Research Projects

The study focuses on the thermal analysis of solidification and melting of eutectic organic phase change materials dispersed with hybrid nanoparticles of higher specific surface area. The analysis will be performed using both experimental and numerical means. Hybrid nanoparticles (HNP) will be synthesized and characterized, and their thermal conductivity will be determined using the modified transient hot-wire method (THWM). Materials such as polyethylene glycol, Tetradecyl oxalate, octadecyl oxalate, palmitic acid, cyclohexane, and 1-dodecanol will be prepared for eutectic organic phase change materials (PCMs). The dispersion of HNP into PCMs will be carried out in a controlled environment with the help of a stabilizing agent and different volume fractions of HNPs (1-4%). Two experimental setups will be fabricated for melting and freezing operations for various combinations of hybrid nanoparticles-based phase change materials (HNePCM). The test cell will consist of a rectangular-shaped glass test cell on a copper plate, with thermocouples for temperature measurement and a high-speed, high-resolution camera for transient melting and freezing operations. Thermocouple and camera data will be processed by the data acquisition system. An Adaptive Neural Fuzzy Interface System (ANFIS) model-based optimization will be adapted to optimize input dependent variables with respect to output parameters. A lattice Boltzmann method-based numerical solver will be developed for the considered problem. The computational domain will be similar to the experimental test cell.