Experimental research in the phase change materials based on paraffin and expanded perlite

In this study, paraffin (PA)/expanded perlite (EP) form-stable phase change material (PCM) was first fabricated using the direct impregnation method without vacuum treatment. Absorptive capacity results showed that the PA/EP composite can obtain good absorptive capacity with the temperature 80 °C and the time 2 h. Compared with the water absorption of EP, the decrease in the water absorption of PA/EP form-stable proved that the absorption of PA into porous EP has been carried out successfully. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) results show that paraffin can be well impregnated into EP pores and has good compatibility with it. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) results reveal that paraffin/EP composite PCM has melting temperature and latent heat of 53.6 °C and 91.3 J/g, respectively. The durability cycles results suggest that form-stable PA/EP PCM shows good durability.     

Experimental Investigations on Latent Heat Storage Unit using Paraffin Wax as Phase Change Material

Thermal performance of a latent heat storage unit is evaluated experimentally. The latent heat thermal energy storage system analyzed in this work is a shell-and-tube type of heat exchanger using paraffin wax (melting point between 58°C and 60°C) as the phase change material. The temperature distribution in the phase change material is measured with time. The influence of mass flow rate and inlet temperature of the heat transfer fluid on heat fraction is examined for both the melting and solidification processes. The mass flow rate of heat transfer fluid (water) is varied in the range of 0.0167 kg/s to 0.0833 kg/s (1 kg/min to 5 kg/min), and the fluid inlet temperature is varied between 75°C and 85°C. The experimental results indicate that the total melting time of the phase change material increases as the mass flow rate and inlet temperature of heat transfer fluid decrease. The fluid inlet temperature influences the heat fraction considerably as compared to the mass flow rate of heat transfer fluid during the melting process of the phase change material.     

Experimental study on the phase change and thermal properties of paraffin/carbon materials based thermal energy storage materials

In order to enhance the thermal energy storage efficiency of phase change materials, in this paper, expanded graphite (EG), multi-layer graphene nanoplatelet (MGN), graphite powder (GP) and multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) as the effective heat transfer promoters in different mass fraction (0.1, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.5 wt.%) were added into the paraffin. The chemical properties, latent heat capacities, thermal conductivities and heat storage performances of paraffin and the composites were investigated. The results showed that the addition of EG, MGN, GP and MWCNT could increase the thermal conductivity of paraffin. At 20 °C, the thermal conductivity of the paraffin was increased by 61.04%, 51.2%, 12.18% and 10.22% with 2.5 wt.% EG, MGN, GP and MWCNT, respectively. In addition, with the same mass fraction, the heat storage and release time of the composite were 56.03% and 54.26%, respectively, shorter than that of paraffin when the additive was EG.     

热管式相变蓄热换热器储/放能过程中传热特性的实验研究

将热管作为换热元件应用于相变蓄热系统中,研制了一套热管式相变蓄热换热器。采用石蜡作为蓄热材料,对其储、放能过程即内部石蜡的融化与凝固过程进行了实验研究。测定了储、放能过程中不同时刻换热器内石蜡的温度分布; 改变供、取热流体参数,分析了供/取热流体的入口温度与流量对换热器储/放能过程的影响;分析了储、放能过程中能量随时间的变化情况。结果表明,热管在本换热器内极好地发挥了换热元件的作用,换热器运行状况良好,各项功能均能较好地实现。     

Reduced graphene oxide/MWCNT hybrid sandwiched film by self-assembly for high performance supercapacitor electrodes

