Numerical Analysis on Solidification Behavior of Graphene Nanoplatelet Based Nanofluid in Cold Storage Cavity

  • CHEN Chen ,
  • FENG Shiyu ,
  • PENG Hao ,
  • PENG Xiaotian ,
  • LIU Weihua
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  • 1. College of Aerospace Engineering, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 210016, China
    2. Institute of Thermal Engineering, Shanghai Maritime University, Shanghai 201306, China

Online published: 2023-12-01

Supported by

The authors gratefully acknowledge the supports from National Natural Science Foundation of China Civil Aviation Joint Fund (U1933121) and the Natural Science Foundation of Shanghai (Grant No. 19ZR1422300).

Copyright

Science Press, Institute of Engineering Thermophysics, CAS and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2022

Abstract

Addition of graphene nanoplatelet (GNP) into water is a promising method for improving cold storage system performance, and its application requires comprehensive understanding of solidification behavior of GNP-water nanofluid. In the present study, the influences of GNP mass concentration, cold storage cavity size and shape on solid-liquid interface evolution, temperature distribution, streamline profile as well as solidification rate are numerically analyzed. The enthalpy-porosity technique is adopted to track solid-liquid interface. The results show that the enhancement effect of GNPs on solidification is mainly reflected in the final stage in which heat conduction is predominant; the solidification occurs at the bottom of cavity in the early stage, and the solid-liquid interface is similar to the shape of cavity itself and then tends to be circular in the middle and final stages respectively; the reduction degree of solidification time reaches 30.1% at GNP mass concentration of 1.2 wt% under present simulation conditions; decreasing cavity size and adopting triangular cavity are beneficial for promoting the solidification, but they will suppress the enhancement effect of GNPs on solidification.

Cite this article

CHEN Chen , FENG Shiyu , PENG Hao , PENG Xiaotian , LIU Weihua . Numerical Analysis on Solidification Behavior of Graphene Nanoplatelet Based Nanofluid in Cold Storage Cavity[J]. Journal of Thermal Science, 2022 , 31(4) : 1180 -1193 . DOI: 10.1007/s11630-022-1660-3

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