Enhanced thermal management by introducing nanoparticle composite phase change materials for cooling multiple heat sources systems

Abstract In this paper, paraffin mixed with nanoparticles Al2O3, CuO, and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were prepared for cooling multiple heat sources. For thermal management of heat sources, performances of the composite phase change materials (PCMs) were investigated at different heating power. Enhanced performance in terms of heat sources temperature, temperature difference between two heat sources, and thermal resistance was experimentally tested and analyzed at various mass fractions of nanoparticle and various power levels. It is found that by using 1.0 wt% Al2O3 composite PCMs the minimal thermal resistance is achieved at the range from 0.63 °C/W to 0.71 °C/W for all power levels, and the heat storage and heat conduction of the presented composite PCMs are enhanced as well as the melting ratio. At 8 W power level, the temperature of the heat source 1 for 1.0 wt% Al2O3 composite PCMs decreases by 17.4% compared to that for pure paraffin.