Vertically aligned montmorillonite aerogel-encapsulated polyethylene glycol with directional heat transfer paths for efficient solar thermal energy harvesting and storage

The conversion and storage of photothermal energy using phase change materials(PCMs)represent an optimal approach for harnessing clean and sustainable solar energy.Herein,we encapsulated polyethylene glycol(PEG)in montmorillonite aerogels(3D-Mt)through vacuum impregnation to prepare 3D-Mt/PEG composite PCMs.When used as a support matrix,3D-Mt can effectively prevent PEG leakage and act as a flame-retardant barrier to reduce the flammability of PEG.Simultaneously,3D-Mt/PEG demonstrates outstanding shape retention,increased thermal energy storage density,and commendable thermal and chemical stability.The phase transition enthalpy of 3D-Mt/PEG can reach 167.53 J/g and remains stable even after 50 heating-cooling cycles.Furthermore,the vertical sheet-like structure of 3D-Mt establishes directional heat transport channels,facilitating efficient phonon transfer.This configuration results in highly anisotropic thermal conductivities that ensure swift thermal responses and efficient heat conduction.This study addresses the shortcomings of PCMs,including the issues of leakage and inadequate flame retardancy.It achieves the development and design of 3D-Mt/PEG with ultrahigh strength,superior flame retardancy,and directional heat transfer.Therefore,this work offers a design strategy for the preparation of high-performance composite PCMs.The 3D-Mt/PEG with vertically aligned and well-ordered array structure developed in this research shows great potential for thermal management and photothermal conversion applications.

Numerical Study of Thermal Performance of Phase Change Material Energy Storage Floor in Solar Water Heating System

The conventional solar heating floor system contains a big water tank to store energy in the day time for heating at night,which takes much building space and is very heavy.In order to reduce the water tank volume even to cancel the tank,a novel structure of integrated water pipe floor heating system using shape-stabilized phase change materials(SSPCM)for thermal energy storage was developed.A numerical model was developed to analyze the performance of SSPCM floor heating system under the intermittent heating condition,which was verified by our experimental data.The thermal performance of the heating system and the effects of various factors on it were analyzed numerically.The factors including phase transition temperature,heat of fusion,thermal conductivity of SSPCM and thermal conductivity of the decoration material were analyzed.The results show that tm and kd are the most import influencing factors on the thermal performance of SSPCM floor heating system,since they determine the heat source temperature and thermal resistance between SSPCM plates and indoor air,respectively.Hm should be large to store enough thermal energy in the day time for nighttimes heating.The effects of kp can be ignored in this system.The SSPCM floor heating system has potential of making use of the daytime solar energy for heating at night efficiently in various climates when its structure is properly designed.

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.

Research on the Phase Change Solar Energy Fresh Air Thermal Storage System

In this article, a new kind of solar fresh air system is designed in order to realize the improvement of thermal efficiency by the integrated application of the PCMs and heat pipe technology. Under the adequate sunshine condition, the fresh air is directly delivered into the indoor environment after being heated by the solar collector. When the sun radiation is reduced, the heated air temperature can not satisfy the need of supply of air temperature.The main heat source is changed to phase change heat storage equipment instead of solar energy. The system adopt heat pipe for a high-efficiency and isothermal heat transfer which recover the shortcomings of PCMs such as： low coefficient of thermal conductivity and poor thermal efficiency. This article establishes the physical model of phase change solar energy fresh air thermal storage system and creates the mathematical model of its unsteady heat transfer to simulate and analyse the operation process by using Fluent software. The results of the study show that, compared to normal fresh air system, the phase change solar energy fresh air thermal storage system has a significant improvement in energy saving and indoor comfort level and will play an important role in the energy sustainable development.

