The thermal conductivities of paraffin-based composite phase change materials (PCMs) containing different types of graphene nanoparticles were determined using the transient plane source method. It was determined that the thermal conductivity was increased by the addition of the nanoparticles, and the enhancement was greater for composites containing larger, and stiffer nanoparticles....
Four different paraffin-based nanocomposite phase change materials (PCMs) were prepared by dispersion of 20 v. % of graphene, multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), aluminum, or TiO2 nanoparticles into a paraffin matrix. It was found that the two carbon-based nanoparticles reduced the time required for melting and solidification of the PCM by a greater amount than the two other nanoparticles. The graphene-paraffin PCM was found to reduce the melt and re-solidification time by the ...
The thermal conductivities of four composite paraffin phase change materials (PCMs) containing embedded multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) with varying dimensions were determined. The goals of this study were to investigate the interfacial thermal resistance between two MWCNTs, and to investigate the ballistic and diffusive components of the thermal resistance at the interface. It was found that the thermal conductivity of the composite PCMs increased with the diameter of the MWCNT ...
The authors outline a method of enhancing the thermal properties of a paraffin phase change material through the addition of herringbone-style graphite nanofibers (HGNFs). It was found that the solid-phase thermal conductivity increased exponentially with the presence of HGNFs; however, a significant increase in the liquid-phase thermal conductivity was not observed until the concentration of HGNFs in the composite PCM reached a point above the percolation threshold. The volumetric heat ...
The authors state that the TPS technique isn't an accurate method for the measurement of thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity and volumetric heat capacity of liquids. This is due to the effects of natural convection caused by the sensor which introduce a significant error in the measurements. Six commonly known liquids were investigated using the TPS technique and the obtained values were compared to literature and were found to be significantly ...
