic and thermal characteristics of these suspensions flowing in a CFMCHE are numerically investigated. The results indicated that using hybrid suspension with high flow velocities improves the performance of the microchannel heat exchanger while resulting in a noticeable increase in pressure drop. Thereupon, it causes a decrease in the performance index. Moreover, it was found that the increment of the nanoparticles’ concentration can rise the low thermal conductivity of the MEPCM slurry, but it also leads to a noticeable increase in pressure drop. Furthermore, it was found that as the thermal conductivity of Cu is higher than that for Al2O3, the enhancement in heat transfer is higher in case of adding Cu particles compared with Al2O3 particles. Therefore, the effectiveness of these materials depends strongly on the application at which CFMCHE is employed.

The boiling of a fluid dripping on the surface of molten phase-change materials provides an efficient means for heat exchange or cooling of the melt. For the first time, in this study, the impact of acetone drops onto molten paraffin as a direct-contact solidification method is experimentally investigated to get a better insight into the interaction between the drop boiling and the heat extraction process from the phase change materials during impact. As the acetone drop impacts the molten paraffin surface, acetone starts to boil, and a portion of molten paraffin is solidified. Four impact Weber numbers (corresponding to heights of 10, 20, 30, and 40 cm) for the acetone drop and six surface temperatures for the molten paraffin (66, 68, 70, 75, 80, and 90 °C) are considered. Given the range of these two parameters, four distinct regimes of impact were observed using a high-speed camera and categorized, including the formation of the crater, crown, returned liquid paraffin column (jet), and the drop pinching off from the jet tip. Moreover, as We increased or the paraffin surface temperature decreased, the solidified paraffin’s on the molten surface grew. A correlation was obtained based on the impact Weber number and surface temperature of molten paraffin to determine the spread of solidified paraffin area on the melt free surface after drop impact. Results also showed that both the maximum crater depth and width increase with the increment of both the molten paraffin temperature and the impact Weber number.

The low melting and solidification rates of phase change materials (PCM), which traces back to their low thermal conductivity coefficient, has led the application of these materials to face limitations. This paper aims to explore the effectiveness of a novel method called intermediate boiling fluid (IBF) in speeding up the energy storage and transfer processes in PCMs during a complete charging-discharging cycle. Throughout this novel technique, paraffin and acetone are utilized as PCM and IBF, respectively. In the solidification process, there is no direct contact between the cold source and the molten paraffin, while acetone, as an intermediate fluid, is being boiled via absorbing paraffin's heat and ultimately causing paraffin to be cooled down and solidified. The melting and solidification experiments were run in a test cell with and without acetone. The experimental results indicate that utilizing this technique dramatically enhances the solidification rate and improves the melting rate to a moderate level. It is illustrated that by using this method under the optimum condition the solidification time, melting time, and the total melting and solidification time decrease by 77 times, 22 percent, and 80 percent, respectively, compared to the conventional method. It is also concluded that by adjusting the container pressure and using different amounts of intermediate boiling fluid (IBF), the freezing and melting rates of phase change materials can be controlled.