Performance of a Phase Change Material Battery in a Transparent Building

This research evaluates the performance of a Phase Change Material(PCM)battery integrated into the climate system of a new transparent meeting center.The main research questions are:a.“Can the performance of the battery be calculated?”and b.“Can the battery reduce the heating and cooling energy demand in a significant way?”The first question is answered in this document.In order to be able to answer the second question,especially the way the heat loading in winter should be improved,then more research is necessary.In addition to the thermal battery,which consists of Phase Change Material plates,the climate system has a cross-flow heat exchanger and a heat pump.The battery should play a central role in closing the thermal balance of the lightweight building,which can be loaded with hot return or cold outdoor air.The temperature of the battery plates is monitored by multi-sensors and simulated by the use of PHOENICS(Computational Fluid Dynamics)and MATLAB.This paper reports reasonable agreement between the numerical predictions and the measurements,with a maximum variance of 10%.The current coefficient of performance for heating and cooling is already high,more than 27.There is scope for increasing this much further by making use of the very low-pressure difference of the battery(below 25 Pascal),low pressure fans and the ventilation system as a whole.

Fatty Acid/Expanded Graphite Encapsulating Form-Stable Phase Change Materials for Energy Storage

The lauric-myristic-palmitic acid( LA-MA-PA) ternary eutectic mixtures/expanded graphite( EG) composite phase change materials( PCMs) were prepared by absorbing LA-MA-PA into the porous network of EG. The optimum ratio of ternary eutectic mixtures to EG was determined to be 93∶7 without liquid LA-MA-PA leakage from the composite PCMs. In order to make the structure more stable, the composite PCMs were encapsulated by surface treatment agent to prepare LA-MA-PA/EG encapsulating form-stable PCMs which were characterized by scanning electron microscope( SEM),Fourier transformation infrared spectroscope( FT-IR),differential scanning calorimetry( DSC) and thermal treatment. The results showed there was no chemical reaction between surface treatment agent and LA-MA-PA,and the samples were compactly encapsulated which left almost no imprint on the filter paper after thermal treatment. The phase change temperature and latent heat of LA-MA-PA/EG encapsulating form-stable PCMs were tested to be29. 32 ℃ and 96. 20 J/g,respectively. Additionally,the heat transfer efficiency of heat storage was improved by the addition of EG.

Heat transfer and parametric studies of an encapsulated phase change material based cool thermal energy storage system

This work investigates the transient behaviour of a phase change material based cool thermal energy storage (CTES) system comprised of a cylindrical storage tank filled with encapsulated phase change materials (PCMs) in spherical container integrated with an ethylene glycol chiller plant. A simulation program was developed to evaluate the temperature histories of the heat transfer fluid (HTF) and the phase change material at any axial location during the charging period. The results of the model were validated by comparison with experimental results of temperature profiles of HTF and PCM. The model was also used to investigate the effect of porosity, Stanton number, Stefan number and Peclet number on CTES system performance. The results showed that increase in porosity contributes to a higher rate of energy storage. However, for a given geometry and heat transfer coefficient, the mass of PCM charged in the unit decreases as the increase in porosity. The St number as well as the Ste number is also influential in the performance of the unit. The model is a convenient and more suitable method to determine the heat transfer characteristics of CTES system. The results reported are much useful for designing CTES system.

Role of Composite Phase Change Material on the Thermal Performance of a Latent Heat Storage System: Experimental Investigation

Paraffin wax is a perfect phase change material(PCM)that can be used in latent heat storage units(LHSUs).The utilization of such LHSU is restricted by the poor conductivity of PCM.In the present work,a metal foam made of aluminium with PCM was used to produce a composite PCM as a thermal conductivity technique in PCM⁃LHSU and water was used as heat transfer fluid(HTF).An experimental investigation was carried out to evaluate the heat transfer characteristics of LHSU using pure PCM and composite PCM.The study included time⁃dependent visualization of the PCM during the melting and solidification processes.Besides,a thermocouple network was placed inside the heat storage to record the temperature profile during each process.Results showed that better performance could be obtained using composite PCM⁃LHSU for both melting and solidification processes.The melting time of composite PCM⁃LHSU was about 83%faster than that of a simple PCM⁃LHSU,and the percentage decreasing in the solidification time was about 85%due to the provision of metal foam.