Preparation of Palygorskite-based Phase Change Composites for Thermal Energy Storage and Their Applications in Trombe Walls

Palygorskite/paraffin phase-change composites were prepared by the combination of purified palygorskite clay and sliced paraffin. Then, this composite was used in the Trombe wall to improve its energy storage ability. Further, its energy storage ability was compared to that of ordinary concrete wall through contrastive test. The experiments show that palygorskite clay is a type of clay mineral with strong adsorption ability, and the purity of natural palygorskite clay can reach up to 97.1% after certain purification processes. Paraffin is well adsorbed by palygorskite, and the test results show that the optimal adsorption ratio is palygorskite： paraffin = 2：1（mass ratio）. Palygorskite/paraffin phase change composites can be obtained by using palygorskite as the adsorbing medium to adsorb paraffin. The composite materials exhibit good heat storage（release） performance, which can store heat with increasing environment temperature and release heat with decreasing temperature. This property not only increases the inertia to environment temperature change, but also promotes the energy migration in different time and space, thus achieving a certain energy-saving effect. The application of palygorskite/paraffin phase change composite materials to the Trombe wall can significantly reduce the fluctuation of indoor temperature and enhance the thermal inertia of indoor environment. From the aspect of energy storage effect, the Trombe wall fabricated using PCMs is significantly superior to the concrete wall with the same thickness.

Thermal energy storage inside the chamber with a brick wall using the phase change process of paraffinic materials:A numerical simulation

Phase change materials are one of the potential resources to replace fossil fuels in regards of supplying the energy of buildings.Basically,these materials absorb or release heat energy with the help of their latent heat.Phase change materials have low thermal conductivity and this makes it possible to use the physical properties of these materials in the tropical regions where the solar radiation is more direct and concentrated over a smaller area.In this theoretical work,an attempt has been made to study the melting process of these materials by applying constant heat flux and temperature.It was found that by increasing the thickness of phase change materials’layers,due to the melting,more thermal energy is stored.Simultaneously it reduces the penetration of excessive heat into the chamber,so that by increasing the thickness of paraffin materials up to 20 mm,the rate of temperature reduction reaches more than 18%.It was also recognized that increasing the values of constant input heat flux increases buoyancy effects.Increasing the Stefan number from 0.1 to 0.3,increases the temperature by 6%.

Designing an Automatic Control System for the Improved Functioning of a Solar Wall with Phase Change Material (PCM)

Solar walls constitute an important green architectural feature that positively contributes to energy saving in buildings. Different configurations may be proposed, such as, solar wall with Phase Change Material (PCM), composite solar wall, photovoltaic solar wall, zigzag solar wall, and solar hybrid wall. Being environmentally friendly, these passive solar components can provide thermal comfort and help save energy. Their disadvantages include principally unpredictable heat transfer, heat losses by night for some systems or inverse thermo-siphon phenomenon. Appropriate energy management techniques can be used to control and optimize the performances of solar walls. An experimental study for energy management of a PCM based solar wall is described in this paper. The experimental results show the effectiveness of the proposed automatic control system in regulating the capture of solar energy.

Operating performance of novel reverse-cycle defrosting method based on thermal energy storage for air source heat pump

To solve the fundamental problem of insufficient heat available during defrosting while ensuring the efficient and safe system operation for air-source heat pumps (ASHPs). A novel reverse-cycle defrosting (NRCD) method based on thermal energy storage to eliminate frost off the outdoor coil surface was developed. Comparative experiments using both the stand reverse cycle defrosting (SRCD) method and the NRCD method were carried out on an experimental ASHP unit with a nominal 2.5 kW heating capacity. The results indicate that during defrosting operation, using the NRCD method improves discharge and suction pressures by 0.24 MPa and 0.19 MPa, respectively, shortens defrosting duration by 60%, and reduces the defrosting energy consumption by 48.1% in the experimental environment, compared with those by the use of SRCD method. Therefore, using the NRCD method can shorten the defrosting duration, improve the indoor thermal comfort, and reduce the defrosting energy consumption in defrosting.

