Abstract:
The compatibility of Ba(OH)
2·8H
2O with aluminum alloy and copper was studied by SEM and X ray energy dispersive spectrometer analysis methods after 50 thermal cycles. Results show that Ba(OH)
2·8H
2O displays a certain amount of corrosion in combination with aluminum alloy. Ba(OH)
2·8H
2O and copper present excellent compatibility. A simple method of successive vacuum absorption and padding was employed to prepare Ba(OH)
2·8H
2O/copper foam phase change composites. An experimental setup was built to study the heat transfer performances of Ba(OH)
2·8H
2O with and without copper foams. The steady state and transient heat transfer performances of Ba(OH)
2·8H
2O/copper foam composites were experimentally measured at room temperature. The results show that Ba(OH)
2·8H
2O/copper foam phase change composites have higher heat transfer rate, better heat transfer performance and lower supercooling degree than the pure Ba(OH)
2·8H
2O. The heat transfer experiments indicate that the thermal storage capacity of the composites decreases with the increase of ambient temperature in the high-temperature thermotank. When the ambient temperature is higher than the phase change temperature, some insulation measures should be considered for the phase change composites.