IMPACT OF GRAPHENE ON THE PROPERTIES OF PHASE CHANGE MATERIAL

The Phase change materials (PCMs) have the unique ability to store and release large amounts of heat within a relatively small temperature range due to their latent heat properties.The PCMs are used in solar power system, textile industry, buildings etc.The paraffin wax was one of the cheapest PCM and used in thermal energy storage applications.However, its drawback is its low thermal conductivity which affects the heat transfer.Hence, in this work, we have used graphene which has higher thermal conductivity to enhance the thermal conductivity of the paraffin wax.The graphene of various concentration such as 0.25, 0.5, 0.75 and 1.00 % were added to the paraffin wax.The results show improvement in thermal properties of the paraffin wax offers a promising solution for enhancing heat transfer in thermal management systems and heat exchangers.The thermal conductivity of the paraffin wax improved significantly with the addition of graphene and higher thermal conductivity was observed with the graphene dosage of 1%.Additionally, the melting temperature of the paraffin wax has reduced significantly with graphene addition.Also, the graphene addition resulted in faster melting and solidification rates due to and enhanced the overall thermal performance of the paraffin wax.