Numerical Assessment on Fin Design Parameters Employed for Augmentation of Natural Convection and Fluid Flow in a Horizontal Latent Heat Thermal Energy Storage Unit

The present work focus on the thermal performance of a horizontal concentric heat exchanger, which is numerically investigated to evaluate the heat transfer enhancement process by adding fins with different configurations. As a part of this investigation, the melting process is simulated from the onset of phase change to the offset involving physics of natural convection in PCM fluid pool. The investigation is carried out by ANSYS Fluent code, which is an efficient numerical analysis tool for investigating fluid flow and convective heat transfer phenomena during PCM melting process. The attention is mainly focused on the extension of contact area between the PCM body and cylindrical capsule to enhance heat transfer rates to PCM bodies during the melting process by employing longitudinal fins in the enclosed capsule. Two commercial PCMs: RT50 and C58, are introduced in a 2D cylindrical pipe with their thermo-physical properties as input for modelling. The selected modelling approach is validated against experimental result with respect to the total enthalpy changes that qualify our model to run in the proceeding calculation. It is ensured that an isothermal boundary condition (373 K) is applied to the inner pipe throughout the series of simulation cases and the corresponding Rayleigh number (Ra) ranges from 104 - 105 and Prandtl number (Pr) 0.05 - 0.07. Finally, parametric study is carried out to evaluate the effect of length, thickness and number of longitudinal fins on the thermal performance of PCM-LHTES (Latent Heat Thermal Energy Storage) system associated with the physics of natural convection process during PCM melting.

Research of Thermal Energy Storage Technology in the Solar Thermodynamic Power

Recently, although renewable energy has a great development, primary source is still thermal power generation, which uses fossil fuel as the energy source. Supply and demand of fossil fuel are essential for social and economy development. However, development pattern that excessively relies on the natural source is impossible to provide a sustainable development way for us. As a result, we should combine renewable energy with new energy technology as the aim of economy. It means that it is urgent to exploit new energy. Meanwhile, the ratio of energy waste cannot be ignored. How to decrease energy waste is also significant. Construction sector costs a lot of energy, which is mainly used for heating and refrigeration. In the new energy generation technology, thermal energy can be transformed to electricity with combination of BIPV and thermal energy storage technology. Photovoltaic generation has a great progress in the building construction. As a result, the thermal energy storage technology becomes the key link in the production chain. In this paper, feasibility of applying phase-change material (PCM) in the thermal energy storage will be analyzed. And analysis results are provided with a relative mathematical model.

From sawdust waste to high-value hierarchical ceramics-based phase change materials: Efficient dual functional thermal and solar energy storage

Latent heat thermal energy storage(LHTES) technology is gaining extensive attention due to its capability to balance supply and demand mismatch in solar energy utilization. However, phase change material as the core of storing latent heat still suffers from low thermal conductivity and poor shape stability, which severely restricts its practical application. Here, an eco-friendly strategy for achieving high-performance dual functional thermal and solar energy storage is proposed via turning wood processing waste into high-value hierarchical porous SiC ceramic-based composite phase change materials. The porosity of prepared porous SiC skeletons is highly adjustable from 59.4% to 90.2%, overcoming low porosity limitations of traditional wood materials and enabling tunable energy storage density for various applications. High thermal conductivity is achieved by benefiting from large grains and continuous skeletons with a value up to 37.93 and 1.87 W/(m K) for porosity of 59.4% and 90.2%, respectively.Excellent stabilities are demonstrated with only slight decreases of thermal conductivity and energy storage density over 1000 cycles and good anti-leakage properties are confirmed due to capillary adsorption forces induced by hierarchical pores. Benefiting from high thermal conductivity and high solar absorptance, fast and efficient solar thermal energy storage is successfully demonstrated. This work provides a new strategy for the high-value utilization of wood processing waste and efficient thermal/solar energy storage.

