Thermal Energy Storage With Phase Change Material

Thermal Energy Storage with Phase Change Material
Thermal energy storage (TES) systems provide several alternatives for efficient energy
use and conservation. Phase change materials (PCMs) for TES are materials supplying
thermal regulation at particular phase change temperatures by absorbing and emitting
the heat of the medium. Thermal energy storage (TES) is defined as the temporary
holding of thermal energy in the form of hot or cold substances for later utilization.
TES is helpful for balancing between the supply and demand of energy. The selection
of a TES system for a particular application depends on many factors, including storage
duration, economics, supply and utilization temperature requirements, storage
capacity, heat losses and available space. The main types of TES are sensible and latent.
Sensible TES systems store energy by changing the temperature of the storage
medium, which can be water, brine, rock, soil, etc. Latent TES systems store energy
through phase change, e.g., cold storage water/ice and heat storage by melting
paraffin waxes. The total amount of heat can be written in the following formula:
𝑇𝐴 𝑇𝐶 𝑇𝐸
𝑄 = 𝑚 × [∫𝑇𝑂 𝐶𝑝𝑠 (𝑇)𝑑𝑇 + 𝑞𝑡 + ∫𝑇𝐵 𝐶𝑝𝑙 (𝑇)𝑑𝑇 + 𝑞𝑖 + ∫𝑇𝐷 𝐶𝑝𝑣 (𝑇)𝑑𝑇 ]
Starting with an initial solid state at point O, a heat addition to the substance first
causes sensible heating of the solid (region O–A), followed by a solid-to-liquid phase
change (region A–B), a sensible heating of the liquid (region B–C), a liquid-to-vapour
phase change (region C–D), and a sensible heating of the vapour (region D–E).
The stored energy during a latent storage process can be evaluated as:
Q=m·L
where m denotes the mass and L is the specific latent heat of the Phase Change
Material.
When temperature increases, the PCM microcapsules absorbed heat and storing this
energy in the liquefied phase change materials. When the temperature falls, the PCM
microcapsules release this stored heat energy and consequently PCM solidify. The
energy required to cause these changes is named the heat of fusion at the melting
point and the heat of vaporization at the boiling point. The specific heat of fusion or
vaporization and the temperature at which the phase change occurs are very important
in design phase.
PCMs can be broadly classified into two types: Organic PCMs e.g. Paraffin Wax and
Inorganic PCMs e.g. Salt Hydrates. Early efforts in the development of latent TES
materials used inorganic PCMs. These materials are salt hydrates, including Glauber’s
salt (sodium sulphate decahydrate), which was studied extensively in the early stages
of research into PCMs.
Inorganic PCMs have some attractive properties including: high latent heat values;
higher thermal conductivity; not flammable; lower in cost in comparison to organic
compounds; high water content means that they are inexpensive and readily available.
Unlike conventional sensible thermal storage methods, PCMs provide much higher
energy storage densities and the heat is stored and released at an almost constant
temperature. PCMs can be used for both active and passive space heating and cooling
systems.
Organic PCMs have a number of characteristics which render them useful for latent
heat storage in certain building elements. They are more chemically stable than
inorganic substances, they are non-corrosive, they have a high latent heat per unit
weight and they are recyclable.
Selection Criteria for PCMs :-
Thermodynamic properties:
1. Large enthalpy of transition with respect to the volume of the storage unit
2. High change of enthalpy near temperature of use
3. Phase change temperature fitted to application.
4. The latent heat should be as high as possible to minimize the physical size of
the heat storage.
5. High latent heat of fusion per unit mass, so that a lesser amount of material
stores a given amount of energy.
6. A melting point in the desired operating temperature range.
7. Fixed and clearly determined phase change temperature (freeze/melt point).
8. Congruent melting point to avoid segregation.
9. Lower change of volume during phase change.
10. High density, so that a smaller container volume holds the material.
11. High thermal conductivity (both liquid and solid phases) would assist the
charging and discharging of the energy storage high specific heat that provides
additional sensible TES effect and also avoid sub cooling.
Kinetic properties:
1. Little or no undercooling during the freezing process.

2. Sufficient crystallisation rates.
Chemical properties:
1. No chemical decomposition, so that the latent TES system life is assured.

2. Non-corrosiveness to construction material.
3. Long term chemical stability.
4. Non-poisonous; Non-toxic.
5. Non-explosive, non-dangerous.
6. Non-flammable.
Some application areas for PCM in buildings are illustrated in this figure.
No.1: Latent heat store for space heating. No. 2: Plaster and compound systems
with high heat storage capacity. No. 3: Transparent insulation and day lighting
schemes. No. 4: Shading PCM compounding system. No. 5: PCM in gypsum
products and paints. No. 6: PCM to buffer temperature variations in solar-air
systems. Among all the PCM applications for high performance buildings, the
PCM integrated wall is most commonly studied and concerned due to its
relatively more effective heat exchange area and more convenient
implementation. Generally speaking, there are two ways to integrate phase
change materials with building walls: “immersion” and “attachment”. The
solution of “immersion” is to integrate the phase change materials with the
construction material of the building envelope, such as concrete, bricks and
plaster. There are normally three ways to immerse PCM with the building
construction material: direct immersion, macro-encapsulated PCM and micro-
encapsulated PCM. The separate PCM layer, such as PCM integrated gypsum
board and PCM integrated composite panel, allows a separate mass production
of certain wallboards by typical companies; thus, increase the efficiency and
reduce the overall cost. Floor is also the important part of a building and heating
and cooling of buildings were tried using it. Electrical under-floor heating
system is one of the most commonly used methods to provide heat. In many
countries, the electricity tariffs are different between peak hours (usually during
daytime with high-tariff) and off peak hours (usually during night time
with low-tariff). A major development in this area is to develop a PCM which will
maintain good heat storage during the day and heat loss to the environment
during night time. The use of a complete solid-liquid-vapour phase change
cycle will further increase the storage density. Such systems are technically
feasible, but quite a bit more complicated than the simple (and
passive) solid-liquid-solid cycle.
PCM Solar Wall :-

