Local thermal non-equilibrium analysis of magneto-radiative natural convection of nano-encapsulated phase change material suspension in a crown-shaped porous cavity

Purpose Efficient thermal management and energy storage are essential in modern engineering applications, including latent heat thermal energy storage systems, electronic cooling devices, porous heat exchangers and magnetically controlled nuclear reactor components. This study aims to numerically investigate magneto-radiative thermogravitational convection in a nano-encapsulated phase change material (NEPCM) suspension confined within a crown-shaped porous cavity containing a centrally placed elliptical obstruction. Design/methodology/approach The governing equations are formulated using the Darcy–Brinkman model, with the porous medium treated as homogeneous and isotropic. Local thermal non-equilibrium (LTNE) between fluid and solid phases is explicitly included. Thermal radiation is modeled using the Rosseland diffusion approximation, and a uniform horizontal magnetic field is applied. The system is solved numerically via the finite element method. Findings Increasing the Hartmann number from Ha = 10 to Ha = 100 suppresses convective motion, reducing the total average Nusselt number by nearly 30%. Thermal radiation enhances overall heat transfer, increasing the total Nusselt number by approximately 6.3% and raising the solid-phase heat transfer contribution by about 96%. A decrease in the phase change parameter from R = 0.2 to R = 0.15 improves total heat transfer by nearly 22.2%, whereas an increase to R = 0.3 leads to a sharp decline of about 27.9%. Originality/value The novelty of this study lies in integrating NEPCM latent heat effects, LTNE modeling, crown-shaped geometry and magnetic field control within a porous enclosure featuring a non-standard elliptical heat source. This combined approach provides a comprehensive framework for analyzing coupled magnetohydrodynamic, radiative and phase-change phenomena in complex porous systems.