Experimental Investigation of Freezing and Melting Characteristics of Graphene-Based Phase Change Nanocomposite for Cold Thermal Energy Storage Applications

Applied Sciences

MohanLal D.¹  Shaji Sidney¹  Selvam C.²  Sivasankaran Harish³ 

[1] Department of Mechanical Engineering, Anna University, College of Engineering Campus, Chennai 600 025, India;Department of Mechanical Engineering, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Kattankulathur, Chennai 603 203, India;International Institute for Carbon-Neutral Energy Research, Kyushu University, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka 819-0395, Japan;

关键词: nanocomposite;    melting;    freezing;    graphene;    thermal conductivity;   

DOI  :  10.3390/app9061099

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

In the present work, the freezing and melting characteristics of water seeded with chemically functionalized graphene nanoplatelets in a vertical cylindrical capsule were experimentally studied. The volume percentage of functionalized graphene nanoplatelets varied from 0.1% to 0.5% with an interval of 0.1%. The stability of the synthesized samples was measured using zeta potential analyzer. The thermal conductivity of the nanocomposite samples was experimentally measured using the transient hot wire method. A ~24% (maximum) increase in the thermal conductivity was observed for the 0.5% volume percentage in the liquid state, while a ~53% enhancement was observed in the solid state. The freezing and melting behavior of water dispersed with graphene nanoplatelets was assessed using a cylindrical stainless steel capsule in a constant temperature bath. The bath temperatures considered for studying the freezing characteristics were −6 °C and −10 °C, while to study the melting characteristics the bath temperature was set as 31 °C and 36 °C. The freezing and melting time decreased for all the test conditions when the volume percentage of GnP increased. The freezing rate was enhanced by ~43% and ~32% for the bath temperatures of −6 °C and −10 °C, respectively, at 0.5 vol % of graphene loading. The melting rate was enhanced by ~42% and ~63% for the bath temperatures of 31 °C and 36 °C, respectively, at 0.5 vol % of graphene loading.

【 授权许可】

Unknown