Experimental Study on GNP Based Nanofluid Phase Change Material for Cooling Application

Abstract

The current study aims to analyze the solidification and melting characteristics of nanofluid phase change material (NFPCM) for building cooling applications. The NFPCM were prepared by using graphene nanoplatelets (GNP) in different concentrations (0.2, 0.4 & 0.6 Wt. %) and DI water as base PCM. The NFPCM was prepared using two step methods and stability of the NFPCM was analyzed using visual sedimentation method. The experimentation was conducted in -12 C and -9 C surrounding bath temperatures. The Sub-cooling was eliminated completely for the addition of SDBS and GNP in maximum concentration. The experimental results showed that the 10 % and 8.5 % reduction in solidification time for 0.6 wt. % GNP in base PCM for the surrounding bath temperature of -12 C and -9 C respectively. Also, the DSC analysis was conducted for the heating rate of 5 K/min and the reduction of enthalpy during heating and cooling was noticed 14 % and 11 % respectively. It is observed that the reduction of overall solidification time of the NFPCM will have the predominant effect in the chiller operation time.