Thermal analysis of the mixture of laboratory and commercial grades hexadecane and tetradecane

Abstract Tests were performed to characterize the thermal behavior of hexadecane and tetradecane as a potential phase change material (PCM) to enhance the convective heat transfer performance of district cooling system. Commercial grade as well as laboratory grade of the PCMs were tested to compare their thermal characteristics. In order to vary the melting temperature of the mixture, hexadecane and tetradecane were mixed in different fractions, and their thermal behavior was experimentally evaluated. Test results for melting temperature and fusion energy for laboratory grade substances showed good agreement with data in the literature. However, values for commercial (i.e., technical) grade substances were found to be considerably lower than for laboratory grade materials. In the ranges from 0% to approximately 10% hexadecane in tetradecane (or vice versa), the fusion energy of the mixtures was comparable to that of the pure substances. The melting temperature was found to decrease as the fractions of the two substances became more equal. This could be expressed by a simple equation.