Numerical analysis of phase-change heat transfer in axisymmetric biological tissue during nano-cryosurgery

The current work is concerned with the numerical investigation of phase-change heat transfer in a cylindrical-shaped biological tissue during nano-cryosurgery. So, the two-dimensional axisymmetric biological tissue with a single cryoprobe is considered to understand the freezing process inside it during nano-cryosurgery. This problem has been numerically simulated using the commercial software ANSYS Fluent 2020 R2. The results obtained are verified with the data available in the literature, and good agreement was found between them. After that, the grid-independent study is carried out to select the optimum element size. Then, the effect of various parameters, such as the radius and insertion depth of the cryoprobe and internal heat source, on the temperature distribution inside the biological tissue is studied. The effect of different nanoparticles, such as Au, Fe₃O_4, and MgO, on the temperature field are investigated, and it was found that the MgO nanoparticles reach the threshold temperature limit early and reduce cryoinjury to the surrounding healthy tissue. This study may help understand the freezing process inside the biological tissue during nano-cryosurgery.