The use of organic compounds as phase change materials (PCMs) is limited by the low thermal conductivity of these compounds. In this study, multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and carbon nanofibers (CNFs) were dispersed in n-octadecane to determine if this nanocomposite PCM would have a higher thermal conductivity than that of pure n-octadecane. The thermal conductivity of the nanocomposite PCMs was measured using the transient plane source (TPS) method at mass ...
Nanoparticle suspensions were prepared in two PCMs to determine the effect of the addition of nanoparticles on thermal conductivity and expediting freezing. The base PCMs used were cyclohexane and eicosane, and copper oxide nanoparticles were suspended in these hydrocarbons to produce nano-enhanced PCMs (nePCMs). The enhancement of thermal conductivity and expedited freezing were investigated by analytic, experimental, and numerical methods. The thermal conductivity in the liquid phase was significantly enhanced ...
PMMA/silica mesocomposites (PSM) and nanocomposites (PSN) were synthesized by incorporating vinyl-modified mesoporous silica (VMS) or silica particles into the poly (methyl methacrylate). The prepared composites were characterized by TEM and GPC. Thermal conductivity and gas permeability measurements were performed on the composites using a thermal constants analyzer and Yanco GTR-31 gas permeability analyzer, respectively. It was determined that an increase in the content of nanoscale silica particles improved the ...
This research studied the effect of the addition of vinyl-modified silica and raw silica additions to polymer-silica nanocomposite foams. Extensive physical property characterization was undertaken after their addition to quantify their influence. TEM found that silica particles added through the vinyl-modified silica dispersed better than the raw silica. This created foams with a higher density and smaller cell size. A slight reduction in the thermal conductivity after the additions was ...
Poly(methyl methacrylate)-silica nanocomposite (PSN) foams were formulated for the comparison of the effect of vinyl-modified silica (VMS) and raw silica (RS) particles on cell structure, insulation properties, and insulation properties. It was found that those thermoplastic foams containing VMS particles had improved dispersion capability than those containing RS particles. The incorporation of VMS particles was found to reduce the cell size and increase the cell density of the ...
