Preparation and Properties of 1-octadecanol/1,3:2,4-di-(3,4-dimethyl) Benzylidene Sorbitol/Expanded Graphite Form-stable Composite Phase Change Material

A 1 -octadecanol (OD)/1,3:2,4-di-(3,4-dimethyl) benzylidene sorbitol (DMDBS)/expander graphite (EG) composite was prepared as a form-stable phase change material (PCM) by vacuum melting method. The results of field emission-scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) showed that 1 -octadecanol was restricted in the three-dimensional network formed by DMDBS and the honeycomb network formed by EG. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) results showed that no chemical reaction occurred among the components of composite PCM in the preparation process. The gel-to-sol transition temperature of the composite PCMs containing DMDBS was much higher than the melting point of pure 1-octadecanol. The improvements in preventing leakage and thermal stability limits were mainly attributed to the synergistic effect of the three-dimensional network formed by DMDBS and the honeycomb network formed by EG. Differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) was used to determine the latent heat and phase change temperature of the composite PCMs. During melting and freezing process the latent heat values of the PCM with the composition of 91% OD/3% DMDBS/6% EG were 214.9 and 185.9 kJ kg'1, respectively. Its degree of supercooling was only 0.1 °C. Thermal constant analyzer results showed that its thermal conductivity (k) changed up to roughly 10 times over that of OD/DMDBS matrix.

Fatty Acid/Expanded Graphite Encapsulating Form-Stable Phase Change Materials for Energy Storage

The lauric-myristic-palmitic acid( LA-MA-PA) ternary eutectic mixtures/expanded graphite( EG) composite phase change materials( PCMs) were prepared by absorbing LA-MA-PA into the porous network of EG. The optimum ratio of ternary eutectic mixtures to EG was determined to be 93∶7 without liquid LA-MA-PA leakage from the composite PCMs. In order to make the structure more stable, the composite PCMs were encapsulated by surface treatment agent to prepare LA-MA-PA/EG encapsulating form-stable PCMs which were characterized by scanning electron microscope( SEM),Fourier transformation infrared spectroscope( FT-IR),differential scanning calorimetry( DSC) and thermal treatment. The results showed there was no chemical reaction between surface treatment agent and LA-MA-PA,and the samples were compactly encapsulated which left almost no imprint on the filter paper after thermal treatment. The phase change temperature and latent heat of LA-MA-PA/EG encapsulating form-stable PCMs were tested to be29. 32 ℃ and 96. 20 J/g,respectively. Additionally,the heat transfer efficiency of heat storage was improved by the addition of EG.

Role of Composite Phase Change Material on the Thermal Performance of a Latent Heat Storage System: Experimental Investigation

Paraffin wax is a perfect phase change material(PCM)that can be used in latent heat storage units(LHSUs).The utilization of such LHSU is restricted by the poor conductivity of PCM.In the present work,a metal foam made of aluminium with PCM was used to produce a composite PCM as a thermal conductivity technique in PCM⁃LHSU and water was used as heat transfer fluid(HTF).An experimental investigation was carried out to evaluate the heat transfer characteristics of LHSU using pure PCM and composite PCM.The study included time⁃dependent visualization of the PCM during the melting and solidification processes.Besides,a thermocouple network was placed inside the heat storage to record the temperature profile during each process.Results showed that better performance could be obtained using composite PCM⁃LHSU for both melting and solidification processes.The melting time of composite PCM⁃LHSU was about 83%faster than that of a simple PCM⁃LHSU,and the percentage decreasing in the solidification time was about 85%due to the provision of metal foam.

