52 / 2021-11-29 19:36:04

Anisotropically enhanced heat transfer properties of phase change material reinforced by SiC-coated biomass carbon fibers scaffold

thermal energy storage, heat transfer enhancement, thermal management, phase change materials.

Energy Science and Technology > 5. Heat-mass Transfer and Energy Storage Technology

ABSTRACT: Phase change material (PCM) is one of the most promising candidates for thermal energy storage and management, with the potential to improve energy efficiency and mitigate the mismatch between peak energy supply and demand, demonstrating a variety of applications in solar heat storage, thermal management systems and buildings. However, the low thermal conductivity and leakage of PCM seriously restrict their applications. In this work, 3D porous carbon scaffolds as-consisted of SiC-coated biomass carbon fibers were prepared, which were used as the thermal conductive skeleton and shape stabilizer for paraffin PCM. In particular, the porous carbon scaffolds were designed with 1D arranged carbon fibers and multi-scaled porous structure, hence the prepared composites had good anisotropic heat transfer and good anti-leakage properties. High thermal conductivity values of 0.61 W m^-1 k^-1 in the axial direction (> 3 times of paraffin) and 0.48 W m^-1 k^-1 in the lateral direction were obtained for the composite with a filler ratio of 10.4 wt%. The composite also presented high heat storage capacity (186 J g^-1) and well-behaved thermal cycling stability. PCM as-supported by biomass carbon have high heat storage capability and anisotropic heat transfer properties, indicating great potentials in thermal energy storage and thermal management applications.