A reduced graphene oxide/multiwalled carbon nanotube (RGO/MWCNT) hybrid sandwiched film with different MWCNTs content was prepared by vacuum-assisted self-assembly from a complex dispersion of graphene oxide (GO) and MWCNTs followed by heat-treating at 200 °C for 1 h in a vacuum oven to reduce the GO into RGO. The free-standing RGO/MWCNT hybrid sandwiched film before heat-treatment showed a layered structure with an entangled network of MWCNTs sandwiched between the GO sheets. This unique structure not merely contribute to remove the oxygen-containing groups in GO during the heat-treatment, but also decrease the defects for electron transfer between RGO layers, which enhances the electrochemical capacitive performances of graphene-based films. A specific capacitance up to 379 F/g was achieved based on RGO/MWCNT with 30 % MWCNTs mass fraction at 0.1 A/g in a 6 M KOH electrolyte. The excellent performance of RGO/MWCNT hybrid sandwiched film signifies the importance of controlling the surface chemistry and sandwiched nanostructure of graphene-based materials.     

Preparation of cholesterol oxidase nanoparticles and their application in amperometric determination of cholesterol

Highly dispersed platinum nanoparticles were deposited on gram quantities of non-functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) by atomic layer deposition (ALD) in a fluidized bed reactor at 300 °C. (Methylcyclopentadienyl) trimethylplatinum and oxygen were used as precursors. The results of TEM analysis showed that ~1.3 nm Pt nanoparticles were highly dispersed on non-functionalized MWCNTs. The porous structures of MWCNTs did not change with the deposition of Pt nanoparticles. For comparison, the commercial 3 wt% Pt/C catalyst was also characterized. The ALD-prepared Pt/MWCNT was used for the hydrogenation of xylose to xylitol. The ALD-prepared Pt/MWCNT showed the best catalytic performance with 100 % conversion of xylose and 99.3 % selectivity to xylitol, compared to commercially available Pt/C, Ru/C, and Raney Ni catalysts. The stability of ALD produced Pt/MWCNT catalyst was higher than that of the commercial Pt/C, due to the presence of surface defects on the MWCNTs and the strong metal–support interaction for the ALD-prepared Pt/MWCNT catalyst.     

Experimental Study of Vibration Effects on Heat Transfer during Solidification of Paraffin in a Spherical Shell

Two effects that have been observed when metals and metal alloys are vibrated during solidification are a decrease in dendritic spacing, which directly affects density, and faster cooling rates and associated solidification times. Because these two effects happen simultaneously during solidification, it is challenging to determine the one effect independently from the other. Most previous studies were on metals and metal alloys. In these studies, the one effect, i.e., the decrease in dendritic spacing, might influence the other, i.e., the faster cooling rates, and vice versa. The direct link between vibration and heat transfer has not yet been studied independently. The purpose of this study was to experimentally investigate the effect of vibration only on heat transfer and thus solidification rate. Experiments were conducted on paraffin wax, because it had a clearly defined macroscopic crystal structure consisting of mostly large straight-chain hydrocarbons. The advantage of the large straight-chain hydrocarbons was that the dendritic spacing was not affected by the cooling rate. Experiments were done with paraffin wax inside hollow plastic spheres of 40 mm diameter with 1 mm wall thickness. The paraffin wax was initially in a liquid state at a uniform temperature of 60°C and then submerged into a thermal bath at a uniform constant temperature of 15°C, which was approximately 20°C below the mean solidification temperature of the wax. Experiments were conducted in approximately 300 samples, with and without vibration at frequencies varying from 10–300 Hz. The first set of experiments was conducted to determine the solidification times. In the second set of experiments, the mass of wax solidified was determined at discrete time steps, with and without vibration. The results showed that paraffin wax had vibration independent of solid density contrary to other materials, e.g., metals and metal alloys. Enhancement of heat transfer resulted in quicker solidification times and possible control over the heat transfer rate. The increase in heat transfer leading to faster solidifcation times was observed to first occur as frequency increased and then to decrease.     

