Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 17, 2026

Experimental Methods for Investigation of Shape Memory Based Elastocaloric Cooling Processes and Model Validation
Published on: May 2, 2016
A Low-Thermal-Resistance and Oriented Assembly Strategy Enabling Ultrahigh Thermal Conductivity Phase Change
Si Wu1, Xiao Zhang1, Haoyuan Sang1
1Research Center of Solar Power & Refrigeration, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China.
Abstract:
Phase change materials (PCMs) with high thermal conductivity are highly desired for fast-response thermal management and high-power-density thermal storage. Although graphite/PCM composites have been intensively studied for decades, achieving a high-performance yet low-cost graphite-based phase-change composites (PCCs) remains challenging. In this work, a novel strategy for synthesizing ultrahigh thermal conductivity PCCs is proposed by the low-thermal-resistance and oriented assembly of PCM-filled expanded graphite particles. The alignment of large-size graphite sheets and suppression of the thermal resistance between them are realized inside the PCC blocks by a facile compression-induced assembly and local heating treatment. The resultant PCCs present remarkable thermal conductivity of 8.7-44.7 W m-1 K-1 at graphite contents of 5-17 vol.%, two orders of magnitude higher than that of pure PCM. Besides, the PCC blocks also demonstrate superior overall thermal effusivity and excellent mechanical stability, enabling them to be easily engineered into efficient thermal management devices by coordinating the graphite sheet orientation with the overall thermal transfer direction. Experimental results show an optimized PCC device can lower the peak cooling power by ≈35% through the peak load shifting. The methods presented offers a promising route to preparing high-performance yet cost-effective thermal storage materials for various heat-related applications.
Related Concept Videos
Mechanism of heat transfer
Mechanisms of Heat Transfer II
Thermal Sigmatropic Reactions: Overview
Sigmatropic shifts are classified based on an order term [i, j ], where i and j indicate the number of atoms across which each end of the σ bond migrates. Below are examples of a [3,3] sigmatropic shift in 1,5-hexadiene, referred...
Mechanisms of Heat Transfer
Conduction, accounting for approximately 3% of body heat loss at rest, is the process of exchanging heat between molecules of two materials in direct contact. This can result in both heat loss and gain. For instance, when the body is submerged in water, which conducts heat 20 times more effectively than air, it can either lose or gain significant...
Mechanisms of Heat Transfer I
Mass Concreting
To reduce the risk of such cracking, the concrete mix may incorporate low-heat cement and pozzolans to reduce the temperature rise. Pre-cooled angular aggregates and water-reducing admixtures...

