Session: 09-18-01: Innovations in Storage, Recovery and Upgrade of Thermal Energy

Paper Number: 166093

Comparative Analysis of MgO-ZnO and MgO-Al2O3 Hybrid Nanofluids to Enhance Thermal Performance of PCM-Metal Foam Based Heat Exchanger 

Abstract

Conventional heat exchangers that utilize traditional fluids often experience delayed thermal response and inefficient heat transfer. The integrated setup of hybrid nanofluids, alongside PCM and metal foam offers a synergistic potential to improve the thermal performance of heat exchangers. The main objective of this experimental study is to enhance the thermal performance of PCM-Metal Foam heat exchanger by reducing the time taken to achieve the steady state (maximum energy storage) by utilizing two types of hybrid nanofluids based on the combination of MgO-ZnO/water and MgO-Al₂O₃/water at three different flow rates. Each sample of the nanofluid contain has a 0.5 wt% (0.25wt% - 0.25wt%) inside the distilled water. The experimental setup has two sections, the test section and nanofluid heating section. Before starting the experiment the test section of the experimental setup is closed from both sides and the nanofluid is allowed to circulate in another section, in which the nanofluid absorbs heat from the water heated in the thermal bath. The temperature of the thermal bath is set to 55 ℃ in which the water is heating and simultaneously transferred thermal energy to the nanofluid circulation in other section of the experimental setup. Once the thermal bath is stabled at 55 ℃, the system is ready to operate for experimentation. The starting conditions to perform experiments, the hybrid nanofluid is circulated at 55 ℃ in the test section (PCM-Metal Foam heat exchanger) and this temperature is maintained throughout the experiment. The reference temperature of the PCM-Metal Foam heat exchanger is set at 28 ℃ at the start of the experiments. J-type thermocouples are used to collect the temperature data, which are installed on the upper and lower walls of the PCM-Metal Foam heat exchanger. The experiments were conducted at three different flow rates 0.55 l/min, 0.87 l/min, and 1.1 l/min. The results showed that hybrid nanofluid MgO- Al₂O₃/water outperformed MgO-ZnO/water hybrid nanofluid. The steady state by utilizing 0.5 wt% MgO-Al₂O₃/water hybrid nanofluid is achieved in 80 min, 57 min and 42 min at flow rates of 0.55 l/min, 0.87 l/min and 1.1 l/min respectively as compared MgO-ZnO/water hybrid nanofluid where the steady state is achieved in 98 min, 66 min and 48 min at flow rates 0.55 l/min, 0.87 l/min and 1/1 l/min respectively. These results show us better convective heat transfer performance was achieved with MgO-Al₂O₃/water hybrid nanofluid.

Keywords

Hybrid nanofluid, phase change materials, metal foam, steady state

Presenting Author: Hurmat Khan Universita degli Studi della Campania Luigi Vanvitelli Dipartimento di Ingegneria

Presenting Author Biography: I am Hurmat Khan, pursuing my PhD at the University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, Italy. My area of research is thermal energy storage, solar thermal energy, thermal energy storage and recovery in phase change materials.

Authors:

Hurmat Khan Universita degli Studi della Campania Luigi Vanvitelli Dipartimento di Ingegneria
Huseyin Kaya Bartin University, Turkey
Atiq Ur Rehman Fareedi Università degli Studi della Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”
Abdul Qadeer Khoso Università degli Studi della Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”
Ihsan Ur Rahman Università degli Studi della Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”
Bernardo Buonomo Università degli Studi della Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”
Oronzio Manca Università degli Studi della Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”
Sergio Nardini Università degli Studi della Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”