Heat transfer enhancement in water when used as PCM in thermal energy storage

Efficient and reliable storage systems for thermal energy are an important requirement in many applications where heat demand and supply or availability do not coincide. Heat and cold stores can basically be divided in two groups. In sensible heat stores the temperature of the storage material is increased significantly. Latent heat stores, on the contrary, use a storage material that undergoes a phase change (PCM) and a small temperature rise is sufficient to store heat or cold. The major advantages of the phase change stores are their large heat storage capacity and their isothermal behavior during the charging and discharging process. However, while unloading a latent heat storage, the solid–liquid interface moves away from the heat transfer surface and the heat flux decreases due to the increasing thermal resistance of the growing layer of the molten/solidified medium. This effect can be reduced using techniques to increase heat transfer. In this paper, three methods to enhance the heat transfer in a cold storage working with water/ice as PCM are compared: addition of stainless steel pieces, copper pieces (both have been proposed before) and a new PCM-graphite composite material. The PCM-graphite composite material showed an increase in heat flux bigger than with any of the other techniques.     

Preparation, thermal properties and thermal reliability of palmitic acid/expanded graphite composite as form-stable PCM for thermal energy storage

This study is focused on the preparation and characterization of thermal properties and thermal reliability of palmitic acid (PA)/expanded graphite (EG) composite as form-stable phase change material (PCM). The maximum mass fraction of PA retained in EG was found as 80 wt% without the leakage of PA in melted state even when it is heated over the melting point of PA. Therefore, the PA/EG (80/20 w/w%) composite was characterized as form-stable PCM. From differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis, the melting and freezing temperatures and latent heats of the form-stable PCM were measured as 60.88 and 60.81 °C and 148.36 and 149.66 J/g, respectively. Thermal cycling test showed that the composite PCM has good thermal reliability although it was subjected to 3000 melting/freezing cycles. Fourier transformation infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopic investigation indicated that it has good chemical stability after thermal cycling. Thermal conductivities of PA/EG composites including different mass fractions of EG (5%, 10%, 15% and 20%) were also measured. Thermal conductivity of form-stable PA/EG (80/20 w/w%) composite (0.60 W/mK) was found to be 2.5 times higher than that of pure PA (0.17 W/mK). Moreover, the increase in thermal conductivity of PA was confirmed by comparison of the melting and freezing times of pure PA with that of form-stable composite. Based on all results, it was concluded that the form-stable PA/EG (80/20 w/w%) has considerable latent heat energy storage potential because of its good thermal properties, thermal and chemical reliability and thermal conductivity.     

The value of thermal radiation in assessing the charge/discharge rate of high‐grade thermal energy storage using encapsulated phase change materials (PCMs)

The charge/discharge rate of a spherical phase change material (PCM) capsule was assessed in consideration of phase change phenomenon and the combined effect of thermal radiation and heat convection in the charging/discharging processes. The heat transfer model was developed based on a single PCM capsule. The equivalent heat flux was evaluated by using the thermal resistance method. In consideration of the thermal radiation, the equivalent charge/discharge rate was improved, and the temperature rising of the PCM was actually much faster in the charging/discharging processes. It was indicated that the influence of the thermal radiation became more significant for PCM capsules under a small Re number (constant air velocity) and for high‐grade thermal energy storage. The analytical results showed that the highest heat flux contributed by cold thermal radiation occupied 30% and 62% of that by heat convection for PCM capsules with radius of 10 and 40 mm, respectively. This illustrated the crucial value of thermal radiation on the charge/discharge rate of PCM capsules with a large radius. However, for smaller size PCM capsules, the equivalent heat flux was larger under the same fluid flow velocity, and it decreased more promptly with time, because the heat convection that played the dominant role in charge/discharge processes was sensitively affected by the radius of the PCM capsules. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Heat transfer behaviour of thermal energy storage components using composite phase change materials