Parametric Study on Phase Change Material Based Thermal Energy Storage System

The usage of phase change materials (PCM) to store the heat in the form of latent heat is increased, because large quantity of thermal energy is stored in smaller volumes. In the present experimental investigation, sodium thiosulphate pentahydrate is employed as phase change material and it is stored in stainless steel capsules. These capsules are kept in fabricated tank and hot water is supplied into it. The experimental design is prepared by considering the parameters: flow rate, heat transfer fluid inlet temperature and PCM capsule shape. Experiments are conducted according to the experimental design and responses are recorded. The effect of selected parameters on TES using PCM is studied by analyzing experimental data. The experimental data are also analyzed using Fuzzy Logic to find the optimal values of flow rate, heat transfer fluid inlet temperature and PCM capsule shapes. The present work utilizes Fuzzy Logic to find the optimal parameters for designing the effective Thermal Energy Storage System (TES).

Green's function solution for transient heat conduction in annular fin during solidification of phase change material

The Green＇s function method is applied for the transient temperature of an annular fin when a phase change material （PCM） solidifies on it. The solidification of the PCMs takes place in a cylindrical shell storage. The thickness of the solid PCM on the fin varies with time and is obtained by the Megerlin method. The models are found with the Bessel equation to form an analytical solution. Three different kinds of boundary conditions are investigated. The comparison between analytical and numerical solutions is given. The results demonstrate that the significant accuracy is obtained for the temperature distribution for the fin in all cases.

Optimum Distribution of Two Different Phase Change Materials between Various Components of Roof Air-Conditioned Room, Suitable to Reduce Annual Energy Consumption

Obviously, the outside annual climate change caused either by a major solar input during the hottest period or by a temperature drop during the coldest period leads to discomfort in inside buildings. This effect can be reduced by storing heat transmitted in phase change materials (PCM) as latent heat, in order to ensure a good situation of thermal comfort during all months of the year. In this work, thermal behavior of two roofing systems is studied. One roof is constituted only by usual materials in building. In the other, two phase change materials (PCM) are introduced according to three configurations. Study is interested to assess incorporation effect of two PCMs within the roof and to evaluate the optimum locations to reduce the energy consumption of air-conditioned room. Mono-dimensional numerical model validated analytically and experimentally, is used to carry out a parametric analyzes to determine characteristics of the layers in which the roofs are formed regardless of external climate effect. Numerical calculations are performed for three configurations of roof. Results show that insertion of phase change materials in roof provides best energy consumption saving regardless annual climate change. Generally, the three configurations lead to different results, depending on the combination of PCMs. This difference becomes less important when selection of PCMs take account the thermal comfort level and temperatures of hottest and coldest periods.

Time-Temperature Charge Function of a High Dynamic Thermal Heat Storage with Phase Change Material

A thermal heat storage system with an energy content of 40 kWh and a temperature of 58°C will be presented. This storage system is suitable for supporting the use of renewable energies in buildings and for absorbing solar heat, heat from co-generation and heat pumps or electric heat from excess wind and solar power. The storage system is equipped with a plate heat exchanger that is so powerful that even with small temperature differences between the flow temperature and the storage temperature a high load dynamic is achieved. The storage system has a performance of 2.8 kW at 4 K and 10.6 kW at a temperature difference of 10 K. Thus, large performance variations in solar thermal systems or CHP plants can be buffered very well. Further a storage charge function Q(T, t) will be presented to characterize the performance of the storage.