Fly Ash/Paraffin Composite Phase Change Material Used to Treat Thermal and Mechanical Properties of Expansive Soil in Cold Regions

Phase change materials(PCMs)can store large amounts of energy in latent heat and release it during phase changes,which could be used to improve the freeze-thaw performance of soil.The composite phase change material was prepared with paraffin as the PCM and 8%Class C fly ash(CFA)as the supporting material.Laboratory tests were conducted to reveal the influence of phase change paraffin composite Class C fly ash(CFA-PCM)on the thermal properties,volume changes and mechanical properties of expansive soil.The results show that PCM failed to establish a good improvement effect due to leakage.CFA can effectively adsorb phase change materials,and the two have good compatibility.CFA-PCM reduces the volume change and strength attenuation of the soil,and 8 wt.%PCM is the optimal content.CFA-PCM turns the phase change latent heat down of the soil and improves its thermal stability.CFA-PCM makes the impact small of freeze-thaw on soil pore structure damage and improves soil volume change and mechanical properties on a macroscopic scale.In addition,CFA-8 wt.%PCM treated expansive soil has apparent advantages in resisting repeated freeze-thaw cycles,providing a reference for actual engineering design.

Preparation of Composite Phase Change Material Based on Sol-Gel Method and Its Temperature-Adjustable Textile

In this study,the sol-gel method was introduced to prepare the composite phase change material (CPCM). The CPCM was added to fabric with coating techniques and the thermal activity of modified fabric was studied. In addition,the thermal property and the microstructure of CPCM were also discussed in detail by means of polarization microscope and differential scanning calorimeter,respectively. According to the analysis of main influencial factors of the property of CPCM,the optimal preparing technique was determined. It was proved that CPCM could exhibit a good thermal property while phase transformation process took place,and a better appearance of the fabric modified with CPCM could be obtained due to the fact that in a warm circumstance,the liquid-state phase change material could be firmly enwrapped and embedded in the three-dimensional network all the time during the phase transformation. Besides,the fabric treated with CPCM had a high phase-transition enthalpy and an appropriate phase-transition temperature. As a result,a desirable temperature-adjustable function appeared.

Preparation and Characterization of CA-MA Eutectic/Silicon Dioxide Nanoscale Composite Phase Change Material from Water Glass via Sol-Gel Method

This work mainly involved the preparation of a nano-scale form-stable phase change material（PCM） consisting of capric and myristic acid（CA-MA） binary eutectic acting as thermal absorbing material and nano silicon dioxide（nano-SiO_2） serving as the supporting material. Industrial water glass for preparation of the nano silicon dioxide matrix and CA-MA eutectic mixture were compounded by single-step sol-gel method with the silane coupling agent. The morphology, chemical characterization and form stability property of the composite PCM were investigated by transmission electron microscopy（TEM）, scanning electron microscopy（SEM）, Fourier-transform infrared（FT-IR） spectroscopy and polarizing microscopy（POM）. It was indicated that the average diameter of the composite PCM particle ranged from 30-100 nm. The CA-MA eutectic was immobilized in the network pores constructed by the Si-O bonds so that the composite PCM was allowed no liquid leakage above the melting temperature of the CA-MA eutectic. Differential scanning calorimetry（DSC） and thermogravimetric analysis（TGA） measurement were conducted to investigate the thermal properties and stability of the composite PCM. From the measurement results, the mass fraction of the CA-MA eutectic in the composite PCM was about 40%. The phase change temperature and latent heat of the composite were determined to be 21.15 ℃ and 55.67 J/g, respectively. Meanwhile, thermal conductivity of the composite was measured to be 0.208 W·m^（-1）·K^（-1） by using the transient hot-wire method. The composite PCM was able to maintain the surrounding temperature close to its phase change temperature and behaved well in thermalregulated performance which was verified by the heat storage-release experiment. This kind of form-stable PCM was supposed to complete thermal insulation even temperature regulation by the dual effect of relatively low thermal conductivity and phase change thermal storage-release properties. So it can be formulated that the nanoscale CA-MA/SiO_2 composite PCM with the form-stable property, good thermal storage capacity and relatively low thermal conductivity can be applied for energy conservation as a kind of thermal functional material.