A PCM wall is capable of capturing a large proportion of the solar radiation
incident on the walls or roof of a building. Because of the high thermal mass of
PCM walls, they are capable of minimizing the effect of large fluctuations in the
ambient temperature on the inside temperature of the building. They can be
very effective in shifting the cooling load to off-peak electricity period. The wall
consists of six main components: glass, transparent insulation material,
polycarbonate, ventilated air channel, insulation and plaster. Short wave
radiation passes through glass with transparent insulation material, which
prevents convective and thermal radiation heat transfer. Phase change material
in a transparent plastic casing made of polycarbonate, absorbs and stores
energy mostly as latent heat. The air for the house ventilation is heated in the
air channel and it is led into the room. Insulation and plaster are standard
elements.
PCM Filled Glass Windows :-

Most of the studies and applications have focused on the “opaque” part of
building envelopes, such as walls, ceilings, and floors. However, we should
notice one fact: generally speaking, “transparent” part of the building
envelopes, i.e. window, has much lower thermal resistance than other parts of
the envelopes. The window is double sheeted with a gap between the sheets
and an air vent at the top corner. The sides and bottom are sealed with the
exception of two holes at the bottom, which are connected by plastic tube to
a pump and the PCM tank. The pump is connected in turn to the tank
containing the PCM, which is in liquid phase. The pump operation is
controlled by a temperature sensor. When the temperature difference reaches
a pre-set value the pump is operated and the liquid PCM is pumped out of the
tank to fill the gap between the glass panes. Because of the lower temperature
at the outer surface, the PCM starts to freeze, forming a solid layer that
increases in thickness with time and hence prevents the temperature of the
internal ambient from decreasing. This process continues until the PCM
changes to solid. A well designed window system will ensure that the external
temperature will start to increase before the complete solidification of the
enclosed PCM.
PCM Assisted Sun-Shading :-

The PCM utilized in PCM assisted sun-shading system is hydrated salt
CaCl2·6H2O. This system is very suitable to be utilized under the hot summer
climate, especially for those areas with significant daytime and night-time
temperature fluctuations. In figure is presented conventional and PCM sun-
shading system. During the daytime with high temperatures (compared to the
thermal comfort value), the face of the inner blind integrated with PCM is
rotated to be exposed to the solar radiation so that excess solar energy is stored
in PCM, attenuating the temperature fluctuations inside the room. During the
night time with relatively low temperatures (compared to the thermal comfort
value), the face of the inner blind integrated with PCM is rotated to be exposed
to the room air so that the stored energy is released back to the room, avoiding
over-reduction of the room temperature below the thermal comfort value.
PCM Assisted Ceiling :-
PCM assisted ceiling was investigated at the University of Nottingham
(2002). This is a replacement of a full air conditioning system by the new
system that is a night-time cooling system, which is also easy to retrofit. The
proposed module it is ceiling-mounted with a fan to throw air over the
exposed ends of heat pipes. The other end of the heat pipes is in a PCM
storage module. During the day, the warm air generated in the room is
cooled by the PCM i.e. heat is transferred to the PCM. During the night, the
fan is reversed and the shutters are opened such that cool air from the
outside passes over the heat pipes and extracts heat from the PCM. The
cycle is then repeated next day.
PCM Integrated Roof :-

A roof-integrated solar air heating/storage system uses existing corrugated
iron roof sheets as a solar collector for heating air. A PCM thermal storage
unit is used to store heat during the day so that heat can be supplied at
night or when there is no sunshine. The system operates in three modes.
During times of sunshine and when heating is required, air is passed through
the collector and subsequently into the home. When heating is not required
air is pumped into the thermal storage facility, melting the PCM, charging it
for future use. When sunshine is not available, room air is passed through
the storage facility, heated and then forced into the house. When the
storage facility is frozen, an auxiliary gas heater is used to heat the home.
Adequate amounts of fresh air are introduced when the solar heating system
is delivering heat into the home as shown figure.

Thermal Energy Storage With Phase Change Material

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Thermal Energy Storage with Phase Change Material

Selection Criteria for PCMs :-

1. Little or no undercooling during the freezing process.

1. No chemical decomposition, so that the latent TES system life is assured.

PCM Solar Wall :-

PCM Filled Glass Windows :-

PCM Assisted Sun-Shading :-

PCM Integrated Roof :-

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