Effect of Phase Change Materials on the Thermal Protective Performance of the Multi-layered Fabrics Examined by TPP Tester under Flash Fire

Cotton fabrics treated with phase change materials( PCMs)were used in multi-layered fabrics of the fire fighter protective clothing to study its effect on thermal protection. The thermal protective performance( TPP) of the multi-layered fabrics was measured by a TPP tester under flash fire. Results showed that the utilization of the PCM fabrics improved the thermal protective performance of the multi-layered fabrics. The fabric with a PCM add on of 41. 9% increased the thermal protection by 50. 6% and reduced the time to reach a second degree burn by 8. 4 s compared with the reference fabrics( without PCMs). The employment of the PCM fabrics also reduced the blackened areas on the inner layers. The PCM fabrics with higher PCM melting temperature could bring higher thermal protective performance.

A New Kind of Shape-stabilized Phase Change Materials

Based on the lowest melting point and Schroeder’s theoretical calculation formula,nano- modified organic composite phase change materials（PCMs）were prepared.The phase transition temperature and the latent heat of the materials were 24℃and 172 J/g,respectively.A new shape-stabilized phase change materials were prepared,using high density polyethylene as supporting material.The PCM kept the shape when temperature was higher than melting point.Thus,it can directly contact with heat transfer media.The structure,morphology and thermal behavior of PCM were analyzed by FTIR,SEM and DSC.

Simulation of the Hygrothermal Behavior of a Building Envelope Based on Phase Change Materials and a Bio-Based Concrete

Phase Change Materials(PCMs)have high thermal inertia,and hemp concrete(HC),a bio-based concrete,has strong hygroscopic behavior.In previous studies,PCM has been extensively combined with many materials,however,most of these studies focused on thermal properties while neglecting hygroscopic aspects.In this study,the two materials have been combined into a building envelope and the related hygrothermal properties have been studied.In particular,numerical studies have been performed to investigate the temperature and relative humidity behavior inside the HC,and the effect of adding PCM on the hygrothermal behavior of the HC.The results show that there is a high coupling between temperature and relative humidity inside the HC,since the relative humidity changes on the second and third days are different,with values of 8%and 4%,respectively.Also,the variation of relative humidity with temperature indicates the dominant influence of temperature on relative humidity variation.With the presence of PCM,the temperature variation inside the HC is damped due to the high thermal inertia of the PCM,which also leads to suppression of moisture evaporation and thus damping of relative humidity variation.On the second and third days,the temperature changes at the central position are reduced by 4.6%and 5.1%,compared to the quarter position.For the relative humidity change,the reductions are 5.3%and 5.4%on the second and third days,respectively.Therefore,PCM,with high thermal inertia,acts as a temperature damper and has the potential to increase the moisture buffering capacity inside the HC.This makes it possible for such a combined envelope to have both thermal and hygric inertia.

Melting and Solidification Heat Transfer Characteristics of a Phase-Change Material in a Latent Heat Storage Vessel: Effects of a Perforated Partition Plate and Metal Fiber

Today, latent heat storage technology has advanced to allow reuse of waste heat in the middle-temperature range. This paper describes an approach to develop a latent heat storage system using middle-temperature waste heat (~100oC - 200oC) from factories. Direct contact melting and solidification behavior between a heat-transfer fluid (oil) and a latent heat storage material mixture were observed. The mixture consisted of mannitol and erythritol (Cm = 70 mass %, Ce = 30 mass %) as a phase-change material (PCM). The weight of the PCM was 3.0 kg and the flow rate of the oil, foil, was 1.0, 1.5, or 2.0 kg/min. To decrease the solidified height of the PCM mixture during the solidification process, a perforated partition plate was installed in the PCM region in the heat storage vessel. PCM coated oil droplets were broken by the perforated partition plate, preventing the solidified height of the PCM from increasing. The solidification and melting processes were repeated using metal fiber. It was found that installing the metal fiber was more effective than installing the perforated partition plate to prevent the flow out problem of the PCM.