对基于复合相变材料储热单元的储热性能进行了研究。建立了复合材料和储热单元体内部的二维传热模型,考察了复合材料物性和结构尺寸及传热流体操作条件（流体流速）对单元体储热性能的影响,对比了两种不同结构单元体的储热性能,并搭建实验平台进行了实验对比研究。对比结果表明,模型结果与实验结果趋于一致,验证了模型的准确性。复合材料物性和结构尺寸及传热流体操作条件对单元体储热性能有较大的影响。相比较单管储热单元体,同心管储热单元体有着更优的储热特性,在相同的操作条件下,同心管储热单元体的储热、放热时间较单管储热单元体分别减少10%和15%。     

能量地下蓄存及其传热效能分析

储能技术是实现能源可再生化和高效利用的一种有效途径,提高其综合利用率和实现能源的实时补充。着重论述地下蓄能技术发展状况和面临的研究问题,并通过实验和模拟计算,对蓄能的传热作用进行了分析和探讨,指出蓄能改变地下蓄能体的能位,并表现为蓄能体温度和分布的变化,这种变化随时间而改变。建议进一步开展完善地下蓄能理论研究,推动中国地下蓄能技术的发展。     

Microencapsulation of phase change material with poly(ethylacrylate) shell for thermal energy storage

Microcapsules containing caprylic acid and polyethylacrylate shells were prepared using an emulsion polymerization technique for thermal energy storage applications. Ethylene glycol dimethacrylate was used as a crosslinking agent. The influence of the crosslinking agent concentration on the phase change properties of microcapsules was examined. The caprylic acid microcapsules (MicroPCMs) were analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermal gravimetric analysis, scanning electron microscopy, and differential scanning calorimetry. The results showed that microcapsules were synthesized successfully and that the best shell material:crosslinking agent concentration ratio was 1:0.2. The melting and freezing temperatures were measured through differential scanning calorimetry analysis and found to be 13.3 and 7.1°C, respectively. The melting and crystallization heats were determined to be 77.3 and ?77.0 kJ/kg, and the mean particle diameter was 0.64 μm. The thermal cycling tests of the microcapsules were performed for 400 heating/cooling cycles, and the results indicate that the synthesized microcapsules have good thermal reliabilities. Air stability test proved that the thermal properties and physical form of microcapsules were not affected by air. We recommend the prepared thermal, air, and chemically stable caprylic acid microcapsules for thermal energy storage applications as novel microPCM with latent heat storage capacities and properties. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Heat transfer of phase change materials (PCMs) in porous materials

In this paper, the feasibility of using metal foams to enhance the heat transfer capability of phase change materials (PCMs) in low- and high-temperature thermal energy storage systems was assessed. Heat transfer in solid/liquid phase change of porous materials (metal foams and expanded graphite) at low and high temperatures was investigated. Organic commercial paraffin wax and inorganic calcium chloride hydrate were employed as the low-temperature materials, whereas sodium nitrate was used as the high-temperature material in the experiment. Heat transfer characteristics of these PCMs embedded with open-cell metal foams were studied. Composites of paraffin and expanded graphite with a graphite mass ratio of 3%, 6%, and 9% were developed. The heat transfer performances of these composites were tested and compared with metal foams. The results indicate that metal foams have better heat transfer performance due to their continuous inter-connected structures than expanded graphite. However, porous materials can suppress the effects of natural convection in liquid zone, particularly for PCMs with low viscosities, thereby leading to different heat transfer performances at different regimes (solid, solid/liquid, and liquid regions). This implies that porous materials do not always enhance heat transfer in every regime.     