Impact of Fin Arrangement on Heat Transfer and Melting Characteristics of Phase Change Material

Present work investigates the heat transfer and melting behaviour of phase change material(PCM) in six enclosures(enclosure-1 to 6) filled with paraffin wax.Proposed enclosures are equipped with distinct arrangements of the fins while keeping the fin's surface area equal in each case.Comparative analysis has been presented to recognize the suitable fin arrangements that facilitate improved heat transfer and melting rate of the PCM.Left wall of the enclosure is maintained isothermal for the temperature values 335 K,350 K and 365 K.Dimensionless length of the enclosure including fins is ranging between 0 and 1.Results have been illustrated through the estimation of important performance parameters such as energy absorbing capacity,melting rate,enhancement ratio,and Nusselt number.It has been found that melting time(to melt 100% of the PCM) is 60.5%less in enclosure-2(with two fins of equal length) as compared to the enclosure-1,having no fins.Keeping the fin surface area equal,if the longer fin is placed below the shorter fin(enclosure-3),melting time is further decreased by 14.1% as compared to enclosure-2.However,among all the configurations,enclosure-6 with wire-mesh fin structure exhibits minimum melting time which is 68.4% less as compared to the enclosure-1.Based on the findings,it may be concluded that fins are the main driving agent in the enclosure to transfer the heat from heated wall to the PCM.Proper design and positioning of the fins improve the heat transfer rate followed by melting of the PCM in the entire area of the enclosure.Evolution of the favourable vortices and natural convection current in the enclosure accelerate the melting phenomenon and help to reduce charging time.

Evaluation of stearic acid/coconut shell charcoal composite phase change thermal energy storage materials for tankless solar water heater

This work presents a cost-effective and environment-friendly form-stabilized phase change material(PCM)and corresponding solar thermal application in the tankless solar water heater(TSWH).Coconut shell charcoal(CSC)as supporting material was modified by moderate oxidant of H_(2)O_(2)with different concentrations,and then sta-bilized stearic acid(SA)to prepare composite PCMs through vacuum impregnation.It found that CSC support causes a 15.70%improvement of SA loadage after treated by 15%H_(2)O_(2)due to coefficient enhancement by phys-ical interaction and surface modification.The modified CSC 15 support appears more super macropores which contribute to the impregnation of SA than non-modified CSC 0 support verifying from SEM and BET results.And the content of oxygen functional groups was increased after oxidation modification,also motivating SA stabiliza-tion by hydrogen bond interaction in XPS analysis.FTIR results proved there is no chemical reaction happened between SA and CSC.Moreover,the latent heat and phase transition temperature of the as-prepared SA/CSC 15 composite are 76.69 J g^(−1)and 52.52℃,respectively.All composites exhibit excellent thermal stability under a working temperature of 180℃and form stability during phase change.Thermal energy storage-release test within 70℃presents the composite has fast heat transfer efficiency than pure SA.The composite filled in TSWH system has 0.75 W m^(−1)K^(−1)thermal conductivity which is 2.88 times higher than that of pure SA(0.26 W m^(−1)K−1).Besides,the TSWH system with a flow rate of 0.004 kg s^(−1)could heat water effectively after sunset and the energy obtained from the thermal storage system within 1830 s testing times is about 0.15 kW h.In all,SA/CSC composite with good physical-thermo properties has potential in thermal energy storage application,especially in solar energy storage.

Experimental Investigation on Prototype Latent Heat Thermal Battery Charging and Discharging Function Integrated with Solar Collector