Numerical Investigation of the Thermal Behavior of a System with a Partition Wall Incorporating a Phase Change Material

The work deals with the thermal behavior of a conventional partition wall incorporating a phase change material(PCM).The wall separates two environments with different thermal properties.The first one is conditioned,while the adjacent space is characterized by a temperature that changes sinusoidally in time.The effect of the PCM is assessed through a comparative analysis of the cases with and without PCM.The performances are evaluated in terms of dimensionless energy stored within the wall,comfort temperature and variations of these quantities as a function of the amount of PCM and its emplacement.

Preparation and Characterization of High-Temperature Non-Flowing Diurea/Paraffin/Oil Composites as Form-Stable Phase Change Materials

A series of form-stable phase change materials （FSPCMs） comprising paraffin as the latent heat storage material, diurea as the supporting material and base oil as the performance improvement agent were prepared. The diurea was synthesized in the system of paraffin/oil directly. A series of characterization was carried out for a deep understand- ing of shape stability and material properties of diurea-FSPCMs. The results showed that paraffin and base oil were packaged in the three-dimensional supra-molecular structures network which was formed by diurea. The dropping point of the prepared FSPCMs could reach 256 ℃ and the oil separation rate was as low as 1.19% at 100 ℃ for 30 h. The results of thermal properties tests showed that the prepared FSPCMs exhibited excellent thermal stability and the FSPCMs remained solid-like state in the temperature range from 25 to 200 ℃. This study proposes a novel method to prepare high-temperature non-flowing FSPCMs composites and methods to detect the thermal stability and shape stability of FSPCMs, which is helpful in understanding the shape stability mechanism and broadening the potential application of FSPCMs.

Preparation and Thermal Properties of a Novel Modified Ammonium Alum/Expanded Graphite Composite Phase Change Material

Thermal energy storage(TES)using phase change materials(PCMs)is a powerful solution to the improvement of energy efficiency.The application of Ammonium alum(A-alum,NH4Al(SO_(4))_(2)·12H_(2)O)in the latent thermal energy storage(LTES)systems is hampered due to its high supercooling and low thermal conductivity.In this work,modified A-alum(M-PCM)containing different nucleating agents was prepared and further adsorbed in expanded graphite(EG)to obtain composite phase change material(CPCM)to overcome the disadvantages of A-alum.Thermal properties,thermal cycle stability,microstructure and chemical compatibility of CPCM were characterized by differential scanning calorimetry,thermal constant analysis,scanning electron microscopy,X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy.The cold rewarming phenomenon of CPCM was established and explained.Results showed that the latent heat and melting point of CPCM were 187.22 J/g and 91.54℃,respectively.The supercooling of CPCM decreased by 9.61℃,and thermal conductivity increased by 27 times compared with pure A-alum.Heat storage and release tests indicated that 2 wt%calcium chloride dihydrate(CCD,CaCl_(2)·2H_(2)O)was the optimum nucleating agent for A-alum.The result of TG and 30 thermal cycles revealed that CPCM exhibited favorable thermal stability and reliability during the operating temperature.The prepared modified A-alum/EG CPCM has a promising application prospect for LTES.

Processing Compressed Expanded Natural Graphite for Phase Change Material Composites

Phase change materials(PCMs)are used in various thermal energy storage applications but are limited by their low thermal conductivity.One method to increase conductivity involves impregnating organic PCMs into highly porous conductive matrix materials.Of these materials,compressed expanded natural graphite(CENG)matrices have received the most attention.Despite this attention,the effect that CENG processing has on PCM saturation and overall matrix thermal conductivity has not been fully investigated.Therefore,the effect of the heat treatment process used to expand intercalated graphite flakes is evaluated here.Higher heat treatment temperatures yielded higher saturation rates and overall saturation at similar matrix porosities.For example,increasing temperature from 300℃to 700℃resulted in approximately 60%-70%increase in pore saturation after 100 minutes of soaking.The exposure time to heat treatment had less of an effect on PCM saturation.The exposure time had negligible effect above 30 min and above 500℃heating temperatures.However,because the expanded graphite was found to oxidize around 700℃,the use of longer exposure time in manufacturing applications can be beneficial if a shortened impregnation time is needed.Heat treatment conditions did not impact thermal conductivity.The composite latent heat of fusion was also reduced approximately proportionally to the PCM mass fraction.A local maximum in axial thermal conductivity was observed at around 83%porosity,which is similar to previous studies.The observed conductivity at this maximum was a factor of 81 times greater than the conductivity of the PCM.

