A numerical investigation of heat transfer process in paraffin/ethylene-vinyl acetate/graphene aerogel ternary composite

Melting and solidification heat transfer characteristics of different paraffin/ethylene-vinyl acetate/graphene aemgel (Pa/EVA/GA) composites were predicted by the volume-averaged method (VAM). In parameter settings, Pa/EVA was treated as fluid, and GA was set to solid. The two-temperature model based on the assumption of local thermal nonequilibrium was adopted to solve the large difference in thermal conductivity between GA and Pa/EVA. The simulation results were validated by experimental data. The numerical results denoted that GA and EVA significantly improved heat transfer performance of Pa and reduced the melting/solidification time. The heat transfer of the composites was dominated by heat conduction, as the three-dimensional skeleton of GA and the high viscosity of EVA inhibited the natural convection of paraffin. Compared with Pa/EVA(0)/GA, Pa/EVA(5)/GA and Pa/EVA(10)/GA had a higher surface heat flux, decreased the velocity of paraffin, and had a more even temperature distribution.

Automated summary

The heat transfer characteristics of paraffin/ethylene-vinyl acetate/graphene aerogel composites were studied, showing that the addition of graphene aerogel and ethylene-vinyl acetate significantly improved the heat transfer performance of paraffin.