Solidification behavior of water based nanofluid phase change material with a nucleating agent for cool thermal storage system

This study aimed to investigate the thermal performance of nanofluid phase change material (NFPCM) for cool thermal energy storage (CTES) system. The NFPCM was prepared by suspending 0.1 wt. % multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) in deionized water (DI water) along with pseudomonas as a nucleating agent. The experiments were conducted at various surrounding bath temperatures with the NFPCM. The results evidently showed that the freezing duration was reduced by 25% in the case of NFPCM along with the elimination of subcooling compared to that of DI water. Further, the fraction of mass solidified at various time intervals revealed that 50% of phase change material (PCM) was frozen in 25% of the total freezing time for both the water PCM and NFPCM. The enhanced heat transport properties of the NFPCM along with the elimination of subcooling and accelerating charging will be very useful in designing energy efficient CTES system. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd and IIR. All rights reserved.