Category: Transient Plane Source
Author(s): J. Tan, M. Li, Z. Wu
Keywords: expanded graphite, graphite, mass fraction, Paraffin, paraffin (PA), pcms, phase change materials, silicon dioxide, Silicon dioxide (SiO2), SiO2, sol-gel method, Thermal Conductivity, thermal storage
Abstract: In this article, researchers used the sol-gel method to create a thermally conductive phase change material (PCM), paraffin/silicon dioxide (SiO2)/expanded graphite (EG) composite. This PCM is composed of a supporting material, silica gel, and a thermally conductive material, expanded graphite. Thermal properties, such as conductivity and diffusivity were determined experimentally, and a differential scanning calorimeter was used to characterize the melting temperature and latent heat of the PCM. Experimental testing determined that the thermal conductivity of the paraffin/SiO2 composite was 28.2% higher than that of paraffin alone. On the same note, the SiO2/paraffin/EG composite was 94.7% higher than that of paraffin.
Reference: Applied Energy 92, (2012) 456-461
DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2011.11.018