Thermal property investigation of aqueous suspensions of microencapsulated phase change material and carbon nanotubes as a novel heat transfer fluid

2013 ◽  
Vol 60 ◽  
pp. 433-438 ◽  
Author(s):  
G.H. Zhang ◽  
C.Y. Zhao
Author(s):  
Jorge L. Alvarado ◽  
Charles Marsh ◽  
Curt Thies ◽  
Guillermo Soriano ◽  
Paritosh Garg

In the last decade, microencapsulated phase change material (MPCM) slurries have been proposed and studied as novel coolants for heat transfer applications. Such applications include electronics cooling, and secondary coolants in air conditioning systems among others. Experiments have shown that MPCM’s increase the overall thermal capacity of thermal systems by taking advantage of the phase change material’s latent heat of fusion. However, research has also shown that the overall heat transfer coefficient is diminished due to a reduction in the effective thermal conductivity and increased viscosity of the slurry. For this reason, there is an urgent need to modify the content of microcapsules containing phase change material to increase their effective thermal conductivity and the overall heat transport process. Our solution consists of increasing the thermal conductivity of MPCM by adding carbon nanotubes to the shell and core of the microcapsules. Carbon nanotubes have shown to increase the thermal conductivity of liquids by 40% or more in recent experiments. In this paper, MPCM slurry containing octadecane as phase change material and multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) embedded in the capsule material and core are compared with pure water as heat transfer fluid. Thermal and physical properties of MPCM slurry containing carbon nanotubes were determined using a differential scanning calorimeter and concentric viscometer, respectively. Experimental convective heat transfer coefficient data for MWCNT aqueous suspensions under laminar flow and constant heat flux were determined using a bench-top heat transfer loop. Experimental heat transfer results are presented.


2017 ◽  
Vol 139 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Guansheng Chen ◽  
Nanshuo Li ◽  
Huanhuan Xiang ◽  
Fan Li

It is well known that attaching fins on the tubes surfaces can enhance the heat transfer into and out from the phase change materials (PCMs). This paper presents the results of an experimental study on the thermal characteristics of finned coil latent heat storage unit (LHSU) using paraffin as the phase change material (PCM). The paraffin LHSU is a rectangular cube consists of continuous horizontal multibended tubes attached vertical fins at the pitches of 2.5, 5.0, and 7.5 mm that creates the heat transfer surface. The shell side along with the space around the tubes and fins is filled with the material RT54 allocated to store energy of water, which flows inside the tubes as heat transfer fluid (HTF). The measurement is carried out under four different water flow rates: 1.01, 1.30, 1.50, and 1.70 L/min in the charging and discharging process, respectively. The temperature of paraffin and water, charging and discharging wattage, and heat transfer coefficient are plotted in relation to the working time and water flow rate.


Nanomaterials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 1425
Author(s):  
Tarek Bouzennada ◽  
Farid Mechighel ◽  
Kaouther Ghachem ◽  
Lioua Kolsi

A 2D-symmetric numerical study of a new design of Nano-Enhanced Phase change material (NEPCM)-filled enclosure is presented in this paper. The enclosure is equipped with an inner tube allowing the circulation of the heat transfer fluid (HTF); n-Octadecane is chosen as phase change material (PCM). Comsol-Multiphysics commercial code was used to solve the governing equations. This study has been performed to examine the heat distribution and melting rate under the influence of the inner-tube position and the concentration of the nanoparticles dispersed in the PCM. The inner tube was located at three different vertical positions and the nanoparticle concentration was varied from 0 to 0.06. The results revealed that both heat transfer/melting rates are improved when the inner tube is located at the bottom region of the enclosure and by increasing the concentration of the nanoparticles. The addition of the nanoparticles enhances the heat transfer due to the considerable increase in conductivity. On the other hand, by placing the tube in the bottom area of the enclosure, the liquid PCM gets a wider space, allowing the intensification of the natural convection.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document