Optimisation of thermal energy storage systems incorporated with phase change materials for sustainable energy supply: A systematic review

Odoi-Yorke, Flavio; Opoku, Richard; Davis, Francis; Obeng, George Yaw

doi:10.1016/j.egyr.2023.09.044

Cited by 11 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 104 publications

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“…Melting upon heating and crystallization upon cooling was observed only for the first two heating / cooling steps. After the third melting, the sample supercooled as can be seen from cooling scan (3). During the fourth heating scan, cold crystallization of the metastable supercooled liquid was observed at around 40 °C which was followed by melting above 50 °C.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 87%

“…An additional Adafruit Feather M0 acts as the master microcontroller and controls the six microcontrollers responsible for the individual heating modules. Within the master microcontroller, a temperature program is defined in terms of four stages including (1) dwelling at a base temperature for a specified period of time, (2) heating at a defined heating rate, (3) dwelling at the maximum temperature for a specified period of time and (4) cooling back to the base temperature at a defined cooling rate. These four stages constitute a cycle and can be repeated until the total number of specified cycles is reached.…”

Section: Design Of the Heatmaster Instrumentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Heat batteries are important devices for storing thermal energy from heat pumps, solar and wind sources, off-peak electricity and industrial-waste heat. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7] Typically, the heat charging and release is achieved with the help of phase-change materials that undergo phase transitions. A wide variety of phase-change materials have been employed successfully including metal alloys, paraffins, fatty acids, sugar alcohols, ionic liquids and salt hydrates.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Extensive screening and performance testing of nucleating agents for the sodium acetate trihydrate phase-change material

Li,

Parkes,

Salzmann

2024

Preprint

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Heat batteries often rely on phase-change materials that undergo phase transitions upon heat charging and release. Sodium acetate trihydrate (SAT) is considered one of the best phase-change materials in terms of storage capacity. Yet, it is well-known for supercooling which makes the search for effective nucleating agents a high priority. To perform extensive screening for nucleating agents and to test their performance, we designed a new instrument. The HeatMaster is capable of analyzing six samples on the gram-scale in parallel using the principle of power compensation which means that heat releases and uptakes can be obtained in a quantitative fashion. Out of the 36 tested nucleating agents, CaCl2·2H2O was identified as the best nucleating agent that outperforms several of the previously known nucleating agents in terms of temperature range of operation up to 80 °C. CaCl2·2H2O performs reliably as a nucleating agent for SAT down to 0.5 weight percent. MgCl2·6H2O was also identified as a nucleating agent. Yet, similar to the well-known Na2HPO4∙12H2O, its performance is not reliable after heating to 80 °C. Out of the three nucleating agents, CaCl2·2H2O shows the best performance with respect to deterioration of the heat releases upon extensive thermal cycling with a maximum temperature of 65 °C.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 87%

Section: Design Of the Heatmaster Instrumentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Extensive screening and performance testing of nucleating agents for the sodium acetate trihydrate phase-change material

Li,

Parkes,

Salzmann

2024

Preprint

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“…Recent strides in ML, particularly through deep learning and reinforcement learning, have demonstrated substantial success in predicting PCM thermophysical behaviors in varying conditions, thus surpassing the limitations of traditional selection methods. The process involves training ML models on extensive datasets, including PCM properties and performance metrics across different scenarios, enriched with computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and finite element analysis (FEA) simulations [102]. These models, notably convolutional neural networks (CNNs) and recurrent neural networks (RNNs), excel at detecting intricate patterns and correlations, accurately forecasting PCM responses [103].…”

Section: Optimizing Pcm Selection and Configuration With MLmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Review on Phase Change Materials for Sustainability Applications by Leveraging Machine Learning

Kumar,

Banerjee

2024

Energy Consumption, Conversion, Storage, and Efficiency

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Phase change materials (PCMs) have been envisioned for thermal energy storage (TES) and thermal management applications (TMAs), such as supplemental cooling for air-cooled condensers in power plants (to obviate water usage), electronics cooling (to reduce the environmental footprint of data centers), and buildings. In recent reports, machine learning (ML) techniques have been deployed to improve the sustainability, performance, resilience, robustness, and reliability of TES platforms that use PCMs by leveraging the Cold Finger Technique (CFT) to avoid supercooling (since supercooling can degrade the effectiveness and reliability of TES). Recent studies have shown that reliability of PCMs can be enhanced using additives, such as nucleators and gelling agents, including for organic (paraffin wax) and inorganic (e.g., salt hydrates and eutectics) PCMs. Additionally, material compatibility studies for PCMs with different metals and alloys have also garnered significant attention. Long-term studies for demonstrating the material stability and reliability of candidate PCMs will be summarized in this review book chapter.

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“…Simulation methods have emerged as indispensable instruments for optimizing the performance of PCM-based systems and gaining a deeper understanding of their operation [11]. These simulation techniques enable scientists and engineers to model and analyze the intricate heat transfer and phase change phenomena that occur in PCM systems.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Enhancing Heat Storage Cooling Systems via the Implementation of Honeycomb-Inspired Design: Investigating Efficiency and Performance

Rahmani,

Dibaj,

Akrami

2024

Energies

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This study presents a novel approach inspired by the hexagonal honeycomb structure found in nature, leveraging image processing algorithms to precisely define complex geometries in thermal systems. Hexagonal phase change material containers and thermally conductive fins were meticulously delineated, mirroring the intricate real-world designs of honeycombs. This innovative methodology not only streamlines setup processes but also enhances our understanding of melting dynamics within enclosures, highlighting the potential benefits of biomimetic design principles in engineering applications. Two distinct honeycomb structures were employed to investigate their impact on the melting process within cavities subject to heating from the left wall, with the remaining walls treated as adiabatic surfaces. The incorporation of a thermally conductive fin system within the enclosure significantly reduced the time required for a complete phase change, emphasizing the profound influence of fin systems on thermal design and performance. This enhancement in heat transfer dynamics makes fin systems advantageous for applications prioritizing precise temperature control and expedited phase change processes. Furthermore, the critical role of the fin system design was emphasized, influencing both the onset and location of the final point of melting. This underscores the importance of tailoring fin systems to specific applications to optimize their performance. Our study highlights the significant impact of the Rayleigh (Ra) number on the melting time in a cavity without fins, revealing a decrease from 6 to 0.4 as the Ra increased from 102 to 105; the introduction of a fin system uniformly reduced the melting time to Ste.Fo = 0.5, indicating fins’ universal effectiveness in optimizing thermal dynamics and expediting the melting process. Moreover, the cavity angle was found to significantly affect the fluid fraction diagram in unfanned cavities but had minimal impact when fins were present, highlighting the stabilizing role of fins in mitigating gravitational effects during melting processes. These insights expand our understanding of cavity geometry and fin interactions in heat transfer, offering potential for enhanced thermal system designs in various engineering applications. Decreasing thermal conductivity (λ) by increasing the fin thickness can halve the melting time, but the accompanying disadvantages include a heavier system and reduced energy storage due to less phase change material, necessitating a careful balance in decision-making.

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Optimisation of thermal energy storage systems incorporated with phase change materials for sustainable energy supply: A systematic review

Cited by 11 publications

References 104 publications

Extensive screening and performance testing of nucleating agents for the sodium acetate trihydrate phase-change material

Extensive screening and performance testing of nucleating agents for the sodium acetate trihydrate phase-change material

A Review on Phase Change Materials for Sustainability Applications by Leveraging Machine Learning

Enhancing Heat Storage Cooling Systems via the Implementation of Honeycomb-Inspired Design: Investigating Efficiency and Performance

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