Heat transfer improvement of Wood's alloy using compressed expanded natural graphite for thermal energy storage

As a phase change material, Wood's alloy is infiltrated into the compressed expanded natural graphite (CENG) in an attempt to improve the thermal conductivity of the alloy. The thermal conductivity of the CENG/Wood's alloy composite depends on the bulk density of the CENG. Thermal conductivity of the composites can be 2.8–5.8 times than that of the Wood's alloy. On the other hand, the latent heat of the composites ranges from 29.27 to 34.20 J/g. The graphite does not undergo a phase change, so the latent heat would be expected to be linear with the amount of Wood's alloy. The composites have a potential use in the heat sink of the electronic device.

► Compressed expanded natural graphite (CENG) improved the thermal performance of Wood's alloy.
► Thermal conductivity of the CENG/Wood's alloy composites is ∼5 times than that of the Wood's alloy.
► The latent heat would be expected to be linear with the amount of Wood's alloy.
► The composites have a potential use in the heat sink of the electronic device.