Thermal performance analysis of a thermal enhanced form-stable composite phase change material with aluminum nitride

Abstract

Phase change material is a competent candidate for thermal energy storage technology application of building envelope thermal regulation. But the low thermal conductivity of organic phase change material hinders its building thermal management utilization from fully functioning. In this study, a kind of thermal enhanced form-stable composite phase change material is prepared, aiming at enhancing the pure phase change material thermal conductivity by employing aluminum nitride as the matrix material. A series of tests are carried out attempting to figure out the thermal characteristics of the newly made compound. And an experiment is conducted, trying to find out its thermal performance in practice. The results turn out that the proposed composite possesses a thermal conductivity of 3.154 W∙(m·K)−1, 2903% improved than that of pure phase change material. Besides, the obtained experimental middle layer temperature of the newly made composite board sample is 27.93 °C. Compared with the phase change point of the pure material, the use ratio of phase change material in the board can be calculated as 100%, meaning that the newly made composite functioned well with little waste. Thus, these performances indicate a bright future for the aluminum nitride based thermal enhanced form-stable composite phase change material.