A study on preparation and properties of carbon materials/myristic acid composite phase change thermal energy storage materials

Microscale graphite (Gr) and nanoscale multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were chosen to modify the organic phase change material (PCM) of myristic acid (MA). The Gr/MA and MWCNTs/MA composite PCMs were prepared by adding the carbon materials at different mass fractions into MA. The experimental results indicated that both Gr and MWCNTs could enhance the thermal conductivity of MA. For the 3?wt% loading, the solid thermal conductivity of MA increased by 37.42% with Gr and 62.26% with MWCNTs. The FT-IR spectra showed that the reactions between carbon materials and MA were physical. The DSC results illustrated that the phase change latent heats of the composite PCMs decreased gradually with the additives increasing. Gr and MWCNTs strengthened the thermal stability of MA. The heat release rates of the composite PCMs accelerated. Three hundred thermal cycles of the chosen composite PCMs revealed that the prepared composite PCMs presented good thermal cycling stability.     

纳米石墨烯片-正十八烷复合相变材料制备及热物性研究

本文分别制备了纳米石墨烯片质量分数为0%, 0.5%, 1%, 1.5%, 2%的纳米石墨烯片-正十八烷复合相变材料,并通过扫描电镜测试、红外光谱分析、差示扫描量热实验及导热分析等实验对其形貌结构及热物性进行表征和研究.实验表明本文制备的纳米石墨烯-正十八烷复合相变材料具有很好的相变稳定性;当纳米石墨烯片的质量分数达到2%时,复合相变材料的导热系数相对于纯十八烷高出了89.4%.     

相变材料热物理性质的分子动力学模拟

为从微观尺度探寻相变材料的热物性变化机理, 本文采用分子动力学的方法, 构建了由正二十二烷组成的无定形结构的相变材料体系, 采用周期性边界条件以及COMPASS力场对相变材料的比热以及导热系数进行了模拟, 并对纯正二十二烷进行了DSC测试. 结果表明, 模拟所得的相变材料热容与文献实验值的偏差是6.5%, 熔点与DSC实验值的偏差是0.98%. 当温度为288–318 K时, 相变材料的导热系数在0.1–0.4 W·m^-1·K^-1 范围内波动, 且随着压力增大略呈下降趋势. 关键词： 扩散系数 比热 导热系数 分子动力学     

Optical behaviour of melting for a thin metal film

Reflectance measurements have been performed for gallium films at normal incidence (from 0.3 to 0.9 μm) in terms of temperature (from -20°C to + 40°C). The basic results are: (i) a drastic change in reflectance when melting occurs (about 20% at 0.6 μm), and (ii) a shift in the temperature of the solid-liquid transition with the thickness of the film which only takes place on and after the second melting (about 7°C for a film 250A?thick).     

Study on the properties of a novel shape-stable epoxy resin sealed expanded graphite/paraffin composite PCM and its application in buildings

In this study, a novel phase change material (PCM) of epoxy resin sealed expanded graphite/paraffin composite was developed as an independent attachment for building applications. A relatively high thermal energy storage density and a high thermal conductivity (2.141?W/(m·K)) were obtained in the composite PCM. The mass fraction of paraffin in the composite PCM could reach 94% without leakage of liquid paraffin when being heated at 50°C for more than 3 h, and the thermal cycle stability was good. Moreover, the thermal storage and release properties of this composite PCM with different thicknesses were studied by numerical simulation. The results showed that the thermal storage and release time are proportional to the thickness of the composite PCM, and there was almost no temperature gradient during the thermal storage and release process, which indicated that the thermal conductivity of this kind of composite PCM was high enough for building applications.     

Characterization of aluminum-carbon composites obtained via mechanical activation of aluminum and carbon nanotubes

The relaxation of structural defects of aluminum-multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) composite materials obtained via mechanical activation is studied in situ by X-ray diffraction using synchrotron radiation. Mechanically activated Al-MWCNT mixtures are annealed at temperatures of up to 600°C in an inert gas flow and X-ray diffraction patterns are simultaneously registered with a position-sensitive X-ray detector. It is demonstrated that mechanically activated samples of pure Al and composites with large-diameter MWCNTs (～20 nm) begin to experience the relaxation of defects accumulated during mechanical activation at temperatures as low as 100–150°C, while samples with small-diameter MWCNTs (～10 nm) exhibit thermal stability of structural defects up to 500°C.     

