Experimental investigations on thermophysical properties of nano-enhanced phase change materials for thermal energy storage applications

Thermophysical properties such as latent heat, viscosity and melting temperature could be changed for different physical properties of dispersed nanoparticle such as size, shape, and concentration. In this study, Nanocomposites-Enhanced Phase Change Materials NePCM are formed by dispersing Aluminium (Al) and Copper (Cu) nanoparticles into paraffin wax in various mass fractions (0.1, 0.3, 0.6, 1, 2.5 and 5%). The impact on the thermophysical properties of paraffin wax by the nanoparticles is also investigated. Heat conduction and differential scanning calorimeter experiments are used to investigate the effects of different nanoparticle concentrations on the melting point, solidification point, and latent capacity of nanocomposites. Experimental results show that the dispersion of nanoparticles of Al and Cu can decrease the melting temperature and increase the solidification temperature of PCM. this dispersion could also be limited due to increase in dynamic viscosity of the NePCM. Furthermore, Al and Cu nanocomposites with mass fractions of 2% and 1%, respectively, show better enhancements in the thermal storage characteristics of the paraffin compared to the next higher mass fraction.(c) 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Faculty of Engineering, Alexandria University This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Automated summary

This study investigates the impact of dispersed aluminum (Al) and copper (Cu) nanoparticles on the thermophysical properties of paraffin wax. The results show that the dispersion of nanoparticles can decrease the melting temperature and increase the solidification temperature of paraffin wax. However, it also increases the dynamic viscosity and limits the dispersion. Moreover, the nanocomposites with mass fractions of 2% Al and 1% Cu exhibit better enhancements in thermal storage characteristics compared to higher mass fractions.