Microencapsulation of coco fatty acid mixture for thermal energy storage with phase change material

Thermal energy storage systems provide several alternatives for efficient energy use and energy conservation. Microcapsules of natural coco fatty acid mixture were prepared to be used as phase change materials for thermal energy storage. The coacervation technique was used for the microencapsulation process. Several alternatives for the capsule wall material were tried. The microcapsules were characterized according to their geometric profiles, phase transition temperatures, mean particle sizes, chemical stabilities, and their thermal cycling. The diameters of microcapsules prepared in this study were about 1 mm. Coco fatty acid mixtures have kept their geometrical profiles even after 50 thermal cycles for melting and freezing operations in temperature range from 22 to 34°C. It was found that gelatin+gum Arabic mixture was the best wall material for microencapsulating coco fatty acid mixtures. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

HVAC领域相变贮能研究的现状与进展

总结了相变传热的特点及求解方法 ;相变墙板的研制以及使用效果方面的研究现状 ;相变在供暖、空调系统中的应用 ;相变贮能技术在HVAC中应用的诸多优势。提出了HVAC领域相变贮能技术今后的研究方向。     

Review on solar thermal energy storage technologies and their geometrical configurations

Because of the unstable and intermittent nature of solar energy availability, a thermal energy storage system is required to integrate with the collectors to store thermal energy and retrieve it whenever it is required. Thermal energy storage not only eliminates the discrepancy between energy supply and demand but also increases the performance and reliability of energy systems and plays a crucial role in energy conservation. Under this paper, different thermal energy storage methods, heat transfer enhancement techniques, storage materials, heat transfer fluids, and geometrical configurations are discussed. A comparative assessment of various thermal energy storage methods is also presented. Sensible heat storage involves storing thermal energy within the storage medium by increasing temperature without undergoing any phase transformation, whereas latent heat storage involves storing thermal energy within the material during the transition phase. Combined thermal energy storage is the novel approach to store thermal energy by combining both sensible and latent storage. Based on the literature review, it was found that most of the researchers carried out their work on sensible and latent storage systems with the different storage media and heat transfer fluids. Limited work on a combined sensible-latent heat thermal energy storage system with different storage materials and heat transfer fluids was carried out so far. Further, combined sensible and latent heat storage systems are reported to have a promising approach, as it reduces the cost and increases the energy storage with a stabilized outflow of temperature from the system. The studies discussed and presented in this paper may be helpful to carry out further research in this area.     

Heat transfer enhancement of high temperature thermal energy storage using metal foams and expanded graphite

Latent heat storage (LHS) can theoretically provide large heat storage density and significantly reduce the storage material volume by using the material’s fusion heat, Δh_m. Phase change materials (PCMs) commonly suffer from low thermal conductivities, being around 0.4 W m⁻¹ K⁻¹ for inorganic salts, which prolong the charging and discharging period. The problem of low thermal conductivity is a major issue that needs to be addressed for high temperature thermal energy storage systems. Since porous materials have high thermal conductivities and high surface areas, they can be used to form composites with PCMs to significantly enhance heat transfer. In this paper, the feasibility of using metal foams and expanded graphite to enhance the heat transfer capability of PCMs in high temperature thermal energy storage systems is investigated. The results show that heat transfer can be significantly enhanced by both metal foams and expanded graphite, thereby reducing the charging and discharging period. Furthermore, the overall performance of metal foams is superior to that of expanded graphite.     

Review on storage materials and thermal performance enhancement techniques for high temperature phase change thermal storage systems

Designing a cost-effective phase change thermal storage system involves two challenging aspects: one is to select a suitable storage material and the other is to increase the heat transfer between the storage material and the heat transfer fluid as the performance of the system is limited by the poor thermal conductivity of the latent heat storage material. When used for storing energy in concentrated solar thermal power plants, the solar field operation temperature will determine the PCM melting temperature selection. This paper reviews concentrated solar thermal power plants that are currently operating and under construction. It also reviews phase change materials with melting temperatures above 300 °C, which potentially can be used as energy storage media in these plants. In addition, various techniques employed to enhance the thermal performance of high temperature phase change thermal storage systems have been reviewed and discussed. This review aims to provide the necessary information for further research in the development of cost-effective high temperature phase change thermal storage systems.     

