| The study provides a valuable and useful database for Phase Change Materials (PCMs) for Thermal Energy Storage (TES) applications. Only a few existing studies have provided an overall investigation of thermophysical properties of PCMs in this detailed manner. Several organic PCMs, namely Myristic acid, Capric Acid, Lauryl Alcohol, Palmitic acid and Lauric acid, have been characterized after being carefully selected to cover wide range of TES applications. Insights and information gained from this work will be applied toward the design and modelling of many low temperature thermal energy storage applications. The study experimentally investigated uncertainty of thermal characterization of PCMs by DSC analysis and the various thermal events and effects that occur when PCMs are tested in a DSC. The optimum measurement condition was found to be at a heating rate of 3°C/min and a sample mass of 7.5 mg. Furthermore, the study discovered a novel PCM eutectic mixture of 60% Methyl Palmitate (MP) and 40% Lauric Acid that can be readily adapted to large-scale industrial production to help improve the performance of energy systems, particularly in buildings. Further effort has been devoted to develop a final formulation of the PCM eutectic mixture characterized by a solid to gel phase transformation using Methyl hydroxyethyl cellulose as a gelling/thickening agent, and an enhanced thermal performance using Nano-graphene platelets (NGPs). The corresponding enhancement when 10% of NGPs was added was as follows: thermal conductivity was increased by about 97.7%, the specific heat capacity was increased by 52% for solid phase and 64% for liquid phase, the thermal diffusivity increased by 42% for solid phase and 54% for liquid phase. |
