Numerical Investigation on Heat Transfer Characteristics of Microencapsulated Phase Change Material Slurry in a Rectangular Minichannel

Microencapsulation phase change material slurry(MEPCMS) becomes a potential working fluid for cooling high energy density miniaturized components,thanks to the latent heat absorption of particles in the heat transfer process.In this work,the Discrete Phase Model(DPM) based on the Euler-Lagrangian method is used to numerically investigate the convective heat transfer characteristics of MEPCMS flowing through a rectangular minichannel with constant heat flux.The results show that particles of MEPCMS are mainly subjected to drag force during the flow.Even so,they can migrate from the high-temperature region to the low-temperature region driven by the thermophoretic force,affecting the particle distribution and phase change process.Moreover,the Nux of the MEPCMS fluctuates due to particle phase change with varying specific heat capacities.Specifically,the value increases first,then decreases,and eventually increases again until it approaches the fully developed value of the pure base fluid as the particles gradually melt.Furthermore,the heat transfer performance of the MEPCMS is influenced by the combination of fluid inlet temperature fluid inlet velocity(v),and mass concentration(c_(m)) of MEPCM particles.The result shows that the maximum reduction of the maximum bottom wall temperature difference(ΔT_(w)) is 23.98% at T_(in)=293.15 K,v=0.15 m·s^(-1),c_(m)=10%.

Experimental Study on Flow Boiling Heat Transfer Characteristics of Microencapsulated Phase Change Material Suspension

Due to its core phase change characteristics,microencapsulated phase change material(MPCM)can make many base fluids have better heat transfer characteristics.In this paper,the flow boiling heat transfer characteristics of fluorinated liquid-based microencapsulated phase change material suspension(MPCMS)through vertical transparent quartz channel were studied.The effects of MPCM core phase change temperature and suspension flow velocity on boiling heat transfer coefficient and critical heat flux were discussed,respectively.The results show that the appropriate concentration of MPCMS can enhance both the boiling heat transfer coefficient and the critical heat flux.The strengthening effect becomes weak with the increase of suspension flow velocity.The maximum strengthening rates of critical heat flux appear at 0.05 m/s,which are 25%(MPCMS(70℃)),16%(MPCMS(58℃))and 10%(MPCMS(28℃)).The phase change temperature of the MPCM core has important effects on the boiling heat transfer coefficient and the critical heat flux.The results showed that the MPCM with core phase change temperature higher than the boiling temperature of base fluid has the best enhancement effect.Different bubble behavior in vertical tube with different heat flux can be observed by high-speed photography system.The particle core phase change in MPCMS inhibits the aggregation of bubbles and forms many small bubbles to enhance heat transfer.The work lays a foundation for further exploring the industrial application of MPCMS.

A one-step method for producing microencapsulated phase change materials

This short communication reports our recent work on the synthesis and characterisation ofmicrocapsules of phase change materials using silica as the shell material through a one-step method. The method uses no surfactants or dispersants for stabilising the capsules. The results show that the one-step method allows the tuning of the size and polydispersity of the capsules, and the use of different core materials. Analyses of the capsules show that they contain about 65% phase change materials. The results also suggest no need for a stabilising agent due to self-stabilisation by the amine groups. Further work is underway to investigate the mechanical and thermal properties of the microcapsules and the scale-up of the method.

Microencapsulated paraffin as a tribological additive for advanced polymeric coatings

Numerous tribological applications,wherein the use of liquid lubricants is infeasible,require adequate dry lubrication.Despite the use of polymers as an effective solution for dry sliding tribological applications,their poor wear resistance prevents the utilization in harsh industrial environment.Different methods are typically implemented to tackle the poor wear performance of polymers,however sacrificing some of their mechanical/tribological properties.Herein,we discussed the introduction of a novel additive,namely microencapsulated phase change material(MPCM)into an advanced polymeric coating.Specifically,paraffin was encapsulated into melamine-based resin,and the capsules were dispersed in an aromatic thermosetting co-polyester(ATSP)coating.We found that the MPCM-filled composite exhibited a unique tribological behavior,manifested as“zero wear”,and a super-low coefficient of friction(COF)of 0.05.The developed composite outperformed the state-of-the-art polytetrafluoroethylene(PTFE)-filled coatings,under the experimental conditions examined herein.