This paper reports the performance investigation of a newly developed Latent Heat Thermal Battery(LHTB)integrated with a solar collector as the main source of heat.The LHTB is a new solution in the field of thermal storage and developed based on the battery concept in terms of recharge ability,portability and usability as a standalone device.It is fabricated based on the thermal battery storage concept and consists of a plate-fin and tube heat exchanger located inside the battery casing and paraffin wax which is used as a latent heat storage material.Solar thermal energy is absorbed by solar collector and transferred to the LHTB using water as Heat Transfer Fluid(HTF).Charging experiments have been conducted with a HTF at three different temperatures of 68°C,88°C and 108°C and three different flow rates of 30,60 and 120 l/h.It is followed by discharging experiments on fully charged LHTB at three different temperatures of 68°C,88°C and 108°C using HTF at three different flow rates of 30,60 and 120 l/h.It is found that both higher HTF inlet temperature and flow rate have a positive impact on stored thermal energy.However,charging efficiency was decreased by increasing the HTF flow rate.The highest charging efficiency of 29%was achieved using HTF of 108°C at a flow rate of 30 l/h.Most of paraffin melted in this case,while part of the paraffin remained solid in other experiments.On the other hand,the results from discharging experiments revealed that both recovered thermal energy and recovery efficiency increased by either increasing the LHTB temperature or HTF flow rate.Highest recovered thermal energy of 5,825 KJ at 35%recovery efficiency achieved at LHTB of 108°C using 120 l/h of HTF.

Performance of a collector-storage solar air heating system for building mechanical ventilation preheating in the cold area

The application of solar thermal energy to preheat cold fresh air for mechanical ventilation could save a lot of energy and ensure the stable operation of the ventilation system.In this paper,a kind of collector-storage solar air heating system(CSSAHS),in which the thermal storage unit(TSU)is characterized by a dual S-channel for heat transfer,is proposed and the mathematical model for the integrated system was established.The model including the TSU,solar air collector,heat recovery device,and the fan was verified by an experimental study set up in a typical cold city in China.The model has been verified by experiments.The simulation results demonstrate that fresh air is the most important factor affecting storage/release efficiency.The increasing rate of heat release efficiency in the range of fresh air temperature-6-18°C is about 1.58%/°C.The solar heat collector area and the size of the TSU suitable for representative cities in cold regions are optimized based on multi-condition simulation analysis.The CSSAHS can preheat fresh air for 5 h after heat storage and the release efficiency is between 52 and 74%.Compared with other systems,the energy-saving rate of the CSSAHS is 26.5-33.3%in cold winter,and the heat supply ratio of the TSU is 24.4-35.1%.

Thermal Distribution Performance of NPCM: NaCl, NaNO₃and KNO₃in the Thermal Storage System

The experiment is studied on thermal distribution in the thermal energy storage system with non-phase change materials (NPCM): NaNO3, KNO3 and NaCl in the range of 25°C - 250°C. The cylindrical storage system was made of stainless steel with 25.6 cm-diameter and 26.8 cm-height that was contained of these NPCM. There was one pipe for heat transfer fluid (HTF) with 1.27 cm-diameter that manipulates in the storage tank and submerges to NPCM. The inner pipe was connected to the 2.27 cm-diameter outer HTF tube. The tube was further connected to the thermal pump, heater and load. The pump circulates the synthetic oil (Thermia oil) within the pipe for heat transferring purposes (charging and discharging). An electric heater is used as the heat source. The limitation of the charging oil temperature is maintained at 250°C with the flow rates in the range of 0.58 to 1.45 kg/s whereas the inlet temperature of the discharge oil is maintained at 25°C. Thermal performances of TES (thermal energy storage) such as charging and discharging times, radial thermal distribution, energy storage capacity and energy efficiency have been evaluated. The experimental results show that the radial thermal distribution of NaCl for TR inside, TR middle and TR outside was optimum of temperature down to NaNO3 and KNO3 respectively. Comparison of NPCMs with oil, flow rates for NaCl were charging and discharging heat transfer than KNO3 and NaNO3. The thermal stored NaCl ranged from 5712 - 5912 J;KNO3 ranged from 7350 - 7939 J and NaNO3 ranged from 6623 - 6930 J respectively. The thermal energy stored for experimental results got with along the KNO3, NaNO3 and NaCl respectively. The thermal energy efficiency of NaCl, KNO3 and NaNO3 was in the range 66% - 70%.

