With the depletion of fossil fuel energy and both the slow development and low utilization rate of new eco-friendly energy, finding new ways to efficiently store energy has become a research hotspot. Presently, polyethylene glycol (PEG) is an excellent heat storage material, but it is a typical solid-liquid phase change material (PCM) with a risk of leakage during phase transition. A combination of wood flour (WF) and PEG can effectively eliminate the risk of leakage after the melting of PEG. However, WF and PEG are both flammable materials, which impedes their application. Therefore, it is of great significance to expand their application by forming composites from among PEG, supporting mediums, and flame-retardant additives. This will improve both their flame retardancy and phase change energy storage performance, and will also lead to the preparation of excellent flame-retardant phase change composite materials with solid-solid phase change characteristics. To address this issue, ammonium polyphosphate (APP), organic modified montmorillonite (OMMT), and WF were blended into PEG in specific proportions to prepare a series of PEG/WF-based composites. Both thermal cycling tests and thermogravimetric analysis results demonstrated that the as-prepared composites had good thermal reliability and chemical stability. In addition, during differential scanning calorimetry tests, the PEG/WF/[email protected] composite presented the highest melting latent heat (176.6 J/g), and its enthalpy efficiency reached more than 98.3%. The PEG/WF/[email protected] composite also exhibited superior thermal insulation performance when compared to the pure PEG/WF composite. Furthermore, the PEG/WF/[email protected] composite exhibited a significant 50% reduction in peak heat release rate as a result of the synergistic effect between OMMT and APP in the gas and condensed phases. This work offers a useful strategy for the fabrication of multifunctional phase-change material, which is expected to broaden its industrial applications. Full article

This study investigated the impact of individual and combination of different sources of heating (passive solar heating, electric oil-heater, and solar air heater) in a pilot-scale building containing phase change material (PCM) for a potential reduction in energy consumption while maintaining thermal comfort. Unlike most of the recent simulations and modelling studies, this impact was tested experimentally using two identical control and test huts located at the University of Auckland. The control hut was equipped with standard gypsum boards while the test hut had gypsum boards containing PCM (PureTemp 20, PT20). The study found that combining both active and passive solar heating with a temperature-controlled electric oil heater demonstrated the ability to provide significant energy savings and maintain thermal comfort in the test hut, most notably overnight. The suggested combination was tested over different weather conditions and with different temperature constraints to maintain thermal comfort and achieve energy savings ranging from 33% to 87.5%. Full article

The Stefan problem regarding the formation of several liquid–solid interfaces produced by the oscillations of the ambient temperature around the melting point of a phase change material has been addressed by several authors. Numerical and semi-analytical methods have been used to find the thermal response of a phase change material under these type of boundary conditions. However, volume changes produced by the moving fronts and their effects on the thermal performance of phase change materials have not been addressed. In this work, volume changes are incorporated through an additional equation of motion for the thickness of the system. The thickness of the phase change material becomes a dynamic variable of motion by imposing total mass conservation. The modified equation of motion for each interface is obtained by coupling mass conservation with a local energy–mass balance at each front. The dynamics of liquid–solid interface configurations is analyzed in the transient and steady periodic regimes. Finite element and heat balance integral methods are used to verify the consistency of the solutions to the proposed model. The heat balance integral method is modified and adapted to find approximate solutions when two fronts collide, and the temperature profiles are not smooth. Volumetric corrections to the sensible and latent heat released (absorbed) are introduced during front formation, annihilation, and in the presence of two fronts. Finally, the thermal energy released by the interior surface is estimated through the proposed model and compared with the solutions obtained through models proposed by other authors. Full article

