An investigation of melting/freezing characteristics of nanoparticle-enhanced phase change materials

The aim of this study is to investigate the melting/freezing characteristics of paraffin by adding Cu nanoparticles. Cu/paraffin composite phase change materials (PCMs) were prepared by a two-step method. The effects of Cu nanoparticles on the thermal conductivity and the phase change heat transfer of PCMs were investigated by the Hot Disk thermal constants analyzer and infrared monitoring methods, respectively. The maximum thermal conductivity enhancements up to 14.2% in solid state and 18.1% in liquid state are observed at the 2 wt% Cu/paraffin. The photographs of infrared monitoring suggest that the melting and freezing rates of Cu/paraffin are enhanced. For 1 wt% Cu/paraffin, the melting and freezing times can be saved by about 33.3 and 31.6%, respectively. The results provide that adding nanoparticles is an efficient way to enhance the phase change heat transfer of PCMs.