The stability and thermophysical properties of a thermal fluid containing surface-functionalized nanoencapsulated PCM

摘要

In this study, the stability and thermophysical properties of a latent functionally thermal fluid (LFTF) composed of water and surface-functionalized nanoencapsulated phase change material (NEPCM) were experimentally investigated. The NEPCM was produced by the encapsulation of n-nonadecane with poly(styrene-co-methacrylic acid) P(St-co-MAA) shell by using mini-emulsion polymerization method. The NEPCM was characterized using fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetry (TG-DTG) techniques. The LFTFs were prepared by dispersing the NEPCMs in water at different mass concentrations (0.5, 1, 1.5 and 2 wt.%). The zeta potential of the NEPCMs is - 56.8 mV and the nanocapsules exhibited good dispersion stability without any surfactant. The density, thermal conductivity, specific heat capacity and viscosity of the LFTFs were measured as a function of temperature. The results showed that the use of surface-functionalized NEPCMs has a significant potential for increasing the stability, thermal conductivity and heat capacity of fluids.