Polyethylene glycol/polylactic acid block co‐polymers as solid–solid phase change materials

Phase change materials(PCMs)are promising thermal energy storage materials due to their high specific latent heat.Conventional PCMs typically exploit the solid–liquid(s–l)transition.However,leakage and leaching are common issues for solid–liquid PCMs,which have to be addressed before usage in practical applications.In contrast,solid–solid(s–s)PCMs would naturally overcome these issues due to their inherent form stability and homogeneity.In this study,we report a new type of s–s PCM based on chemically linked polyethylene glycol(PEG,the PCM portion)with polylactic acid(PLA,the support portion)in the form of a block co‐polymer.Solid‐solid latent heat of up to 56 J/g could be achieved,with melting points of between 44°C and 55°C.For comparison,PEG was physically mixed into a PLA matrix to form a PEG:PLA composite.However,the composite material saw leakage of up to 9%upon heating,with a corresponding loss in thermal storage capacity.In contrast,the mPEG/PLA block co‐polymers were found to be completely homogeneous and thermally stable even when heated above its phase transition temperature,with no observable leakage,demonstrating the superiority of chemical linking strategies in ensuring form stability.

Preparation and Characterization of High-Temperature Non-Flowing Diurea/Paraffin/Oil Composites as Form-Stable Phase Change Materials

A series of form-stable phase change materials （FSPCMs） comprising paraffin as the latent heat storage material, diurea as the supporting material and base oil as the performance improvement agent were prepared. The diurea was synthesized in the system of paraffin/oil directly. A series of characterization was carried out for a deep understand- ing of shape stability and material properties of diurea-FSPCMs. The results showed that paraffin and base oil were packaged in the three-dimensional supra-molecular structures network which was formed by diurea. The dropping point of the prepared FSPCMs could reach 256 ℃ and the oil separation rate was as low as 1.19% at 100 ℃ for 30 h. The results of thermal properties tests showed that the prepared FSPCMs exhibited excellent thermal stability and the FSPCMs remained solid-like state in the temperature range from 25 to 200 ℃. This study proposes a novel method to prepare high-temperature non-flowing FSPCMs composites and methods to detect the thermal stability and shape stability of FSPCMs, which is helpful in understanding the shape stability mechanism and broadening the potential application of FSPCMs.

Synthesis and Characterization of Storage Energy Materials Prepared from Nano-crystalline Cellulose/Polyethylene Glycol

This paper gives a brief report of the synthesis of a new kind of solid-solid phase change materials （SSPCMs）, nano-crystalline cellulose/polyethylene glycol （NCC/PEG）. These PCMs have very high ability for energy storage, and their enthalpies reach 103.8 J/g. They are composed of two parts, PEG as functional branches for energy storage, and NCC as skeleton. The flexible polymer PEG was grafted onto the surface of rigid powder of NCC by covalent bonds. The results of DSC, FT-IR were briefly introduced, and some comments were also given.

Investigation of heat transfer of a building wall in the presence of phase change material(PCM)

The energy consumption in buildings for heating,ventilation,and air-conditioning is increasing with the in-creasing demand for thermal comfort.Thermal energy storage with phase change material(PCM)has attracted growing attention for its role in achieving energy conservation in buildings with thermal comfort.This paper investigates the effect of PCM on the heat transfer rate in a building wall and the role of PCM on the indoor thermal comfort of the building.Two models of building wall fragments were developed for the experimental study.In one model,tests were conducted for different positions of the PCM layer in the building wall to identify the optimal position of the PCM layer inside the wall.In another model,tests were carried out integrating PCM,air gap,and other conventional building materials(brickbat and sand),one at a time,to investigate the role of PCM on the heat transfer rate in the building wall fragment.The results show that placing the PCM layer closer to the heat source gives a low-temperature gain of the cold water bath(indoor state)as compared with the PCM layer near the heat sink.With PCM,the temperature rise of the cold water bath(indoor state)of the building wall fragment was the lowest,and the slope of the temperature rise of the cold water bath becomes steadier with time i.e.,fewer temperature fluctuations.There was a significant time delay for the cold water bath to reach a given temperature.The heat required for a unit degree increase in the temperature of the cold water bath was higher and the peak heat flux of the wall was lower relative to the other building materials.