碳纳米流体相变特性实验研究

通过"两步法"制备分散均匀、稳定的单壁碳纳米管/水、多壁碳纳米管/水碳纳米流体,通过差示扫描量热法(DSC)测试分析了碳纳米流体的凝固、熔化相变过程,实验结果表明在凝固相变过程中随着碳纳米管质量分数的增加,碳纳米流体的起始凝固温度及凝固温度逐渐升高,单壁碳纳米流体的凝固温度显著提高,在熔化相变过程中,碳纳米流体的质量分数对于纳米流体的熔点无明显影响,但对于碳纳米流体的潜热影响较大,碳纳米流体的潜热随着质量分数的增加而明显减小。     

Experimental study on the heat transfer characteristics of a new type flat micro heat pipe heat exchanger with latent heat thermal energy storage

An experimental energy storage system has been designed using a new type flat micro heat pipe heat exchanger that incorporates a moderate-temperature phase change material paraffin with a melting point of 58°C. The basic structure, working principles, and design concept are discussed. The heat transfer process during the charging and discharging of the heat exchanger under various operating conditions has been experimentally investigated. Results show that the performance of the new type flat micro heat pipe was steady and efficient during charging and discharging. The average thermal storage power and absorption efficiency have been determined to be approximately 537 W and 92.5%, respectively.     

Fabricating and improving properties of copper matrix nanocomposites by electroless copper-coated MWCNTs

In this study, copper (Cu) nanocomposites reinforced by coated multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) have been fabricated with different weight fractions of MWCNT. In the first step, the as-received MWCNTs were coated with Cu using electroless deposition process. In the next step, combination of sonication and ball milling (with two milling time of 1.5 and 3 h) was used for preparing MWCNT/Cu composite powders. Finally, the disk-shaped specimens were sintered by hot-press sintering machine. Characterization of sintered nanocomposites revealed that increasing milling time led to improved mechanical properties, but higher defect density on the MWCNT sidewalls is obtained which is especially undesirable for electrical properties of nanocomposite. Our results indicated that simultaneous improvements of interface reactions and distribution uniformity of MWCNTs and Cu are key factors for obtaining enhanced mechanical properties. Accordingly, enhancement of up to ~150 and ~86 % in microhardness compared to pure Cu and 1 wt% as-received MWCNT/Cu was achieved by addition of 1 wt% Cu-coated MWCNT. On the contrary, existence of oxygen atoms in the Cu and coated MWCNT interface (from functional groups and deposited copper oxide) obstructs considerable improvement of electrical resistivity compared to as-received MWCNT/Cu nanocomposites.     

封装有相变材料的金属泡沫复合散热器实验研究

相变材料的固液相变具有较高的相变潜热且相变体积变化小,在间歇性工作的电子器件的温控中得到广泛的应用。本文采用将铜泡沫嵌入相变材料中的方法来强化固液相变的传热性能的方法,提出一种封装有金属泡沫和相变材料的复合式散热器结构,实验研究了该散热器的加热表面的温度与时间的变化关系,分析铜泡沫孔隙率、孔密度以及石蜡物性等各个参数对该复合式热沉散热效果的影响。     

Characterization of size effect of natural convection in melting process of phase change material in square cavity

