Influence of nanomaterial on enhancement of cold storage utilizing numerical approach

Abstract

The current work focuses on simulating the freezing through a complex porous geometry using an adaptive grid approach. This simulation incorporates the impacts of radiation and the application of hybrid nano-powders to derive the final model. The governing equations are solved using the Galerkin method, with two unsteady terms in the energy equation discretized through an implicit technique. The validation of the simulation code shows excellent agreement with the previous studies, confirming the accuracy of the model. Notably, the outcomes reveal a substantial reduction in freezing time when using hybrid nanomaterials compared to pure water, with the latter taking approximately 106 times longer to freeze. Additionally, the presence of radiation accelerates the freezing process, reducing the time required by a factor of 1.25 compared to the absence of radiation. The combination of porous foam further enhances the system’s performance, reducing freezing time by approximately 79.92%.