CFD simulation studies of a solar air heater with double pass configuration using paraffin and metal oxide nano particles as a latent heat storage

The integration of Latent Heat Storage (LHS) with Solar Air Heaters (SAH) significantly reduces oscillations in available solar energy, enhancing overall system performance. The current work presents a comprehensive numerical and experimental study of a double-pass SAH (DPSAH) integrated with paraffin - grounded Phase Change Material (PCM) and nanoparticles viz Silicon dioxide (SiO2), Tin oxide (SnO2), Aluminium oxide (Al2O3), Copper oxide (CuO), Magnesium oxide (MgO). A finite volume and conservation equations based numerical model (Ansys-Fluent 14.0) is used to study the thermal effectiveness of SAH system integrated with LHS, while experimental study with best suited synthesized (impregnation method) nanoparticles is performed to assess charging and discharging characteristics. The numerical results demonstrate that the addition of 1 % volume concentrations of nanoparticles significantly improves heat transfer performance, with SiO2, Al2O3, CuO, MgO and SnO2 exhibiting charging rate advancements of 35 %, 25 %, 19 %, 22 %, and 17.5 %, respectively, and discharging rate advancements of 21.15 %, 30.77 %, 14.62 %, 17.31 %, and 13.46 %, respectively making SiO2 based PCM best suitable for improving thermal performance of the DPSAH. The addition of nanoparticles reduces porosity, increases viscosity and thermal conductivity, and improves energy storage and release efficiency. The findings give new perceptivity into the influence of different essence oxide nanoparticles on nano- PCM-grounded DPSAH, contributing to a broader understanding of their part in perfecting thermal performance.