Thermal Conductivity and Latent Heat Properties of Microencapsulated Phase Change Material (μPCM)/Multiwall Carbon Nanotube (MWCNT) Composites for EVs Application

摘要

The aim of this study is to investigate the thermal properties of microencapsulated phase change material (μPCM)/multiwall carbon nanotube (MWCNT) composites. Several disc samples with 30 mm diameter×5 mm width of μPCM/MWCNT composites were prepared with different mass fractions of MWCNT of 2, 4, 7 and 10 wt% using a cold press method. The thermal conductivity test was performed according to ASTM standard, while the latent heat property was calculated based on the theoretical equations. It was found that the thermal conductivity increases with mass fraction of MWCNT. However, the latent heat decreases with mass fraction of MWCNT. From these results, the optimized mass fraction of approximately 5% MWCNT, could be selected due to its stable-form in thermal conductivity and latent heat capacity for electric vehicles (EVs) application. The reduction in melting time with increasing percentage of MWCNT is in accordance with the improvement of thermal conductivity.