Experimental Approaches to Improve Thermal Stability of Organic Phase Change Properties

This study investigates the thermal behavior of Polyolefin containing Paraffin and Nano Hydrated aluminum silicate Al2Si2O5 (OH) 4 (Kaolin) particles to enhance store energy at ambient temperature. The hybrid Nano composite is based on polyolefin PE as a matrix, whereby paraffin wax and Kaolin were hot blended at varying concentrations. In addition Carbon Nanotube (CNTs) was added in different relative low concentrations to improve the thermal transition among the polymer matrix, since polymer domains are considered as isolator. The composite was prepared by melt mixing using a Brabender Plasrograph and a Two Role Mill. Thermal properties of the composite were determined using DSC and Melt flow Index. Because TES materials are subjected to melting and freezing during life time, multiple extrusion tests to simulate the degradation process of the composite were carried out. FTIR was applied to determine the degradation effect and investigate microstructure changes of the composite. The results obtained demonstrate that the blend shows a tendency to be thermally active at low temperatures. DSC tests evidenced a decrease in melt tempera-ture as a result of increasing Kaolin content and some changes in the latent heat of the compound.

High density polyethylene (HDPE)--Graphite composite manufactured by extrusion:A novel way to fabricate phase change materials for thermal energy storage

Thermal energy storage (TES)has the potential to facilitate the deployment of renewable energy through addressing the demand-supply mismatch,ultimately leading to the decarbonisation of heat supply. Among the TES technologies,latent heat based TES with composite phase change materials (PCMs)has shown great potential,which has attracted significant attention in recent years.However,large scale and reliable manufacturing methods for composite PCMs are still largely lacking.Here,we present a study aimed to develop,for the first time,an extrusion process capable of fabricating high density polyethylene based graphite PCM composites at a high throughput and with enhanced thermal properties.The PCM composites were fabricated under different extrusion process parameters and characterized for their thermo-physical properties by multiple techniques including differential scanning calorimetry,thermal gravitational analyzer,and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy.The results show that the extrusion process has the potential to fabricate PCM composite bars in a continuous fashion with a manufacturing throughput higher than traditional method;the fabricated PCM composites show enhanced properties (e.g.up to +70% increase in thermal diffusivity);and there is a clear link between extrusion process parameters and PCMs properties.Microstructural analyses show a more homogeneous structure with a lower extrusion speed;whereas a high extrusion speed gives a more microscopically heterogeneous structure with visible graphite agglomerates distributed relatively homogeneous macroscopically;and a higher graphite content gives a larger agglomerate size.The results of this work suggest that the elucidation of composition-process-property relationships is crucial:for a given formulation (composition), only through fine tuning of high throughput manufacturing process can make it possible to achieve the desired performance of the PCM composites.

Preparation and Characterization of KNO3/Diatomite Shape-Stabilized Composite Phase Change Material for High Temperature Thermal Energy Storage

A new potassium nitrate （KNO3）]diatomite shape-stabilized composite phase change material （SS- CPCM） was prepared by the mixing and sintering method. KNO3 served as the phase change material （PCM） for thermal energy storage, while diatomite acted as the carrier matrix to provide the structural strength and prevent the leakage of PCM. It was found that KNO3 could be retained 65 wt% into pores and on surfaces of diatomite without the leakage of melted KNO3 from the SS-CPCM. The calculated filling rate of molten KNO3 that could enter into the disc-like shape pore of diatomite verified the scanning elec- tronic microscopy images of SS-CPCM. X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy results showed that no reaction occurred between KNO3 and diatomite, performing good compatibility. Accord- ing to the differential scanning calorimetry results, after 50 thermal cycles, the phase change temperatures for melting and freezing of SS-CPCM with 65 wt% KNO3 were changed from 330.23 ℃ and 332.90 ℃ to 330.11 ℃ and 332.84 ℃ and corresponding latent heats varied from 60.52 J/g and 47.30 J/g to 54.64 J/g and 41.25 J/g, respectively. The KNO3/diatomite SS-CPCM may be considered as a potential storage media in solar power plants for thermal energy storage.