Enhanced Phase Change Heat Storage of Layered Backfill Body under Different Boundary Conditions

In view of the high temperature problem faced by mining activities,the coordinated mining of ore deposit and geothermal energy is a solution in line with the concept of green mining.The layered backfill body with finned double-pipe heat exchanger continuously exchanges heat with the surrounding thermal environment,which plays an effective role in gathering geothermal energy.In this paper,the heat storage process of each layered backfill body under different boundary conditions is simulated by Fluent.The results show the heat storage characteristic of layered backfill body can be significantly improved by adding fins to the double-pipe heat exchanger.On the whole,the heat storage effect of bottom layer backfill body(BLBB)is the best.The total heat storage capacity of top layer backfill body(TLBB),middle layer backfill body(MLBB)and BLBB with the finned double-pipe heat exchanger is 666.3 kJ,662.2 kJ,1003.0 kJ;1639.0 kJ,1760.8 kJ,1911.2 kJ and 1731.1 kJ,1953.3 kJ,1962.8 kJ respectively at 1 h,8 h and 24 h.This study explores the law of heat storage of layered backfill body under different boundary conditions and also expands the idea for layered backfill body to efficiently accumulate geothermal energy.

石膏基复合相变储能材料的研究进展

建筑能耗、工业能耗和交通能耗是能源消耗的主要方式。其中,建筑能耗约占能源消耗的40%,建筑能耗的持续上升会增加碳排放和加速化石能源的消耗,因此,如何提升建筑材料的保温节能性能逐渐成为建筑材料领域的研究热点。储热技术不仅可以降低建筑能耗,还可以减少环境污染。相变储能材料具有优异的储放热能力,是实现热能储存以及温度控制的重要技术手段,在建筑节能领域具有广阔的应用前景。该文主要综述了石膏基相变储能材料的研究进展;根据石膏基相变材料的不同,分析归纳了石膏基有机相变材料和石膏基复合相变材料;介绍了浸渍法、多孔材料吸附法、微胶囊法等制备石膏基复合相变储能材料的方法和机理及影响石膏基相变储能材料的因素;展望了石膏基相变储能材料的研究方向。

聚氨酯型固-固相变储能材料对沥青调温效果的影响研究

聚氨酯型固-固相变储能材料可以有效提高沥青的相变储能能力,从而在调节路面温度的同时,减小温度波动。基于上述背景,针对聚氨酯型固-固相变储能材料对沥青调温效果的影响展开研究。确定相变材料的分类标准,并分别研究其储能原理及具体应用情况,完成对聚氨酯型固-固相变储能材料特性的分析。在此基础上,定义周期性储热边界条件,根据沥青调温过程中内聚能密度的变化形式,推导相变储能材料的能量变化规律,从而确定聚氨酯型固-固相变储能材料对沥青调温效果的影响能力。

不同压缩比螺旋翅片对相变储能罐蓄热的影响机制

在传统螺旋翅片基础上提出3种不同压缩比的螺旋翅片结构。首先数值模拟不同压缩比的螺旋翅片储能罐相变材料的熔化过程;其次,讨论4个储能罐中温度场和固液界面的演变情况;再次,分析液相分数、平均温度和平均努塞尔数的变化趋势;最后,对比不同压缩比下相变材料的总蓄热量、熔化时间和平均蓄热速率。结果表明:设计压缩比合适的螺旋翅片可有效促进储能装置相变材料的熔化,减轻下部温度垂直分层现象,增强相变材料的自然对流,提升相变储能罐的蓄热性能;随着压缩比的增加,蓄热速率呈先增加后减小的趋势,而完全熔化时间则先减少后增加;与无压缩螺旋翅片的储能罐相比,当压缩比为3时,石蜡完全熔化时间缩短27.27%,平均蓄热速率提升33.33%,但当压缩比增加到7时,平均蓄热速率反而下降25%,完全熔化时间增加34.67%。