Abstract

This thesis presents a numerical formulation grounded on continuum physics to study different coupled phenomena, such as thermomechanics and high-frequency thermoelectricity, in nanoparticles for their use in nanofluids for both thermal energy storage and direct solar absorption applications. The main difficulties tackled in the present work are the analysis of the mechanical failure of the shell of nanoencapsulated phase change materials and the influence of the shell thickness on the mechanical strength of nanoparticles, determining the probability of failure of the shell of nanoencapsulated phase change materials by incorporating the measurement uncertainty into the numerical analysis and the relation between shell failure and enthalpy losses of nano-capsules and finally, the prediction of temperature increments around nanoparticles when optically excited.