Mechanical Properties and Melting Heat Transfer Characteristics of Shape-Stabilized Paraffin Slurry

Abstract

This article is presented in the framework of the increasing interest for the use of latent heat transfer slurries for cooling processes. Paraffin serves as a latent heat storage material, and a polymer network acts as the supporting material. The phase change material melts around 7°C with a latent heat of fusion of 115 kJ/kg. Differential scanning calorimetry and indentation analysis were employed to investigate the thermal properties and mechanical stability of the material under freezing–thawing cycles. Results indicated that the form-stable phase change material with the advantages of no liquid leakage constitutes a potential material in the field of low-temperature thermal energy storage. Experimental investigation is made to study the melting process of a single slurry in an agitated bath. Analysis of data permits the development of a phenomenological correlation adapted to the millimetric dimension of the particle, leading to an estimation of the melting phase change time duration as a function of the main parameters of the problem.

Keywords:

• form-stable phase change material
• slurry
• melting
• latent heat
• paraffin