Characterization and thermal performance of nitrate mixture/SiC ceramic honeycomb composite phase change materials for thermal energy storage

• Nitrate mixture/SCH composite PCM was prepared by vacuum infiltration.
• PCM was embedded and dispersed in the porous structure of SiC wall.
• SCH induced slight shift of the melting and freezing temperature of PCM.
• The heat storage and release rates of PCM were improved by SCH.

The composite phase change material (PCM) comprised of the nitrate mixture KNO3/NaNO3 (50:50 mol%) and SiC ceramic honeycomb (SCH) was prepared by vacuum infiltration. The SEM (scanning electron microscope) images indicated that the nitrate mixture was dispersed and embedded in the porous structures of the SiC wall. The DSC (differential scanning calorimeter) results showed that the melting and freezing temperatures of composite PCM shifted slightly compared with those of pure PCM, and the melting and freezing latent heats of composite PCM were 72.8 J/g and 70.3 J/g, respectively. The thermal performances of the pure PCM and the composite PCMs with different mass fractions of SCH were experimentally investigated. The results showed that the heat storage and release rates increased with the increase of the mass fraction of SCH in the composite PCM. In comparison with the pure PCM, the heat storage and release time of the composite PCM with 30 wt% SCH were reduced by 52.8% and 58.3%, respectively.