Preparation of flexible phase change material with high thermal conductivity and its application for thermal management.

Flexible phase change materials (FPCM) with PA/SEBS/POE were prepared by melt blending method. The microstructure, thermal properties and cycle stability were characterized. The results show that a suitable SEBS and POE ratio can not only provide flexibility, prevent the leakage of paraffin, but also enhance the thermal conductivity. Then expanded graphite (EG) was added to prepare FPCM-EG and to further improve the performance. The experimental results show that the thermal conductivity and cycle stability increase with EG content increasing. When EG content is 15 %, the thermal conductivity is 3.572 W·m−1·K−1, which is 15.5 times of paraffin. And the leakage rate is less than 0.03 % after 20 cycles. After that, the FPCM-EG is used for thermal management of photovoltaic cell-thermoelectric (PV-TE) coupling system under simulated electric heating. The effects of EG content, heating flux and heat dissipation condition on temperature control and thermoelectric conversion performance were explored. The experimental results show that the FPCM-EG can significantly reduce heating surface temperature, improve power output and relieve the impact of heating flux variation. When EG content increases from 10 % to 15 %, the maximum heating surface temperature is reduced from 40.1 °C to 37.8 °C, and the power output is improved by 33.3 %. • Flexible PCMs with high thermal conductivity and latent heat were prepared. • The thermal conductivity is 3.572 W m−1·K−1, latent heat is 134.84 kJ/kg. • After 20 cycles, the leakage rate is less than 0.03 %. • The prepared FPCMs was used for thermal management of PV-TE system. • The surface temperature is reduced and power output is improved significantly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]