Experimental investigation of transient thermal response of phase change material embedded by Graphene nanoparticles in energy storage module

Here, an experimental study has been conducted to evaluate thermal performance and energy storage capabilities of organic paraffin wax with melting point of 95 °C embedded at various loadings of Graphene nanoplatelets (0, 1, 3, 5, 7, 10 wt. %). All experiments were carried out in a cubical aluminium box with the dimensions of 40×40×40 in mm. Temperature measurements were carried out at different locations within the module by using J type thermocouples. Due to the low thermal conductivity of pure paraffin wax, temperature variations among the measured locations are relatively high. On the other hand as the loading of Graphene nanoplatelets within the paraffin wax is increased, temperature differences within the thermal energy storage (TES) module is decreased significantly and almost reach uniform at the highest mass fraction used, 10 wt. %. The results obtained from experiments indicate that a Graphene/paraffin wax composite is an effective method for the thermal management of devices that operates transiently.