Experimental study on enhanced heat transfer of nanocomposite phase change materials |
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| Authors: | Wei Li Yan Dong Jun Wang Yong Zhang Xu Zhang Xueling Liu |
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| Institution: | 1. School of Energy and Safety Engineering, Tianjin Chengjian University, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China;2. Key Laboratory of Efficient Utilization of Low and Medium Grade Energy (Tianjin University), Ministry of Education, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China;3. Tianjin Key Laboratory of Advanced Mechatronics Equipment Technology, Tianjin Polytechnic University, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China;4. Key Laboratory of Efficient Utilization of Low and Medium Grade Energy (Tianjin University), Ministry of Education, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China |
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| Abstract: | Nanocomposite phase change materials (NCPCMs) containing different mass fractions (nanomaterial concentration) and different copper nanoparticle (CN)/multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) mass ratios were prepared and experimentally studied. Latent heat and thermal conductivity of the NCPCMs were studied and calculated by using the T-history method. The results revealed that addition of CN or MWCNT to the phase change material (PCM) resulted in NCPCMs with enhanced thermal conductivity and charge rates, respectively. However, when both nanoparticle materials were added to the PCM simultaneously, the resulting NCPCMs improved their thermal performance below expectations as a result of agglomeration and sedimentation between the two additives. Thus, the NCPCMs containing only CN or MWCNT showed superior thermophysical properties than the pure PCM, while the NCPCM containing both CN and MWCNT did not improve the thermal characteristic of PCM significantly. |
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| Keywords: | Nanocomposite phase change material nanomaterials thermal management multi-walled carbon nanotubes copper nanoparticles |
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