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PCM in Water Emulsions: Supercooling Reduction Effects of Nano‐Additives, Viscosity Effects of Surfactants and Stability
Author(s) -
Zhang Xiyao,
Niu Jianlei,
Zhang Shuo,
Wu JianYong
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
advanced engineering materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.938
H-Index - 114
eISSN - 1527-2648
pISSN - 1438-1656
DOI - 10.1002/adem.201300575
Subject(s) - supercooling , emulsion , materials science , differential scanning calorimetry , chemical engineering , rheology , nucleation , thermal stability , hexadecane , phase change material , phase change , composite material , thermodynamics , chemistry , organic chemistry , physics , engineering
This study aims to develop a paraffin‐based phase change material (PCM) for water emulsions with a low degree of supercooling, high fluidity and stability, which can be applied in thermal energy storage (TES) systems to improve the cooling efficiency. A hexadecane/water emulsion was prepared and chemically modified multi‐wall carbon nano‐tube (MWCNT) particles were dispersed in the emulsion as a nucleating agent to reduce supercooling. Three surfactants were also tested on the properties of the hexadecane/water emulsions. Thermal analysis by differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) indicated that the degree of supercooling of the emulsion was significantly decreased by the nucleating agent. The effective nucleating agent concentrations required for the PCM liquid were found to be low, which agrees with the previous finding, but for the emulsion there appeared to be a minimum effective concentration to reduce the supercooling. The rheology characters and the stability of the emulsions were also observed and discussed.