Xiao, X orcid.org/0000-0003-0718-2591 and Wen, D orcid.org/0000-0003-3492-7982 (2018) Investigation on thermo-physical properties of molten salt enhanced with nanoparticle and copper foam. In: 2018 7th International Conference on Renewable Energy Research and Applications (ICRERA). ICRERA 2018, 14-17 Oct 2018, Paris, France. IEEE , pp. 1445-1449. ISBN 978-1-5386-5982-3
Abstract
HITEC salt (40 wt.% NaNO₂, 7 wt.% NaNO₃, 53 wt.% KNO₃) with a melting temperature of about 142°C is a typical phase change material for solar energy storage. Both aluminum oxide (Al₂ O₃) nanopowder and copper foam were applied to enhance pure HITEC salt, so as to retrieve the limitation of composite PCMs with single enhancement. Nanocomposite was synthesized with two-step methods at the beginning, then copper foam were infiltrated with nano-salt at high temperature. The morphologies of the composites were extensively characterized with Scanning Electron Microscope, X-ray diffraction and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometer, while the thermal behaviors were analyzed with Differential Scanning Calorimeter and Thermos-gravimetric Analyser. Results showed that special nanostructures were formed in the composite, and physical bonding was found between Al₂ O₃ nanopowder and salt. Theoretical prediction showed that the thermal conductivities of the composites were significantly enhanced about ten times, and the specific heat capacities of the composites were slightly decreased, which is beneficial for heat storage. Furthermore, the presence of porous copper foam and Al₂ O₃ nanopowder made the extrapolated onset and peak phase change temperatures shift slightly.
Metadata
Item Type: | Proceedings Paper |
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Authors/Creators: | |
Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | (c) 2018, IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other works. |
Keywords: | Phase change materials , Thermal conductivity , Heating systems , Conductivity , Thermal analysis , Nanofluidics , Aluminum oxide; HITEC salt , aluminum oxide nanopowder , copper foam , structural characteristics , thermal characterization |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Engineering & Physical Sciences (Leeds) > School of Chemical & Process Engineering (Leeds) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number EU - European Union GA 706788 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 11 Feb 2019 17:02 |
Last Modified: | 15 Mar 2019 15:24 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | IEEE |
Identification Number: | 10.1109/ICRERA.2018.8566907 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:142391 |