Unconventional phase transition of phase-change-memory materials for optical data storage

Recent years, optically controlled phase-change memory draws intensive attention owing to some advanced applications including integrated all-optical nonvolatile memory, in-memory computing, and neuromorphic computing. The light-induced phase transition is the key for this technology. Traditional understanding on the role of light is the heating effect. Generally, the RESET operation of phase-change memory is believed to be a melt-quenching-amorphization process. However, some recent experimental and theoretical investigations have revealed that ultrafast laser can manipulate the structures of phase-change materials by non-thermal effects and induces unconventional phase transitions including solid-to-solid amorphization and order-to-order phase transitions. Compared with the conventional thermal amorphization,these transitions have potential superiors such as faster speed, better endurance, and low power consumption. This article summarizes some recent progress of experimental observations and theoretical analyses on these unconventional phase transitions. The discussions mainly focus on the physical mechanism at atomic scale to provide guidance to control the phase transitions for optical storage. Outlook on some possible applications of the non-thermal phase transition is also presented to develop new types of devices.

Universal memory based on phase-change materials:From phase-change random access memory to optoelectronic hybrid storage

The era of information explosion is coming and information need to be continuously stored and randomly accessed over long-term periods,which constitute an insurmountable challenge for existing data centers.At present,computing devices use the von Neumann architecture with separate computing and memory units,which exposes the shortcomings of“memory bottleneck”.Nonvolatile memristor can realize data storage and in-memory computing at the same time and promises to overcome this bottleneck.Phase-change random access memory(PCRAM)is called one of the best solutions for next generation non-volatile memory.Due to its high speed,good data retention,high density,low power consumption,PCRAM has the broad commercial prospects in the in-memory computing application.In this review,the research progress of phase-change materials and device structures for PCRAM,as well as the most critical performances for a universal memory,such as speed,capacity,and power consumption,are reviewed.By comparing the advantages and disadvantages of phase-change optical disk and PCRAM,a new concept of optoelectronic hybrid storage based on phase-change material is proposed.Furthermore,its feasibility to replace existing memory technologies as a universal memory is also discussed as well.

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.

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.

Absolute dielectronic recombination rate coefficients of highly charged ions at the storage ring CSRm and CSRe

Dielectronic recombination(DR)is one of the dominant electron-ion recombination mechanisms for most highly charged ions(HCIs)in cosmic plasmas,and thus,it determines the charge state distribution and ionization balance therein.To reliably interpret spectra from cosmic sources and model the astrophysical plasmas,precise DR rate coefficients are required to build up an accurate understanding of the ionization balance of the sources.The main cooler storage ring(CSRm)and the experimental cooler storage ring(CSRe)at the Heavy-Ion Research Facility in Lanzhou(HIRFL)are both equipped with electron cooling devices,which provide an excellent experimental platform for electron-ion collision studies for HCIs.Here,the status of the DR experiments at the HIRFL-CSR is outlined,and the DR measurements with Na-like Kr25^(+)ions at the CSRm and CSRe are taken as examples.In addition,the plasma recombination rate coefficients for Ar12^(+),14^(+),Ca14^(+),16^(+),17^(+),Ni19^(+),and Kr25^(+)ions obtained at the HIRFL-CSR are provided.All the data presented in this paper are openly available at https://doi.org/10.57760/sciencedb.j00113.00092.

Seasonal coolth storage system for residential buildings in Australia

Night sky cooling is explored as an alternative to the conventional cooling technologies using fossil fuels. The night sky cooling method is based on the long wave radiation of unglazed collectors to the sky at night. An evaluation of the night sky cooling system is present for a residential building in three cities of Australia, namely Alice Springs, Darwin and Melbourne. The system comprises an unglazed flat plate solar collector integrated with borehole storage. It uses night sky radiation to reduce the temperature of the ground near to the boreholes. The system was simulated with TRNSYS, a transient simulation program. The simulation results for adequately sized systems show that night sky radiation is able to reduce the coolth storage borehole temperature and the proposed system is able to meet the cooling load of the residential building simulated in three locations. Borchole lengths of 270, 318 and 106 m are required for coolth storage with 90, 260 and 14 m2 collector area for heat rejection in Alice Springs, Darwin and Melbourne, respectively. At the 20th simulation year, the proposed system is able to achieve a system cooling coefficient of performance of 2.2 in Alice Springs, and 2.8 in Darwin and Melbourne.

