Thermal Energy Storage Performance and Thermal Reliability Analysis of Phase Change Material

Thermal Energy Storage (TES) using Phase Change Materials (PCM) has emerged as one of the prominent technologies to improve the utilization rate of solar thermal systems even in the absence of solar radiation. High energy density with minimum temperature change has made PCM one of the potential materials for TES. For improved thermal performance of PCM, it must withstand large numbers of heating and cooling cycles. A PCM will be suitable for TES application when it has a minimum change in its thermal performance after large thermal cycles. Therefore, in this study, OM35 loaded with 0, 10, and 20wt% of graphite were tested for TES performance and thermal reliabilities. OM35 loaded with 0, 10, and 20wt% of graphite underwent 100 and 200 thermal cycles. OM35 loaded with 0, 10, and 20wt% of graphite without thermal cycles and with thermal cycles were thermal energy storage performance using Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC). Thermal degradation was evaluated through Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA), and the chemical stability of each sample was analyzed using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). Additionally, the effect on thermal conductivity by loading 10wt% and 20wt% graphite was also investigated using a thermal conductivity meter. Results indicates that OM35 0wt%, OM35 10wt%, and OM35 20wt% show 184.51 J/g, 160.92 J/g, and 144.97 J/g respectively. An improvement of 90.51% and 161.77% in thermal conductivity was observed by adding 10wt% and 20wt% graphite, respectively.