Evaluation of the Heat Transfer Performance of Stearic Acid PCM/ Porous Aluminium Thermal Composite Structures for Heat Storage Applications

Abstract

Phase change material (PCM) thermal composites consisting of porous aluminium/stearic acid phase change material have been produced for heat storage applications. Porous aluminium/stearic acid composite structures were produced by infiltrating stearic acid PCM into open- cell porous aluminium materials prepared by using dissolvable spherical salt beads in combination with vacuum casting process. Scanning electron microscopic analysis has been used to characterize the empty porous aluminium materials and the results reveal a cellular structure consisting of spherical pores which are interconnected with smaller windows. The thermal response of empty porous aluminium structures and those infiltrated with stearic acid was measured using an infrared camera. The result showed that the heat transfer performance of the PCM thermal composites was significantly improved and largely dependent on the relative density of the porous structures.