Effect of thermal storage performance of concrete radiant cooling room on indoor temperature

A building model with radiant cooling system was established and the cooling load, indoor temperature, surface temperature of the wails and other parameters in non-cooling and radiant cooling room were calculated by TRNSYS. The comparative analysis of the characteristics of attenuation and delay proves that the operation of radiant cooling system increases the degree of temperature attenuation of the room and reduces the inner surface temperature of the wall significantly, but has little effect on the attenuation coefficient and delay time of wall heat transfer. The simulation results also show that the inner surface temperature of the walls in the radiant cooling room is much lower than that in non-cooling room in the day with the maximum cooling load, which reduces the indoor operation temperature largely, and improves the thermal comfort. Finally, according to the analysis of indoor temperature of the rooms with different operation schedules of cooling system, it can be derived that the indoor mean temperature changes with the working time of radiant cooling system, and the operation schedule can be adjusted in practice according to the actual indoor temperature to achieve the integration of energy efficiency and thermal comfort.

Cool storage time of phase change wallboard room in summer

More and more attention was paid to phase change energy storage in air conditioning domain and construction energy conservation,and became the focus of the international research. Through the test and analysis of the parameters of the indoor thermal property in phase change wallboard room and ordinary room,the effects of using phase change wallboards on indoor temperature in summer and air conditioning are obtained. The combination of construct enclosure and phase change materials can stabilize indoor temperature,improve indoor thermal comfort,reduce the frequency of the operation of air conditioning facility,cut the initial investment and operation expense,and meanwhile play an practical role in "the power balancing between the peak period and the valley period" policy. Through the experiment and the test of the effects exerted by phase change wallboard room and ordinary room on the indoor thermal environment,it is obtained that the phase change wallboard can reduce the fluctuation range of indoor temperature and the heat flow from the outside into indoor environment in summer. According to the study,it is found that the effect of cool-storing for 5 h is obvious. Through the analysis of the phase change wallboard without air conditioning in daytime,it is obtained that the frequency of the operation of air conditioning in phase change wallboard room is smaller than that in the ordinary room,which can prolong the lifetime of the facility and reduce operation expense.

Performance analysis of thermal storage unit with possible nano enhanced phase change material in building cooling applications

The heat transfer performance of the phase change materials used in free cooling and air conditioning applications is low,due to the poor thermal conductivity of the materials.The recent phenomenal advancement in nano technology provides an opportunity for an appreciable enhancement in the thermal conductivity of the phase change materials.In order to explore the possibilities of using nano technology for various applications,a detailed parametric study is carried out,to analyse the heat transfer enhancement potential with the thermal conductivity of the conventional phase change materials and nano enhanced phase change materials under various flow conditions of the heat transfer fluid.Initially,the theoretical equation,used to determine the time for outward cylindrical solidification of the phase change material,is validated with the experimental results.It is inferred from the parametric studies,that for paraffinic phase change materials with air as the heat transfer fluid,the first step should be to increase the heat transfer coefficient to the maximum extent,before making any attempt to increase the thermal conductivity of the phase change materials,with the addition of nano particles.When water is used as the phase change material,the addition of nano particles is recommended to achieve better heat transfer,when a liquid is used as the heat transfer fluid.

Energy Storage System for Solar Thermal Air Conditioning Combined with Ejector Cooling System

A system of energy storage for solar thermal air conditioning combined with ejector cooling system for residential is determined in this paper. The purpose of this study is to design the energy storage system for heating the water in a storage tank to reach the required temperature for exchanging heat with the refrigerant of cooling system. The design from calculation of thermal energy storage system that proper with the solar flat plate collector area results are 70 m2, and the hot water temperature is over than 80 ℃. A cooling system is selected for refrigerant of R141b from the solar air conditioning system of 10.5 kW, and the energy source is solar thermal energy from the collector that there is an efficiency of 0.46 approximately. This storage system for the electric solar cooling system can be reduced the problem of the intermittent of energy source with the constant generating temperature to run the cooling system continuously.