固液相变蓄热技术的研究进展

综述了相变蓄热材料、相变传热问题求解方法、典型相变传热过程以及相变潜热蓄热系统(LHTES)优化设计及强化传热等诸多固液相变蓄热技术相关问题的研究进展情况     

Melting of PCM in a thermal energy storage unit: Numerical investigation and effect of nanoparticle enhancement

The present paper describes the analysis of the melting process in a single vertical shell‐and‐tube latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES), unit and it is directed at understanding the thermal performance of the system. The study is realized using a computational fluid‐dynamic (CFD) model that takes into account of the phase‐change phenomenon by means of the enthalpy method. Fluid flow is fully resolved in the liquid phase‐change material (PCM) in order to elucidate the role of natural convection. The unsteady evolution of the melting front and the velocity and temperature fields is detailed. Temperature profiles are analyzed and compared with experimental data available in the literature. Other relevant quantities are also monitored, including energy stored and heat flux exchanged between PCM and HTF. The results demonstrate that natural convection within PCM and inlet HTF temperature significantly affects the phase‐change process. Thermal enhancement through the dispersion of highly conductive nanoparticles in the base PCM is considered in the second part of the paper. Thermal behavior of the LHTES unit charged with nano‐enhanced PCM is numerically analyzed and compared with the original system configuration. Due to increase of thermal conductivity, augmented thermal performance is observed: melting time is reduced of 15% when nano‐enhanced PCM with particle volume fraction of 4% is adopted. Similar improvements of the heat transfer rate are also detected. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Preparation and properties of caprylic‐nonanoic acid mixture/expanded graphite composite as phase change material for thermal energy storage

To satisfy the application demands for latent heat storage in the temperature range from 5°C to 15°C, an original composite phase change material (PCM), CA‐NA/EG (caprylic‐nonanoic acid/expanded graphite), was prepared and characterized. For CA‐NA/EG, the mass ratio of CA and NA was 8:2, and the mass percentage of the CA‐NA in CA‐NA/EG composite PCM was determined as 90% by leakage test. The melting and freezing points of the CA‐NA/EG were 6.84°C and 9.34°C, and corresponding latent heats were 108.75 kJ/kg and 107.67 kJ/kg. In addition, its thermal conductivity, thermal stability and reliability were investigated by thermal conductivity apparatus (TCA), thermal gravimetric analyzer (TGA), and accelerated thermal cycle test for 100 melt/freeze cycles, respectively. The results showed that the CA‐NA/EG had a good thermal stability and an excellent thermal reliability. Moreover, the thermal conductivity of CA‐NA/EG had an improvement of 25% than that of the CA‐NA. On the other hand, the accelerated thermal cycle test also indicated that the CA‐NA/EG had no supercooling during all melt/freeze cycles. Therefore, the prepared composite PCM, CA‐NA/EG, can be applied for low‐temperature thermal energy storage owing to its proper melting temperature, acceptable latent heat and thermal conductivity, excellent thermal stability and reliability.     

A review on theory and application of chemical heat pump in thermal energy storage

化学热泵是高效,环保的新型能源技术,在余热回收,储热,可再生能源等领域具有广泛的应用前景.本文综述了化学热泵系统的一般理论和在储热技术中的应用,介绍了化学热泵系统技术在反应与工质对选择,传热强化以及工业研究与应用等方面的发展.     

Recent progress in thermal energy storage materials

本文结合储热材料的分类、特点、应用及存在的问题对储热材料的最新研究进展进行了综述,主要包括有机相变储热材料、熔融盐类相变储热材料、合金相变储热材料及复合类储热材料。探讨了储热材料成分组成、制备工艺及性能特点,进一步介绍了其最新研究进展,并对储热材料的下一步研究进行了展望,提出开发高性能纳微复合结构储热材料是未来研究的重点。     

