The present work aims at investigating a new challenging use of aluminum oxide (Al2O3) nanoparticles to enhance the thermal properties (thermal conductivity, specific heat, and latent heat) of pure paraffin waxes to obtain a new class of phase change materials (PCMs), the so-called nano-PCMs. The nano-PCMs were obtained by seeding 0.5 and 1.0 wt % of Al2O3 nanoparticles in two paraffin waxes having melting temperatures of 45 and 55 °C, respectively. The thermophysical properties such as specific heat, latent heat, and thermal conductivity were then measured to understand the effects of the nanoparticles on the thermal properties of both the solid and liquid PCMs. Furthermore, a numerical comparison between the use of the pure paraffin waxes and the nano-PCMs obtained in a typical electronics passive cooling device was developed and implemented. A numerical model is accomplished to simulate the heat transfer inside the cavity either with PCM or nano-PCM. Numerical simulations were carried out using the ansys-fluent 15.0 code. Results in terms of solid and liquid phase fractions and temperatures and melting time were reported and discussed. They showed that the nano-PCMs determine a delay in the melting process with respect to the pure PCMs.
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Research-Article
Nano-Phase Change Materials for Electronics Cooling Applications
Laura Colla,
Laura Colla
Istituto per le Tecnologie della Costruzione,
CNR,
Corso Stati Uniti, 4,
Padova 35127, Italy
e-mail: laura_colla@libero.it
CNR,
Corso Stati Uniti, 4,
Padova 35127, Italy
e-mail: laura_colla@libero.it
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Davide Ercole,
Davide Ercole
Dipartimento di Ingegneria Industriale
e dell'Informazione,
Università degli Studi della Campania
“Luigi Vanvitelli,”
Via Roma 29,
Aversa 81031, Italy
e-mail: davide.ercole@unicampania.it
e dell'Informazione,
Università degli Studi della Campania
“Luigi Vanvitelli,”
Via Roma 29,
Aversa 81031, Italy
e-mail: davide.ercole@unicampania.it
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Laura Fedele,
Laura Fedele
Istituto per le Tecnologie della Costruzione,
CNR,
Corso Stati Uniti, 4,
Padova 35127, Italy
e-mail: fedele@itc.cnr.it
CNR,
Corso Stati Uniti, 4,
Padova 35127, Italy
e-mail: fedele@itc.cnr.it
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Simone Mancin,
Simone Mancin
Fellow ASME
Department of Management and Engineering,
University of Padova,
Stradella S. Nicola, 1,
Vicenza 36100, Italy
e-mail: simone.mancin@unipd.it
Department of Management and Engineering,
University of Padova,
Stradella S. Nicola, 1,
Vicenza 36100, Italy
e-mail: simone.mancin@unipd.it
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Oronzio Manca,
Oronzio Manca
Dipartimento di Ingegneria Industriale
e dell’Informazione,
Università degli Studi della Campania
“Luigi Vanvitelli,”
Via Roma 29,
Aversa 81031, Italy
e-mail: oronzio.manca@unicampania.it
e dell’Informazione,
Università degli Studi della Campania
“Luigi Vanvitelli,”
Via Roma 29,
Aversa 81031, Italy
e-mail: oronzio.manca@unicampania.it
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Sergio Bobbo
Sergio Bobbo
Istituto per le Tecnologie della Costruzione,
CNR,
Corso Stati Uniti, 4,
Padova 35127, Italy
e-mail: bobbo@itc.cnr.it
CNR,
Corso Stati Uniti, 4,
Padova 35127, Italy
e-mail: bobbo@itc.cnr.it
Search for other works by this author on:
Laura Colla
Istituto per le Tecnologie della Costruzione,
CNR,
Corso Stati Uniti, 4,
Padova 35127, Italy
e-mail: laura_colla@libero.it
CNR,
Corso Stati Uniti, 4,
Padova 35127, Italy
e-mail: laura_colla@libero.it
Davide Ercole
Dipartimento di Ingegneria Industriale
e dell'Informazione,
Università degli Studi della Campania
“Luigi Vanvitelli,”
Via Roma 29,
Aversa 81031, Italy
e-mail: davide.ercole@unicampania.it
e dell'Informazione,
Università degli Studi della Campania
“Luigi Vanvitelli,”
Via Roma 29,
Aversa 81031, Italy
e-mail: davide.ercole@unicampania.it
Laura Fedele
Istituto per le Tecnologie della Costruzione,
CNR,
Corso Stati Uniti, 4,
Padova 35127, Italy
e-mail: fedele@itc.cnr.it
CNR,
Corso Stati Uniti, 4,
Padova 35127, Italy
e-mail: fedele@itc.cnr.it
Simone Mancin
Fellow ASME
Department of Management and Engineering,
University of Padova,
Stradella S. Nicola, 1,
Vicenza 36100, Italy
e-mail: simone.mancin@unipd.it
Department of Management and Engineering,
University of Padova,
Stradella S. Nicola, 1,
Vicenza 36100, Italy
e-mail: simone.mancin@unipd.it
Oronzio Manca
Dipartimento di Ingegneria Industriale
e dell’Informazione,
Università degli Studi della Campania
“Luigi Vanvitelli,”
Via Roma 29,
Aversa 81031, Italy
e-mail: oronzio.manca@unicampania.it
e dell’Informazione,
Università degli Studi della Campania
“Luigi Vanvitelli,”
Via Roma 29,
Aversa 81031, Italy
e-mail: oronzio.manca@unicampania.it
Sergio Bobbo
Istituto per le Tecnologie della Costruzione,
CNR,
Corso Stati Uniti, 4,
Padova 35127, Italy
e-mail: bobbo@itc.cnr.it
CNR,
Corso Stati Uniti, 4,
Padova 35127, Italy
e-mail: bobbo@itc.cnr.it
1Corresponding author.
Presented at the 2016 ASME 5th Micro/Nanoscale Heat & Mass Transfer International Conference. Paper No. MNHMT2016-6613.
Contributed by the Heat Transfer Division of ASME for publication in the JOURNAL OF HEAT TRANSFER. Manuscript received June 1, 2016; final manuscript received January 10, 2017; published online March 7, 2017. Assoc. Editor: Zhuomin Zhang.
J. Heat Transfer. May 2017, 139(5): 052406 (9 pages)
Published Online: March 7, 2017
Article history
Received:
June 1, 2016
Revised:
January 10, 2017
Citation
Colla, L., Ercole, D., Fedele, L., Mancin, S., Manca, O., and Bobbo, S. (March 7, 2017). "Nano-Phase Change Materials for Electronics Cooling Applications." ASME. J. Heat Transfer. May 2017; 139(5): 052406. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4036017
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