Efficient Preconstruction of Three‑Dimensional Graphene Networks for Thermally Conductive Polymer Composites

Electronic devices generate heat during operation and require efficient thermal management to extend the lifetime and prevent performance degradation.Featured by its exceptional thermal conductivity,graphene is an ideal functional filler for fabricating thermally conductive polymer composites to provide efficient thermal management.Extensive studies have been focusing on constructing graphene networks in polymer composites to achieve high thermal conductivities.Compared with conventional composite fabrications by directly mixing graphene with polymers,preconstruction of three-dimensional graphene networks followed by backfilling polymers represents a promising way to produce composites with higher performances,enabling high manufacturing flexibility and controllability.In this review,we first summarize the factors that affect thermal conductivity of graphene composites and strategies for fabricating highly thermally conductive graphene/polymer composites.Subsequently,we give the reasoning behind using preconstructed three-dimensional graphene networks for fabricating thermally conductive polymer composites and highlight their potential applications.Finally,our insight into the existing bottlenecks and opportunities is provided for developing preconstructed porous architectures of graphene and their thermally conductive composites.

Thermal Analysis of Metal Foam Matrix Composite Phase Change Material

In this paper,CPCM(Composite Phase Change Material)was manufactured with metal foam matrix used as filling material.The temperature curves were obtained by experiment.The performance of heat transfer was analyzed.The experimental results show that metal foam matrix can improve temperature uniformity in phase change thermal storage material and enhance heat conduction ability.The thermal performance of CPCM is significantly improved.The efficiency of temperature control can be obviously improved by adding metal foam in phase change material.CPCM is in solid-liquid two-phase region when temperature is close to phase change point of paraffin.An approximate plateau appears.The plateau can be considered as the temperature control zone of CPCM.Heat can be transferred fiom hot source and be uniformly spread in thermal storage material by using metal foam matrix since thermal storage material has the advantage of strong heat storage capacity and disadvantage of poor heat conduction ability.Natural convection promotes the melting of solid-liquid phase change material.Good thermal conductivity of foam metal accelerates heat conduction of solid-liquid phase change material.The interior temperature difference decreases and the whole temperature becomes more uniform.For the same porosity with a metal foam,melting time of solid-liquid phase change material decreases.Heat conduction is enhanced and natural convection is suppressed when pore size of metal foam is smaller.The thermal storage time decreases and heat absorption rate increases when the pore size of metal foam reduces.The research results can be used to guide fabricating the CPCM.

石蜡/碱改性硅藻土/膨胀石墨复合相变储热材料的制备及性能

通过碱处理,优化了硅藻土(DIA)的孔隙结构,提高了孔隙率,增加了石蜡(paraffin)负载量。通过直接浸渍法制备了新型性状稳定的石蜡/碱改性DIA/膨胀石墨(EG-alDIAP)复合材料,并研究了其结构与性能的关系。结果表明,复合相变材料的石蜡负载量从47.4%提高到了61.1%,进而提高了复合材料的储热性能;向改性DIA中添加膨胀石墨(EG)提高了复合材料的传热能力,添加质量分数10%EG时导热系数提高了113%(从0.276 W·m^(-1)·K^(-1)提高到了0.589 W·m^(-1)·K^(-1))。随着EG含量的升高,复合相变材料的相变潜热有所增加,但化学相容性、稳定性等无明显变化。含10%EG的石蜡/碱改性DIA复合材料具有可靠的储能性能、良好的温度调节性能和蓄放热能力。