The micro‐/nano‐PCMs for thermal energy storage systems: A state of art review

With advancement in technology—nanotechnology, various thermal energy storage (TES) materials have been invented and modified with promising thermal transport properties. Solid‐liquid phase change materials (PCMs) have been extensively used as TES materials for various energy applications due to their highly favourable thermal properties. The class of PCMs, organic phase change materials (OPCMs), has more potential and advantages over inorganic phase change materials (IPCMs), having high phase change enthalpy. However, OPCMs possess low thermal conductivity as well as density and suffer leakage during the melting phase. The encapsulation technologies (ie, micro and nano) of PCMs, with organic and inorganic materials, have a tendency to enhance the thermal conductivity, effective heat transfer, and leakage issues as TES materials. The encapsulation of PCMs involves several technologies to develop at both micro and nano levels, called micro‐encapsulated PCMs (micro‐PCM) and nano‐encapsulated PCMs (nano‐PCM), respectively. This study covers a wide range of preparation methods, thermal and morphological characteristics, stability, applications, and future perspective of micro‐/nano‐PCMs as TES materials. The potential applications, such as solar‐to‐thermal and electrical‐to‐thermal conversions, thermal management, building, textile, foam, medical industry of micro‐ and nano‐PCMs, are reviewed critically. Finally, this review paper highlights the emerging future research paths of micro‐/nano‐PCMs for thermal energy storage.     

Nanofluids with encapsulated tin nanoparticles for advanced heat transfer and thermal energy storage

Novel high‐temperature heat transfer fluids (HTFs) with incorporated phase change nanomaterials were synthesized and tested for heat transfer and thermal energy storage. The advanced thermal properties were achieved by preparing a nanofluid consisting of core/shell silica encapsulated tin (Sn/SiO₂) nanoparticles dispersed in a synthetic HTF Therminol 66 (TH66) at loadings up to 5 vol%. Tin nanoparticles were synthesized by modified polyole reduction method followed by sol–gel silica encapsulation process. The measured increase in thermal conductivity of the nanofluid (~13% at 5 vol%) was in agreement with Maxwell's effective medium theory. Latent heat of phase change during melting of Sn core added ~11% increase to the volumetric thermal energy storage of the nanofluid when cycled in between 100°C and 270°C. The value could be further improved if thermal cycling is conducted in a narrower temperature range. The experimental results demonstrated dual functionality of the engineered nanofluids as desired for Concentrated Solar Power systems. Viscosity and stability of the nanofluids as well as thermal stability of core/shell nanomaterials) were investigated in a wide temperature range to obtain a perspective on any additional pumping power requirements for the nanofluid over the base fluid. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Preparation and characterization of nano‐enhanced myristic acid using metal oxide nanoparticles for thermal energy storage

Fatty acids have been broadly used as phase change materials (PCMs) for thermal energy storage. However, low thermal conductivity limits their performances. This paper investigates the influence of metal oxide nanoparticle addition on myristic acid (MA) as nano‐enhanced PCM (NEPCM). Stability, chemical, and thermal properties were considered. Four types of nanoaprticles, TiO₂, CuO, Al₂O₃, and ZnO, were dispersed in MA at 0.1, 0.5, 1, and 2 wt%. Stability and dispersion were checked by sediment photograph capturing and scanning electron microscopy/energy‐dispersive spectroscopy. The Fourier‐transformed infrared (FTIR) and X‐ray diffraction analysis confirmed no chemical interaction between the nanoparticles and MA. The results revealed a ratio of thermal conductivity of 1.50, 1.49, 1.45, and 1.37, respectively, for 2 wt% of ZnO, Al₂O₃, CuO, and TiO₂. The T‐history method confirmed this enhancement. The latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES) properties of the nano‐enhanced MA were evaluated using differential scanning calorimetry. The latent heat capacities of nano‐enhanced MA samples have dropped between 9.64 and 5.01 % compared with pure MA, and phase change temperature range was not affected significantly. The NEPCM was subjected to 500 thermal cycling, it showed a good thermal reliability as LHTES properties remained unchanged, while FTIR analysis showed similar characteristics compared with uncycled samples, indicating a good chemical stability. Based on the results regarding with the LHTES properties, cycling thermal reliability, and higher thermal conductivity improvement, it can be achieved that the MA/Al₂O₃ (2.0 wt%) and MA/ZnO (2.0 wt%) composites could be better PCMs for solar TES applications.