Influence of surfactants on the performance enhancement of water-based gamma Al2O3 phase change material for cool thermal energy storage system

The current work investigates the effect of various surfactants on the performance enhancement of water-based gamma Al2O3 PCM (Phase change material) during the solidification process suitable CTES (cool thermal energy storage) system. Two surfactants, one from cationic group (CTAB – cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide) and other from anionic group (SDBS – sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate) are selected for this study. Both the nanoparticles and surfactants with 0.1 wt% are dispersed in the base fluid. The freezing experiments were conducted at various surrounding bath temperatures of −6 ℃, −9 ℃ and −12 ℃. The outcomes reveal a reduction in subcooling, advanced onset of solidification and increased heat transfer performance by use of nanofluids. Further it is noted that the performance is also influenced due to the surfactant. The anionic surfactant NFPCM (nanofluid phase change material) displace better performance than cationic surfactant NFPCM during the solidification process. The enhanced performance of NFPCM will pave the way to design an energy efficient CTES system.