Faculty Publications

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    A Computer Aided Cooling Curve Analysis method to study phase change materials for thermal energy storage applications
    (Elsevier Ltd, 2016) Sudheer, R.; Prabhu, K.N.
    The suitability of a simple Computer Aided Cooling Curve Analysis (CACCA) technique for characterizing thermal energy storage phase change materials (PCM) was proposed in the present work. Two modes of CACCA, namely, Newtonian and Fourier techniques were used to predict the phase transition temperatures, the latent heat of fusion and thermal diffusivities of PCMs. Solidification of potassium nitrate and zinc-8% aluminium alloy (ZA8) was studied using CACCA method. These PCMs were chosen to demonstrate the ability of the proposed technique to characterize PCMs freezing at a single temperature as well as over a range of temperatures. CACCA method showed that potassium nitrate and ZA8 are suitable candidate materials for TES applications operating at 300-350 °C and 350-450 °C respectively. © 2015 Elsevier Ltd.
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    Cooling Curve Analysis of Micro- and Nanographite Particle-Embedded Salt-PCMs for Thermal Energy Storage Applications
    (Springer New York LLC barbara.b.bertram@gsk.com, 2017) Sudheer, R.; Prabhu, K.N.
    In recent years, the focus of phase change materials (PCM) research was on the development of salt mixtures with particle additives to improve their thermal energy storage (TES) functionalities. The effect of addition of microsized (50 ?m) and nanosized (400 nm) graphite particles on TES parameters of potassium nitrate was analyzed in this work. A novel technique of computer-aided cooling curve analysis was employed here to study the suitability of large inhomogeneous PCM samples. The addition of graphite micro- and nanoparticles reduced the solidification time of the PCM significantly enhancing the heat removal rates, in the first thermal cycle. The benefits of dispersing nanoparticles diminished in successive 10 thermal cycles, and its performance was comparable to the microparticle-embedded PCM thereafter. The decay of TES functionalities on thermal cycling is attributed to the agglomeration of nanoparticles which was observed in SEM images. The thermal diffusivity property of the PCM decreased with addition of graphite particles. With no considerable change in the cooling rates and a simultaneous decrease in thermal diffusivity, it is concluded that the addition of graphite particles increased the specific heat capacity of the PCM. It is also suggested that the additive concentration should not be greater than 0.1% by weight of the PCM sample. © 2017, ASM International.
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    Assessment of PCM-container interfacial heat transfer using a hot/cold probe technique
    (John Wiley and Sons Inc. P.O.Box 18667 Newark NJ 07191-8667, 2019) Sudheer, R.; Prabhu, K.N.
    A novel technique for assessing heat transfer characteristics of salt-based phase change materials (PCM) was proposed here. The method is based on solution to inverse heat conduction problem. Nanoparticles (Graphite, Graphene, and multi wall carbon nanotube [MWCNT]) were dispersed in the PCM (KNO3) to assess their respective influence on heat transfer in the PCM. Graphite added PCM offered highest heat flow values and heating rates, while the pure salt-PCM offered the least. The probe material had a significant influence on the heat transfer rates at the PCM-probe interface. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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    Characterization of linear low-density polyethylene with graphene as thermal energy storage material
    (Institute of Physics Publishing helen.craven@iop.org, 2019) Chavan, S.; Gumtapure, V.; Arumuga Perumal, D.A.
    In this work authors reported the preparation and characterization of composite phase change material (CPCM) using the direct-synthesis method by blending the Linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) with Carboxyl Functionalized Graphene (f-Gr). LLDPE is selected as base material and f-Gr is dispersed into three different concentrations 1.0, 3.0, and 5.0 wt% and referred as CPCM-1, CPCM-2 and CPCM-3 respectively. Experimental analysis is carried out through Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Differential scanning calorimeter (DSC). The preset study assesses the influences of nanoparticle concentration on thermophysical properties, thermal performance and thermal storage characteristics of CPCMs. Results show that addition of f-Gr improves the thermal conductivity and latent heat of fusion of LLDPE. However, f-Gr slightly reduces the melting temperature and decreased the crystallization temperature. Therefore, this study reveals that f-Gr, addition to LLDPE has substantial potential for improving the thermal energy storage performance. © 2019 IOP Publishing Ltd.
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    Characterization of metals and salts-based thermal energy storage materials using energy balance method
    (John Wiley and Sons Inc. P.O.Box 18667 Newark NJ 07191-8667, 2019) Agarwala, S.; Prabhu, N.K.
    Thermal energy storage technologies minimize the imbalance between energy production and demand. In this context, latent heat storage materials are of great importance as they have a higher density of energy storage as compared with the sensible heat storage materials. The present study involves the characterization of energy storage materials using an energy balance cooling curve analysis method. The method estimates the convective heat transfer coefficient in the solidification range to characterize the phase change materials for applications in energy storage. The method is more beneficial than the Computer Aided Cooling Curve analysis methods as it eliminates baseline calculations and the associated fitting errors. Metals (Sn) and salts (KNO3 and NaNO 3) were used in the present work. Phase change characteristics like the rate of cooling, liquidus and solidus temperatures, time for solidification, and enthalpy of phase change were estimated for both metals and salts. It was observed that the energy balance cooling curve analysis method worked very well for metals but not well suited for low conductivity salts. Salts could not be characterized since the thermal gradient existing within the salt sample was not considered in this method. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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    Thermal property study of fatty acid mixture as bio-phase change material for solar thermal energy storage usage in domestic hot water application
    (Elsevier Ltd, 2019) B.V., R.M.; Gumtapure, V.