Two mass-accommodation methods are proposed to describe the melting of paraffin wax used as a phase-change material in a centrally heated annular region. The two methods are presented as models where volume changes produced during the phase transition are incorporated through total mass conservation. The mass of the phase-change material is imposed as a constant, which brings an additional equation of motion. Volume changes in a cylindrical unit are pictured in two different ways. On the one hand, volume changes in the radial direction are proposed through an equation of motion where the outer radius of the cylindrical unit is promoted as a dynamical variable of motion. On the other hand, volume changes along the axial symmetry axis of the cylindrical unit are proposed through an equation of motion, where the excess volume of liquid constitutes the dynamical variable. The energy–mass balance at the liquid–solid interface is obtained according to each method of conceiving volume changes. The resulting energy–mass balance at the interface constitutes an equation of motion for the radius of the region delimited by the liquid–solid interface. Subtle differences are found between the equations of motion for the interface. The differences are consistent with mass conservation and local mass balance at the interface. Stationary states for volume changes and the radius of the region delimited by the liquid–solid interface are obtained for each mass-accommodation method. We show that the relationship between these steady states is proportional to the relationship between liquid and solid densities when the system is close to the high melting regime. Experimental tests are performed in a vertical annular region occupied by a paraffin wax. The boundary conditions used in the experimental tests produce a thin liquid layer during a melting process. The experimental results are used to characterize the phase-change material through the proposed models in this work. Finally, the thermodynamic properties of the paraffin wax are estimated by minimizing the quadratic error between the temperature readings within the phase-change material and the temperature field predicted by the proposed model. Full article

Thermal energy storage units conventionally have the drawback of slow charging response. Thus, heat transfer enhancement techniques are required to reduce charging time. Using nanoadditives is a promising approach to enhance the heat transfer and energy storage response time of materials that store heat by undergoing a reversible phase change, so-called phase change materials. In the present study, a combination of such materials enhanced with the addition of nanometer-scale graphene oxide particles (called nano-enhanced phase change materials) and a layer of a copper foam is proposed to improve the thermal performance of a shell-and-tube latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES) unit filled with capric acid. Both graphene oxide and copper nanoparticles were tested as the nanometer-scale additives. A geometrically nonuniform layer of copper foam was placed over the hot tube inside the unit. The metal foam layer can improve heat transfer with an increase of the composite thermal conductivity. However, it suppressed the natural convection flows and could reduce heat transfer in the molten regions. Thus, a metal foam layer with a nonuniform shape can maximize thermal conductivity in conduction-dominant regions and minimize its adverse impacts on natural convection flows. The heat transfer was modeled using partial differential equations for conservations of momentum and heat. The finite element method was used to solve the partial differential equations. A backward differential formula was used to control the accuracy and convergence of the solution automatically. Mesh adaptation was applied to increase the mesh resolution at the interface between phases and improve the quality and stability of the solution. The impact of the eccentricity and porosity of the metal foam layer and the volume fraction of nanoparticles on the energy storage and the thermal performance of the LHTES unit was addressed. The layer of the metal foam notably improves the response time of the LHTES unit, and a 10% eccentricity of the porous layer toward the bottom improved the response time of the LHTES unit by 50%. The presence of nanoadditives could reduce the response time (melting time) of the LHTES unit by 12%, and copper nanoparticles were slightly better than graphene oxide particles in terms of heat transfer enhancement. The design parameters of the eccentricity, porosity, and volume fraction of nanoparticles had minimal impact on the thermal energy storage capacity of the LHTES unit, while their impact on the melting time (response time) was significant. Thus, a combination of the enhancement method could practically reduce the thermal charging time of an LHTES unit without a significant increase in its size. Full article

The high intermittency of solar energy is still a challenge yet to be overcome. The use of thermal storage has proven to be a good option, with phase change materials (PCM) as very promising candidates. Nevertheless, PCM compounds have typically poor thermal conductivity, reducing their attractiveness for commercial uses. This paper demonstrates the viability of increasing the PCM effective thermal conductivity to industrial required values (around 4 W/m·K) by using metal wool infiltrated into the resin under vacuum conditions. To achieve this result, the authors used an inert resin, decoupling the specific PCM material selection from the enhancement effect of the metal wools. To ensure proper behavior of the metal wool under standard industrial environments at a broad range of temperatures, a set of analyses were performed at high temperatures and an inert atmosphere, presenting a thorough analysis of the obtained results. Full article