PV/PCM系统热控特性机理及实验研究

以光伏/相变材料(PV/PCM)热控系统结构为研究对象,开展光电热转换、传输、存储及温度控制机理研究,建立PV/PCM二维有限元热控分析模型。开展了相变材料热导率、熔点、厚度、太阳辐照度等对PV/PCM内部温度分布及太阳电池温度控制特性影响研究。设计了PCM的峰值熔点分别为42.9℃、46.7℃和58.1℃三种PV/PCM实验样机,在模拟光源条件下,开展实验测试,三种样机太阳电池温度控制在50℃内的时间分别为1.6 h、1.45 h和1.18 h,输出功率与无PCM热控太阳电池平均输出功率相比分别增加8.76%、6.95%和3.9%。

松铺覆盖下相变黏土施工防冻控温数值模拟

堤坝及路基等工程冬季负温下施工,土料会因短时冻结或冻融而引起压实性能降低,并诱发冻胀、融沉、开裂等病害。常规覆盖保温措施工艺复杂,难以实现负温下连续施工,易使工期延长。相变黏土为改善土料防冻性能、延长冬季施工时间提供了可能,但相变材料(PCM)掺量过高影响土料力学性能。为此,本文提出了土料掺混PCM与松铺覆盖联合的防冻控温措施,利用原有施工中上层土料松铺工序,尽可能减少PCM掺量,减小施工干扰,同时解决负温施工暴露时段土料的表层防冻问题。首先,建立了考虑上层土料松铺的施工相变传热有限元数值模型,并验证了模型的有效性;然后,定量分析了不同松铺厚度、PCM掺量对相变黏土冬季施工控温效果的影响,提出了相变黏土有效施工时长的估计方法;最后,给出了防冻控温措施建议,采用2%PCM掺量和9.6 cm松铺覆盖层厚度,即可满足现场施工控温的要求。本研究为解决寒区土料冬季施工过程中的防冻控温难题提供了新的技术途径。

寒区相变蓄热墙体多因素热特性研究

在墙体中应用相变材料可以显著改善墙体的保温蓄热能力,但相变材料厚度和墙体构造的选择尚需科学论证。基于寒区气象特点,选择适用于寒区建筑外墙的相变储能材料,从墙体的传热特性角度出发,通过建立不同相变材料层厚度和多种构造的相变墙体模型,研究多种情况相变墙体的热特性。结果表明,相变墙体在冬季的保温蓄热能力受相变材料层位置和厚度影响,夏季效果主要受相变材料厚度影响;相变材料厚度为40 mm的中间型相变墙体和相变材料厚度为60 mm的内侧型相变墙体比较适合寒区建筑应用。研究所得结论可为寒区相变墙体的结构设计优化提供参考。

相变路面抑制降温效果研究

本文以混凝土路面为研究对象,向路面主体材料中添加PEG300和PEG400作为相变材料,膨胀石墨为封装材料制备相变储能路面,利用COMSOL Multiphysics多物理仿真软件对路面模型进行模拟研究,探究复合相变材料(PCMs)不同掺量下的路面抑制降温能力的变化规律。结果表明:对4种不同PCMs掺量的相变储能路面传热3 h后6.76 cm深度的温度进行对比分析,发现掺量为4%,8%,12%的相变路面温度分别比水泥路面温度高1℃,1.4℃,1.6℃,掺量为4%时温度增加量最大。相变储能路面在深度为4 cm时降为0℃需要的时间均大于水泥混凝土路面需要的时间,水泥混凝土路面在4 cm时达到0℃需要的时间为3 h,PCMs掺量为4%的相变储能路面需要4.4 h,延缓了1.4 h;掺量为8%的相变储能路面需要5.6 h,延缓了1.2 h;掺量为12%的相变储能路面需要6.6 h,延缓了1 h。PCMs掺量每增加4%,其增加的延缓时间在降低,从0%掺量增加到4%时,增加的延缓时间最长。综上两种分析,最优的PCMs掺量为4%。相变储能路面抑制降温的能力可延缓路面温度降为0℃的时间,从而抑制结冰,减少路面损伤。