Phase change heat storage

Are phase change materials suitable for thermal energy storage?

Phase change materials (PCMs) having a large latent heat during solid-liquid phase transition are promising for thermal energy storage applications. However, the relatively low thermal conductivity of the majority of promising PCMs (<10 W/ (m ⋅ K)) limits the power density and overall storage efficiency.

What are the applications of phase change heat storage technology?

Then, the application of phase change heat storage technology in different fields is discussed, including building energy saving, thermal management of electronic equipment, solar energy system and energy storage system.

How can a phase change heat storage device improve thermal conductivity?

Or package the phase change materials in different shapes and sizes; Mixing of graphite or nanoparticles helps to enhance the low thermal conductivity of phase change materials. On the other hand, the heat storage performance is improved through optimizing the phase change heat storage device.

Why do phase-change materials lose heat?

Phase-change materials offer state-of-the-art thermal storage due to high latent heat. However, spontaneous heat loss from thermally charged phase-change materials to cooler surroundings occurs due to the absence of a significant energy barrier for the liquid–solid transition.

Are phase change materials suitable for heating & cooling applications?

The research, design, and development (RD&D) for phase change materials have attracted great interest for both heating and cooling applications due to their considerable environmental-friendly nature and capability of storing a large amount of thermal energy in small volumes as widely studied through experiments [7, 8].

How does a PCM control the temperature of phase transition?

By controlling the temperature of phase transition, thermal energy can be stored in or released from the PCM efficiently. Figure 1 B is a schematic of a PCM storing heat from a heat source and transferring heat to a heat sink.