PEG4000/聚苯胺形状稳定复合相变材料的制备及其储热性能

以聚苯胺气凝胶(PANI)为支撑骨架,聚乙二醇4000(PEG4000)为相变材料,银纳米线(AgNWs)为导热增强填料,采用低温氧化聚合法和真空浸渍法制备得到具有良好形状和循环稳定性的定形相变复合材料PEG4000@Ag/PANI.聚苯胺气凝胶的高孔隙率及PEG4000与基体材料间的氢键作用和毛细作用,使得相变复合材料的最高负载率能够达到94.17%(熔融焓为165.17 J·g^(–1),凝固焓为152.77 J·g^(–1));加入AgNWs与PANI气凝胶共同搭建导热通路,提高了相变复合材料的导热性能(热导率最高为0.45 W·m^(–1)·K^(–1),比纯PEG4000提高80%);借助Ag NWs和聚苯胺优异的光吸收能力,相变复合材料的光–热转换效率达到90.61%.高储能密度、高光热转换能力和高热导率定形相变复合材料的成功制备为新型相变复合材料的合成提供了新思路,为太阳能光–热转换和储能应用提供了新材料,实现对太阳能的高效利用.

LA-MA/陶粒相变储能材料热物性试验与分析

目的为拓宽相变材料在建筑节能领域中的应用,针对单一相变材料难以满足建筑热工性能要求的问题。方法以十二醇(LA)和十四酸(MA)为复合相变材料、页岩陶粒为载体,制备一种新型相变储能骨料。采用差式扫描量热仪(DSC)、傅里叶红外光谱仪(FT-IR)、热重分析仪(TG)等对相变储能骨料的热物性和不同封装方式下的相变循环稳定性进行分析。结果经复合后相变材料、相变储能骨料的相变温度和相变潜热分别为22.08℃、22.92℃和182.1J/g、22.33J/g。LA-MA复合相变材料和页岩陶粒之间仅存在物理嵌合关系,相变储能骨料在70℃以下未发生物质分解。苯丙乳液封装相变储能骨料在5℃~45℃范围内经历100次相变循环后,质量损失率为0.80%。结论LA-MA/陶粒相变储能骨料的热物性满足建筑节能要求,化学结构稳定,热稳定性好,具有优异的循环耐久性,可应用到建筑围护结构中,研究结论对相变储能材料在建筑围护结构中的应用具有参考价值。

柔性复合相变材料用于锂离子电池热管理的效果模拟研究

以石蜡为相变材料、苯乙烯-乙烯/丁烯-苯乙烯嵌段共聚物为弹性载体、石墨烯为导热增强剂,制备了一种柔性复合相变材料(FCPCM),对FCPCM用于锂离子电池热管理的效果进行了模拟研究。结果表明:与空气自然对流热管理手段相比,将FCPCM贴敷于锂离子电池表面进行被动式控温,可使锂离子电池表面中心最高温度至少降低1.89℃;在一定范围内增大FCPCM的导热系数和厚度,可减小电池表面中心最高温度和电池厚度方向的温差;FCPCM与锂离子电池之间的接触热阻也明显影响热管理效果,随着接触热阻增大,热管理效果下降。

光热转换材料在相变储能领域的研究进展

相变储能是热储能的一种,即利用相变材料的储热特性来储存或释放热量,达到调控温度的效果。但相变材料往往不具备光吸收能力,不能及时收集太阳光,导致其光热转换效率较低。将相变材料与光热转换材料复合,可在增强吸光能力的同时将获得的能量存储在相变材料中,赋予复合相变材料高光热转换能力。该文对光热转换材料进行了分类,介绍了其光热转换机理、对紫外光-可见光-近红外光的吸收能力以及在相变领域的应用。此外,还阐述了光热复合相变材料的复合策略,包括浸渍法、溶胶-凝胶法、涂层法和改性微胶囊法,分析表明,不同复合策略下制备的光热复合相变材料的光吸收能力、导热系数、光热转换效率几乎都得到了提高。因此,将光热转换材料拓展到相变储能领域,将进一步优化太阳能资源。