Correlation study of thermal charging, discharging, and efficiency of graphene oxide-reinforced paraffin wax for thermal energy storage system

Abstract

Nanocomposites, produced through mechanical blending, serve to enhance thermal performance of heat exchangers, solar collectors, and photovoltaic-thermal systems. This work employs an experimental methodology to assess the thermal charging (TC) and thermal discharging (TDC) of a composite generated by mixing graphene oxide (GO) and paraffin wax. TC and TDC of the GO-reinforced paraffin wax-based phase change material (PCM) have been examined across different flow rates (0.375, 0.75, and 1.5 L/min) and concentrations of GO (ranging from 0.25 to 1.00 vol%). The results exhibit a direct correlation between TC, TDC and efficiency, and reaction parameters (flow rate and volume concentration of GO). The experimental and predicted values of TCs, TDCs, and efficiencies fell ±15% (for TC and TDC), and ±9% for thermal efficiency, demonstrating a satisfactory level of agreement. This holds a practical application and valuable predictive tool for estimating TC, TDC, and thermal efficiency on known flow rates and concentrations of GO in wax-based PCMs.

Keywords:

• Correlation study
• graphene oxide
• paraffin wax
• thermal charging
• thermal discharging

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Department of Science and Technology, Ministry of Science and Technology, India.