scholarly journals Natural Magnetite for thermal energy storage: Excellent thermophysical properties, reversible latent heat transition and controlled thermal conductivity

2017 ◽  
Vol 161 ◽  
pp. 170-176 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yaroslav Grosu ◽  
Abdessamad Faik ◽  
Iñigo Ortega-Fernández ◽  
Bruno D'Aguanno
Author(s):  
Aitor Zabalegui ◽  
Bernadette Tong ◽  
Hohyun Lee

Phase change materials (PCMs) are promising for thermal energy storage applications, but low thermal conductivity limits their heat exchange rate with a working fluid. The nanofluid approach has been established as a method of thermal conductivity enhancement, but particle addition may have an adverse effect on specific energy storage capacity. Latent heat reduction beyond traditional theory has been observed experimentally for carbon nanotubes dispersed in paraffin wax. Nanofluid latent heat and effective thermal conductivity were analyzed to investigate the effects of particle addition on thermal properties affecting PCM energy storage performance. It is shown that particle diameter significantly impacts nanofluid latent heat, with smaller particles generating greater degrees of reduction, but has a negligible effect on thermal conductivity. A method to approximate nanofluid latent heat of fusion is presented, considering the diameter-dependent reduction observed.


Author(s):  
Ronald J. Warzoha ◽  
Anthony Rao ◽  
Rebecca Weigand ◽  
Amy S. Fleischer

Phase change materials (PCMs) are promising candidates for thermal energy storage due to their intrinsically high values of latent heat. However, PCMs are unable to effectively utilize all of their energy storage capacities due to their poor thermophysical properties. In this study, the effect of graphite nanofibers (diameter = 2 to 1000 nm, length = 100μm) on the bulk thermal properties of paraffin PCM (Tmelt = 56 °C) is investigated. Material properties including effective thermal conductivity, specific heat, latent heat, melt temperature and thermal diffusivity are measured using a Differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC) and comparative reference bar apparatus. Results suggest that the addition of nanostructures not only increases thermal conductivity by up to 180%, but also reduces the specific heat capacity and density of nano-enhanced paraffin, leading to improved thermal diffusivity and thus greater utilization of its latent heat for transient thermal energy storage.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Law Torres Sevilla ◽  
Jovana Radulovic

This paper studies the influence of material thermal properties on the charging dynamics in a low temperature Thermal Energy Storage, which combines sensible and latent heat. The analysis is based on a small scale packed bed with encapsulated PCMs, numerically solved using COMSOL Multiphysics. The PCMs studied are materials constructed based on typical thermal properties (melting temperature, density, specific heat capacity (solid and liquid), thermal conductivity (solid and liquid) and the latent heat) of storage mediums in literature. The range of values are: 25–65°C for the melting temperature, 10–500 kJ/kg for the latent heat, 600–1,000 kg/m3 for the density, 0.1–0.4 W/mK (solid and liquid) for the thermal conductivity and 1,000–2,200 J/kgK (solid and liquid) for the specific heat capacity. The temperature change is monitored at three different positions along the tank. The system consists of a 2D tank with L/D ratio of 1 at a starting temperature of 20°C. Water, as the heat transfer fluid, enters the tank at 90°C. Results indicate that latent heat is a leading parameter in the performance of the system, and that the thermal properties of the PCM in liquid phase influence the overall heat absorption more than its solid counterpart.


Author(s):  
W. E. O’Connor ◽  
A. P. Wemhoff

Organic phase change materials (PCMs) such as paraffins or unsaturated acids use the latent heat of melting for thermal energy storage as a passive cooling mechanism for portable electronics. Researchers have suggested that a PCM’s thermal energy storage capability is linked to its thermal properties, yet this connection has not yet been quantified. This study first uses group theory and known values from literature to obtain the thermophysical properties for a variety of paraffins and unsaturated acids. Then, multiphysics-based finite element analysis (FEA) is applied to determine the influence of these thermophysical properties on the PCM latent heat storage capability for a side heating configuration. The FEA models include melting and re-solidification, natural convection, conduction, and the monitoring of input and output periodic heat fluxes. The phase change was achieved through application of temperature-dependent viscosity and heat capacity relations. The thermal energy storage efficiency is defined as one minus the ratio of integrated output heat flux to the integrated input heat flux. The FEA results are used to provide predictions of thermal energy storage for a variety of PCMs for various aspect ratios under different heating conditions. Insights are gained in relating thermal storage efficiency to the system configuration.


2000 ◽  
Author(s):  
Candice A. Bauer ◽  
R. A. Wirtz

Abstract A Thermal Energy Storage (TES) system uses a Phase Change Material (PCM) to store heat during peak power operation of variable power dissipating devices via the latent heat effect. The TES composite developed is a plate-like structure that consists of a central core of foamed aluminum that is packed with a PCM. By considering the elements of the composite to be thermal resistors and constructing a flat-plate thermal conductivity apparatus, the plate-to-plate effective thermal conductivity is determined. The composite effective thermal conductivity is primarily composed of the thermal conductivity of the aluminum foam which is reduced by the effect of the aluminum foam-to-plate bond resistance. Heat flow through the PCM slightly augments the effective thermal conductivity. An increase in aluminum foam metal fraction results in an increase in the effective thermal conductivity of the composite because only about 2% of the heat flow is through the PCM, and the interfacial bond resistance decreases due to increased contact area. The trade-off is that as there is an increase in aluminum foam metal fraction, the volumetric latent heat decreases; thus, the storage time is reduced.


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