Preparation and phase change performance of Na_2HPO_4·12H_2O@poly(lactic acid) capsules for thermal energy storage

Micro-encapsulated phase-change materials(micro PCMs) with Na_2 HPO_4·12 H_2 O encapsulated in poly(lactic acid)(PLA) shell were prepared by a solvent evaporation–precipitation method that involves the use of a coaxial needle. The effects of PLA concentration, stirring speed, injection rate of core and shell solutions, and polyvinyl alcohol(PVA) concentration on phase change properties were investigated. The thermal properties of microP CMs were characterized by differential scanning calorimetry(DSC). The capsules prepared under the optimal conditions are about 2 mm in diameter and show a latent heat of up to 122.2 J·g^(-1).

Thermal properties in phase change wallboard room based on air conditioning cold storage

By comparing the thermal performance parameters of an ordinary wall room with a phase change wall (PCW) room,the effect of phase change wallboard on the fluctuation of temperature in air-conditioning room in summer was studied. And PCW room and an ordinary wall room,which are cooled by air-conditioner,were built up. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was used to test the temperature field and heat flow fluctuation in these rooms. Through analyzing the data tested,it is found that the mean temperature of PCW is lower than that of ordinary wall room by 1-2 ℃,and PCW can lower the heat flow by 4.6 W/m2. Combining phase change material to building envelope can lower the indoor temperature,make the room thermal comfortable,and cut down the turn-on-and-off frequency of air-conditioner,the primary investment and operating costs. It alleviates urgent need of the electric power. Building envelope which contains phase change wallboard can improve the indoor thermal environment,and decrease energy consumption in buildings. Phase change wallboard can make impressive effect on energy efficiency of buildings.

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.

粮仓能源桩系统绿色储粮技术应用研究

简化粮食入库后全周期控温供冷储粮流程,提出满仓主动降温与夏季粮仓热平衡2种供冷方案。通过理论公式计算2种方案下的供冷量需求,并利用有限元模拟软件计算得出能源桩换热量,由此设计可满足上部粮仓供冷需求的能源桩运行方案。结果表明:在1万t储粮规模下,粮仓能源桩储粮技术可满足2种供冷方案下的能源需求,对比谷物冷却机与地源热泵储粮,其初期投入成本更低;对比空调储粮,其初期投入成本增加,但能源桩储粮技术可利用绿色清洁能源,储粮能耗最低。

新型迷你通道-相变热沉实验研究

电子元件的集成化、微型化等特点加剧了芯片的热问题,基于相变材料的被动式冷却技术已无法满足功率波动的高功率电子设备的需求。本文将相变技术与主动冷却技术相结合,提出了一种用于风冷散热的新型迷你通道-相变热沉结构。该结构改善了相变材料导热性能差的问题,也解决了相变材料熔化后泄漏的问题。通过实验测试了不同热流密度、不同风速对其热控性能的影响,总结了热沉的蓄放热特性,并与未填充相变材料热沉的热控性能进行了对比。实验中热流密度变化范围为1.81~3.47 W/cm^(2),风速变化范围为0~4 m/s。研究表明:热流密度的增大和风速的降低均会导致热沉温控时间的缩短。2 m/s风速足以满足热流密度小于2.91 W/cm^(2)的芯片散热需求,4 m/s风速可以在热流密度为3.47 W/cm^(2)的情况下将热沉底面温度维持在70℃。与未填充相变材料热沉相比,本研究提出的热沉可以起到延长温控时长,降低稳态温度的作用。此外,风扇的开启可以有效缩短热沉的冷却时间,对于间歇性工作的电子设备具有重要的应用意义。研究结果可为迷你通道-相变热沉在实践中的应用提供参考依据。

基于TRNSYS的主动式建筑相变蓄冷空调系统模拟

以夏热冬冷地区的办公建筑为例,利用瞬态系统仿真程序(transient system simulation program, TRNSYS)构建主动式相变蓄能地板模块,建立了主动式相变蓄能地板空调系统和常规风机盘管加新风空调系统的仿真模型,对其节能性和经济性进行模拟计算.以典型日和供冷季晚间蓄冷运行工况为条件,研究冷冻水温对主动式相变蓄能地板的蓄释能特性、室温波动与热泵制冷系数的影响.结果表明:夜间相变蓄冷工况下,在满足每平方米冷负荷为74.78 W情况下,9℃为最佳供水水温;采取晚间低电价时段间歇运行蓄冷热泵的方案,能够有效提高热泵运行时的制冷系数,并降低运行费用;主动式相变蓄能地板空调系统供冷季的能耗相比于常规风机盘管加新风空调系统减少30.5%,运行费用减少44.24%,夏季制冷综合能效比达到了2.38.