The accelerating effect of natural convection on the melting of phase change material(PCM) has been extensively demonstrated. However, such an influence is directly dependent on the size and shape of domain in which phase change happens, and how to quantitatively describe such an influence is still challenging. On the other hand, the simulation of natural convection process is considerably difficult, involving complex fluid flow in a region changing with time, and is typically not operable in practice. To overcome these obstacles, the present study aims to quantitatively investigate the size effect of natural convection in the melting process of PCM paraffin filled in a square latent heat storage system through experiment and simulation, and ultimately a correlation equation to represent its contribution is proposed. Firstly, the paraffin melting experiment is conducted to validate the two-dimensional finite element model based on the enthalpy method.Subsequently, a comprehensive investigation is performed numerically for various domain sizes. The results show that the melting behavior of paraffin is dominated by the thermal convection. When the melting time exceeds 50 s, a whirlpoor flow caused by natural convection appears in the upper liquid phase region close to the heating wall, and then its influencing range gradually increases to accelerate the melting of paraffin. However, its intensity gradually decreases as the distance between the melting front and the heating wall increases. Besides, it is found that the correlation between the total melting time and the domain size approximately exhibits a power law. When the domain size is less than 2 mm, the accelerating effect of natural convection becomes very weak and can be ignored in practice. Moreover, in order to simplify the complex calculation of natural convection, the equivalent thermal conductivity concept is proposed to include the contribution of natural convection to the total melting time, and an empirical correlation is given for engineering applications.     

Influence of Carbon Nanotubes on the Crystallization and Directional Tensile Behavior of High-Density Polyethylene Prepared by Dynamic-Packing Injection Molding

The influence of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) on the crystallization and directional tensile properties of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) was studied for samples prepared by dynamic-packing injection molding (DPIM). Oscillatory shear was imposed on the gradually cooled melt during the packing solidification stage of DPIM. For the oriented composites containing 1.8 wt% MWCNTs, the tensile fracture behavior showed typical brittle features along the flow direction (FD) and perpendicular direction (PD), which were almost the same as those that occurred in oriented pure HDPE. The elongation at break along both directions decreased due to the incorporation of MWNCTs in the oriented composites compared with the oriented pure HDPE. However, the tensile strength of the oriented HDPE/MWCNT composites was greatly improved along the FD due to the presence of carbon nanotubes; meanwhile, it was not weakened along the PD. In scanning electron microscopy observations, it was found that there were some oriented hybrid shish-kebab structures in a nanometre scale in the oriented HDPE/MWCNT composites, but not in its isotropic composites. This suggests that MWCNTs were involved in the shear-induced crystallization of HDPE. Differential scanning calorimetry measurements confirmed that the crystallinity of oriented HDPE composites with 1.8 wt% MWCNTs was higher than those of isotropic HDPE and isotropic composites, but was not obviously higher than that of oriented pure HDPE. These findings demonstrate that MWCNTs indeed affected the formation of crystalline structures, but did not greatly influence the crystallinity of HDPE under shear flow. The transition of crystalline morphology might be the reason for change in tensile behavior for the oriented HDPE/MWCNT composites compared with the oriented pure HDPE.     

Analysis of phase transition behavior of BaCeO3 with thermal analyses and high temperature X-ray diffraction

Structural phase transitions in BaCeO₃ have been investigated with combination of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), dilatometry and high temperature X-ray diffraction with high sensitivity and resolution. In DSC curve at heating procedures, baseline shift, endothermic peak and another baseline shift were observed at 260 °C, 385 °C and 895 °C, respectively. From DSC curve at cooling procedure, it was revealed that all the baseline shifts and peak were reversible. No hysteresis was observed in the both baseline shifts indicating second order phase transition at 260 °C and 895 °C with variation of specific heat capacity, ΔC_p, of 10 J/mol K and 7 J/mol K, respectively; whereas the order of the phase transition at 385 °C was revealed to be the first since hysteresis was detected around 370–385 °C. Variation of enthalpy, ΔH, at the phase transition was 45 J/mol. High temperature X-ray diffraction measurements have revealed that the crystal structure of BaCeO₃ changes from primitive orthorhombic perovskite through body-centered one, rhombohedral distorted one to cubic one around 280 °C, 400 °C and 900 °C, showing correspondence with DSC curves. Dependence of molar volume on temperature estimated from high temperature X-ray diffraction showed agreement with thermal expansion behavior observed with dilatometry.