    For the correct design, simulation and specific application of the latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES) system, detailed evaluation of phase change material (PCM) properties are essential. Present study aims to analyze the thermal and volume dependent behavior of available organic Bio-PCM OM55, using conventional thermal gravimetric analyzer (TGA), thermal constant analyzer (TCA), differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) and in-house T-history method (THM). Execution of the mentioned thermal analysis outcome with significant information of OM55. TGA shows that OM55 is thermally stable within the operating temperature 45–60 °C, because the maximum permissible degradation temperature 154.6 °C is much higher than operating temperature range. The OM55 has considerable thermal conductivity compared to the existing PCM, which is already used in domestic solar water heating (DSWH) applications. The evaluation of transition temperature, isothermal enthalpy, and specific heat by THM are well compared with the DSC analysis. Comparison of DSC and THM analysis showed that the behavior of OM55 is volume independent. The overall study concluded that OM55 is a potential Bio-PCM. However, for the optimum amount of energy storage and discharge in OM55, it is recommended to operate the LHTES unit over a temperature range between 46–59 °C for domestic hot water application. © 2019 Elsevier Ltd
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    Numerical and experimental analysis on thermal energy storage of polyethylene/functionalized graphene composite phase change materials
    (Elsevier Ltd, 2020) Chavan, S.; Gumtapure, V.; Arumuga Perumal, A.P.
    The main driving force behind the present work is environmental issues caused due to the usage of plastics, and energy issues. Current work attempts to address these problems by converting recycled plastics into thermal storage materials (TSM). Unfavorable thermophysical properties of plastic make it impractical but these inadequacies can be amended by blending with additives of superior thermophysical properties like, functionalized graphene. Numerical and experimental analysis are carried out to assess the thermal performance of TSMs (LLDPE, CPCM-1, CPCM-2 and CPCM-3) and check the compatibility of the materials. The phase change temperature of TSM is 123 to 125 °C and heat of fusion is 71.95 to 97 kJ/kg. Several thermal characteristics are analyzed to assess thermal performance and the amount of heat energy supplied, rate of heat transfer, and heat storage efficiency are deliberated. Results shown energy level enhancement of 43.17, 50.42, 54 and 50.61% for LLDPE, CPCM-1, CPCM-2 and CPCM-3 respectively. Among the TSM CPCM-2 shows relatively better storage capability (54% enhancement) due to incorporation of optimum concentration of enhancing material. The solidification process takes place through convection and radiation mode of heat transfer, at the completion of solidification process the TSM energy content reduces to 97.5, 96, 96 and 96% for LLDPE, CPCM-1,CPCM-2 and CPCM-3 respectively. This work concludes that, recycled plastics can be blended and it can be converted into efficient thermal storage material. © 2019 Elsevier Ltd
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    An experimental approach based on inverse heat conduction analysis for thermal characterization of phase change materials
    (Elsevier B.V., 2020) Agarwala, S.; Prabhu, K.N.
    A new method based on solution to inverse heat conduction problem for the assessment of solidification parameters of PCM salts has been proposed. The method estimates the mold -salt interfacial heat flux and it is used to calculate the latent heat of salt PCMs using calorimetry based energy balance equations. This method is more accurate compared to Computer Aided Cooling Curve Analysis (CACCA) techniques as it eliminates the drawbacks involved with base line fitting calculations and errors introduced due to the improper selection of solidification points. Pure salt PCMs such as KNO3 and solar salt were used for the validation of this technique. Both air and furnace cooling were adopted to demonstrate the effect of cooling rate on solidification characteristics. The wettability of salt samples on mild steel surface was analyzed to account for the difference in the thermal behavior of salts. © 2020 Elsevier B.V.
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    Thermo-physical analysis of natural shellac wax as novel bio-phase change material for thermal energy storage applications
    (Elsevier Ltd, 2020) B.V., B.V.; Gumtapure, V.
    The high energy density of latent heat storage makes it more competent than other types of thermal energy storage (TES) systems. Studying thermophysical and rheological properties of phase change material (PCM) is required for effective storage design, simulation, and applications. Bio-based PCM (BPCM) is a renewable and eco-friendly option for commercial paraffin-based PCMs. This study intends to characterize the shellac wax using the conventional and non-conventional approach as novel BPCM. Analysis of Fourier transforms infrared spectrophotometer (FTIR) indicates that shellac wax has aliphatic hydrocarbons, carboxylic acid, alcohol, and esters functional group. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) shows shellac wax has no mass change for operating temperature range (50–85 °C). Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis reported enthalpy of melting and crystallization as 148 kJ/kg and 161 kJ/kg, respectively. The crystallization enthalpy measured in the T-history method (THM) is 210.5 kJ/kg. However, DSC analysis of sample undergone 0,100,200 and 300 thermal cycle shows no significant change in thermal properties. Other properties like thermal conductivity, density, specific heat and viscosity are comparable to the present PCM used in storage applications. The overall study outcome that shellac wax is thermally stable and is potential BPCM for the TES application like solar desalination, district heating, waste heat recovery and solar cooking. © 2020 Elsevier Ltd
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    Computational investigation on the effect of geometrical parameters on thermal energy storage systems
    (Begell House Inc., 2021) Chavan, S.; Gumtapure, V.; Arumuga Perumal, D.
    The present work is an attempt to understand the effect of geometry on the heating and cooling characteristics of thermal energy storage systems. Three different geometrical models (square, pentagon, and hexagon) were considered and the thermal storage material used was a composite of paraffin wax (98%) and Al2O3 nanoparticles (2%). The heating and cooling processes were analyzed by applying a constant heat flux. Among the three models, the square model showed a faster melting rate but the cooling rate was too steep. The hexagonal model showed optimum results in both the heating and cooling processes with uniform and smooth variations in the liquid fraction and temperature. Hence, for optimal thermal storage applications the hexagonal model (or its geometries), which is close to the circular model, can be considered. © 2021 by Begell House, Inc.