Experimental Investigation of Improved Thermal Characteristics of Al2O3/Barium Hydroxide Octa Hydrate as Phase Change Materials (PCMs)

This paper presents an experimental investigation on phase change behavior of a newly prepared nanofluid as PCM containing barium hydroxide octa hydrate and Al2O3 nanoparticles (NPs). The nano-particles are dispersed into the base fluid in various mass fractions (0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0%) and their effects on the thermo-physical properties have been studied. Structural analysis has been carried out by using FESEM and crystallography was checked by XRD technique. Phase change temperatures and latent heats of composite PCMs were evaluated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analyses. The test results clearly indicate that time required for phase change behavior of composite PCMs were less as compared to base PCM. Thus, the newly prepared PCM could be considered to be a potential candidate to produce the solar thermal energy storage materials. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.