Heat Transfer Phenomena in Nano-Encapsulated Phase Change Materials

Nano-encapsulated phase change materials (NEPCMs) integrate a latent-heat core within a nanoscale protective shell, yielding suspensions with enhanced heat storage and thermal transport. Upon heating, the core absorbs energy during melting and releases it on solidification, while the shell provides mechanical stability and suppresses supercooling. Heat transfer through NEPCM suspensions arises from conduction across the shell, convection in the host fluid and latent heat exchange, with performance governed by particle concentration, fusion temperature and thermal properties of both shell and core. In porous media or under magnetic fields, buoyancy forces and magnetohydrodynamic effects further influence convective flow and entropy generation. Optimisation of these coupled mechanisms offers pathways toward efficient thermal energy storage, electronic cooling and solar energy applications.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Recent studies have employed time-fractional mesh-free methods to explore dual-rotation effects on magnetohydrodynamic convection of NEPCMs within hexagonal enclosures containing internal fins. The work demonstrates that the order of the fractional derivative markedly alters flow fields and the spatial distribution of melting zones, while increases in magnetic field strength reduce mean Nusselt numbers. Adjusting the dimensionless fusion temperature shifts the phase-change front, and higher nanoparticle loading consistently raises convective heat transfer, with peak values achieved when the fractional order reaches unity.

Heat Transfer Phenomena in Nano-Encapsulated Phase Change Materials publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in heat transfer phenomena in nano-encapsulated phase change materials across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Nano-encapsulated phase change material: A core–shell nanoparticle combining a latent-heat material with a protective outer layer to enable reversible melting and solidification.

Nusselt number: Dimensionless parameter expressing the ratio of convective to conductive heat transfer at a surface.

Rayleigh number: Dimensionless measure of buoyancy-driven flow strength in a fluid.

Hartmann number: Dimensionless value quantifying the influence of a magnetic field on fluid motion.

Fusion temperature: Dimensionless temperature at which the phase-change material undergoes melting.

Darcy number: Dimensionless indicator of permeability in porous media flow.

References

1. Numerical analysis of Nano-encapsulated PCM magnetohydrodynamics double-diffusive convection and entropy generation in vertical enclosures with porous layer. Results in Engineering (2024).
2. Effect of dual-rotation on MHD natural convection of NEPCM in a hexagonal-shaped cavity based on time-fractional ISPH method. Scientific Reports (2021).