Solidification inside a clean energy storage unit utilizing phase change material with copper oxide nanoparticles

2019 Elsevier Ltd Utilizing renewable and alternative energy is the best way to confront endangering issues such as reduction of fossil fuels. Thermal energy storage systems can considerably reduce the consumption of energy and they can improve the utilizations of renewable energy sources. Recently, building section becomes a great consumer of heat causing to a great levels of carbon emission. For developing the energy output of the buildings, heat storage mixed with phase change material becomes an efficient technique. For enhancing the productivity, one of the techniques applied is storing heat whilst the time of great solar intensity and releasing it through the night time. Enhancement in the thermal conductivity leads the discharging time of PCM through the solidification to reduce. So, nanoparticles have been dispersed into paraffin in this article. In addition, considering wavy surface for the inner duct is taken into account as second way which is combined with first technique. Numerical approach was successfully verified and employed for various cases. The herein obtained outputs revealed that entropy generation is an augmenting function of amplitude of wavy surface and it is reducing function of concentration of nanomaterial. Also, dispersing nanomaterial is more effective when sinusoidal surface has been employed. Heat flux transfer to PCM declines as time progress. Discharging rate has been minimized as amplitude of wavy channel augments. Influences of amplitude of wavy surface are more pronounced in cases with pure paraffin