A comprehensive numerical study was conducted to investigate heat transfer enhancement during the melting process in a 2D square cavity through dispersion of nanoparticles. A paraffin-based nanofluid containing various volume fractions of Cu was applied. The governing equations were solved on a non-uniform mesh using a pressure-based finite volume method with an enthalpy porosity technique to trace the solid-liquid interface. The effects of nanoparticle dispersion in a pure fluid and of some significant parameters, namely nanoparticle volume fraction, cavity size and hot wall temperature, on the fluid flow, heat transfer features and melting time were studied. The results are presented in terms of temperature and velocity profiles, streamlines, isotherms, moving interface position, solid fraction and dimensionless heat flux. The suspended nanoparticles caused an increase in thermal conductivity of nano-enhanced phase change material (NEPCM) compared to conventional PCM, resulting in heat transfer enhancement and a higher melting rate. In addition, the nanofluid heat transfer rate increased and the melting time decreased as the volume fraction of nanoparticles increased. The higher temperature difference between the melting temperature and the hot wall temperature expedited the melting process of NEPCM.

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Heat transfer enhancement during melting in a two-dimensional cylindrical annulus through dispersion of nanoparticle is investigated numerically. Paraffin-based nanofluid containing various volume fractions of Cu is applied. The governing equations are solved on a non-uniform O type mesh using a pressure-based finite volume method with an enthalpy porosity technique to trace the solid and liquid interface. The effects of nanoparticle dispersion into pure fluid as well as the influences of some significant parameters, namely, nanoparticle volume fraction and natural convection on the fluid flow and heat transfer features are studied. The results are presented in terms of streamlines, isotherms, temperatures and velocity profiles and dimensionless heat flux. It is found that the suspended nanoparticles give rise to the higher thermal conductivity as compared to the pure fluid and consequently the heat transfer is enhanced. In addition, the heat transfer rate and the melting time increases and decreases, respectively, as the volume fraction of nanoparticle increases.

Phase change materials have found many industrial applications such as cooling of electronic devices and thermal energy storage. This paper investigates numerically the melting process of a phase change material in a two-dimensional horizontal annulus with different arrangements of two discrete heat sources. The sources are positioned on the inner cylinder of the annulus and assumed as constant-temperature boundary conditions. The remaining portion of the inner cylinder wall as well as the outer cylinder wall is considered to be insulated. The emphasis is mainly on the effects of the arrangement of the heat source pair on the fluid flow and heat transfer features. The governing equations are solved on a non-uniform O type mesh using a pressure-based finite volume method with an enthalpy porosity technique to trace the solid and liquid interface. The results are obtained at Ra=104 and presented in terms of streamlines, isotherms, melting phase front, liquid fraction and dimensionless heat flux. It is observed that, depending on the arrangement of heat sources, the liquid fraction increases both linearly and non-linearly with time but will slow down at the end of the melting process. It can also be concluded that proper arrangement of discrete heat sources has the great potential in improving the energy storage system. For instance, the arrangement C3 where the heat sources are located on the bottom part of the inner cylinder wall can expedite the melting process as compared to the other arrangements.

The objective of this study is to analyze a combined cooling and power system from both exergy and economic perspectives, taking into account low-, medium-, and high-pressure steams. The system configuration consists of various components, namely the boiler, tank, turbine, generator, unit referred to as 180, absorption chiller, and separator. The high- and medium-pressure steams are utilized to generate power in the chiller turbine. Additionally, the low-pressure steam, which is discharged from the turbines and recycled from different sections of the system, is used to provide heat for the absorption chillers and cool the water used in the production line, thereby reducing the capacity requirements of the wet cooling towers. Among the available options, the turbine with a cost of 300 €/kW proves to be the most suitable choice for the proposed system. The results indicate that increasing the generator temperature from 65 °C to 90 °C leads to an increase in the coefficient of performance (COP) from 0.67 to 0.77. Moreover, the COP, power production, turbine efficiency, and total exergy efficiency of the proposed system are determined as 0.73, 5000 kW, 16,876 kW, 35.98%, and 57%, respectively. Ultimately, by implementing the proposed system, the product's production has been enhanced by 7% while generating an additional 16 MW of power, which represents a significant capacity for the Kurdistan Petrochemical Complex.