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Enhanced thermal conductivity of n-octadecane containing carbon-based nanomaterials

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Abstract

In the present study, carbon-based nanomaterials including multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and vapor-grown carbon nanofibers (CNFs) were dispersed in n-octadecane as a phase change material (PCM) at various mass fractions of 0.5, 1, 2 and 5 wt% by the two-step method. The transient plane source technique was used to measure thermal conductivity of samples at various temperatures in solid (5–25 °C) and liquid (30–55 °C) phases. The experimental results showed that thermal conductivity of the composites increases with increasing the loading of the MWCNTs and CNFs. A maximum thermal conductivity enhancement of 36 % at 5 wt% MWCNTs and 5 °C as well as 50 % at 2 wt% and 55 °C were experimentally obtained for n-octadecane/MWCNTs samples. Dispersing CNFs into n-octadecane raised the thermal conductivity up to 18 % at 5 wt% and 10 °C and 21 % at 5 wt% and 55 °C. However, the average enhancement of 19 and 21 % for solid and liquid phases of MWCNTs composite as well as 33 and 46 % for solid and liquid phase of CNFs promised a better heat transfer characteristics of MWCNTs in n-octadecane. A comparison between results of the present work and available literature revealed a satisfactory enhancement of thermal conductivity. For the investigated n-octadecane/MWCNTs and n-octadecane/CNFs composites, a new correlation was proposed for predicting the thermal conductivity as a function of temperature and nanomaterials loading.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Engineering, University of Shahreza, 86149-56841, Shahreza, Islamic Republic of Iran

    Sadegh Motahar

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Isfahan University of Technology, 84156-83111, Isfahan, Islamic Republic of Iran

    Ali A. Alemrajabi

  3. Department of Energy Technology, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, SE-10044, Stockholm, Sweden

    Rahmatollah Khodabandeh

Authors
  1. Sadegh Motahar
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  2. Ali A. Alemrajabi
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  3. Rahmatollah Khodabandeh
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Correspondence to Sadegh Motahar.

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Motahar, S., Alemrajabi, A.A. & Khodabandeh, R. Enhanced thermal conductivity of n-octadecane containing carbon-based nanomaterials. Heat Mass Transfer 52, 1621–1631 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00231-015-1678-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00231-015-1678-0

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