基于太阳能吸附制冷的载/蓄冷充填降温系统性能分析

含冰粒的载/蓄冷充填降温是解决深井热害问题的有效方式,但其制冰能耗大、系统运行费用较高。为此,研发了基于太阳能吸附制冷的矿井载/蓄冷充填降温系统(Mine Cold Load/Storage Backfill Cooling System Based on Solar Adsorption Refrigeration),该系统由地面太阳能集热子系统、吸附制冷子系统和地下输冰子系统组成。通过建立子系统的数学模型和地面系统的TRNSYS模型,分别分析甲醇解吸量、吸附制冷量和吸附制冰量在不同太阳能辐射强度、不同季节和不同地区影响下的变化规律,进而得出太阳辐射强度和太阳辐射连续性是造成制冰量差异的主要原因。选取太阳辐射强度和太阳连续性较优的淮南、南宁两区域进行系统制冰能效分析,与传统蒸汽压缩式制冷系统相比,该系统的吸附制冷子系统平均节能效率达到64.71%。研究结果反映出,太阳能吸附制冷与载/蓄冷充填降温相结合的新型矿井降温系统的研发,对于高效解决矿井热害问题有所裨益。

考虑变掺氧富氧燃烧与利用LNG冷能的LAES的综合能源系统低碳经济调度

为促进风电消纳,减少火电机组的碳排放,解决综合能源系统(Integrated Energy System,IES)低碳经济运行问题,文中引入变掺氧富氧燃烧技术对燃气机组进行改造,并结合利用液化天然气(Liquefied Natural Gas,LNG)冷能的液化空气储能(Liquid Air Energy Storage,LAES),提出了一种电热气冷IES低碳经济优化策略。首先,构建含变掺氧富氧燃烧燃气机组、利用LNG冷能的LAES、电转气(Power To Gas,P2G)设备、中央空调和溴化锂制冷机的IES架构,并建立各设备的数学模型;其次,引入阶梯式碳交易机制,建立了以系统运行成本最小为目标的电热气冷IES低碳经济调度模型;最后,采用MATLAB调用GUROBI求解器对多个场景进行求解,验证了文中提出的低碳经济优化调度策略可以提高系统的风电消纳、有效降低系统运行成本,实现碳减排。

基于土壤蓄冷的新型果蔬预冷方案的模拟计算

如何利用自然冷源一直都是热点话题。季节性土壤蓄冷目前在舒适性空调领域已经有了相关的应用案例,但冷链物流的温度都一般都在0~5℃或-18℃,空调的系统温度一般难以满足其要求,因此在冷链物流方向的应用还是较少。在冷链物流的各个环节中,果蔬等农产品采摘后的预冷是全程冷链的第一步也是关键一步,但由于其耗能较大,源头地缘限制等因素导致其不能大面积铺开,造成食品在冷链中出现腐烂和过熟。本文基于土壤蓄冷构造了一种新型的果蔬预冷方案,探讨其节能效果。

Heat Absorbing and Releasing Experiments with Improved Phase-change Thermal Storage Canisters

This article,based on authors＇ long-term study,proposes an improved foamed-Ni-packed phase-change thermal storage canister,which takes advantage of the foamed-Ni characteristic of instinctive porous structure and excellent properties to ameliorate its void distribution and thermal conductivity. The improved canister and the unimproved one without foamed-Ni package,are put to heat absorbing and releasing tests to investigate the effects of heat absorbing temperature upon the phase-change materials （PCM） melting time under three temperature schemes by using platinum resistance thermometers （PT100） and data acquisition modules （ADAM-4000） to gather the data of varying temperature. Afterwards,the computerized tomography （CT） is employed to scan the void distribution in both canisters. Compared to the unimproved canister,the experimental results evidence the superiority of the improved one in higher uniformity in void and temperature distribution as well as faster thermal responses.