The use of adequate thermal energy storage (TES) systems is an efficient way to achieve thermal comfort in buildings reducing the cooling and heating demand. Besides, deploy phase change materials (PCM) to meet and enhance the TES needs is highly effective and widely studied. In this paper, a study of the degradation of two fatty acids is presented, capric and myristic acids, in order to evaluate whether their thermo-physical properties are affected throughout time during service. This was carried out by means of two different types of thermal treatments: degradation at constant temperature (thermal stability test), 60 °C during 100 h and 500 h, and degradation with heating and cooling cycling (thermal cycling stability), between a temperature range from 15 °C to 70 °C with 0.5 °C/min ramp during 500 and 1000 cycles. Despite no significant changes were measured for myristic acid, experimental results revealed a decrease of melting enthalpy of 6.6% in capric acid thermally treated for 500 h. Evidences of chemical degradation were found that might explain the decrease in thermophysical properties during use. Full article

Front tracking and enthalpy methods used to study phase change processes are based on a local thermal energy balance at the liquid–solid interface where mass accommodation methods are also used to account for the density change during the phase transition. Recently, it has been shown that a local thermal balance at the interface does not reproduce the thermodynamic equilibrium in adiabatic systems. Total thermal balance through the entire liquid–solid system can predict the correct thermodynamic equilibrium values of melted (solidified) mass, system size, and interface position. In this work, total thermal balance is applied to systems with isothermal–adiabatic boundary conditions to estimate the sensible and latent heat stored (released) by ${\mathrm{KNO}}_3$ and ${\mathrm{KNO}}_3/{\mathrm{NaNO}}_3$ salts which are used as high-temperature phase change materials. Relative percent differences between the solutions obtained with a local thermal balance at the interface and a total thermal balance for the thermal energy absorbed or released by high-temperature phase change materials are obtained. According to the total thermal balance proposed, a correction to the liquid–solid interface dynamics is introduced, which accounts for an extra amount of energy absorbed or released during the phase transition. It is shown that melting or solidification rates are modified by using a total thermal balance through the entire system. Finally, the numerical and semi-analytical methods illustrate that volume changes and the fraction of melted (solidified) solid (liquid) estimated through a local thermal balance at the interface are not invariant in adiabatic systems. The invariance of numerical and semi-analytical solutions in adiabatic systems is significantly improved through the proposed model. Full article

Environmental problems have been associated with energy consumption and waste management. A solution is the development of renewable materials such as organic phase change materials. Characterization of new materials allows knowing their applications and simulations provide an idea of how they can developed. Consequently, this research is focused on the thermal and chemical characterization of five different avocado seed oils depending on the maturity stage of the seed: 100% unripe, 25% mature-75% unripe, 50% mature-50% unripe, 75% mature-25% unripe, and 100% mature. The characterization was performed by differential scanning calorimetry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis. The best oil for natural environments corresponded to 100% matured seed with an enthalpy of fusion of 52.93 $\mathrm{J}·{\mathrm{g}}^{-1}$, and a degradation temperature between 241–545 °C. In addition, the FTIR analysis shows that unripe seed oil seems to contain more lipids than a mature one. Furthermore, a simulation with an isothermal box was conducted with the characterized oil with an initial temperature of −14 °C for the isothermal box, −27 °C for the PCM box, and an ambient temperature of 25 °C. The results show that without the PCM the temperature can reach −8 °C and with it is −12 °C after 7 h, proving its application as a cold thermal energy system. Full article

Applying a well-performing heat exchanger is an efficient way to fortify the relatively low thermal response of phase-change materials (PCMs), which have broad application prospects in the fields of thermal management and energy storage. In this study, an improved PCM melting and solidification in corrugated (zigzag) plate heat exchanger are numerically examined compared with smooth (flat) plate heat exchanger in both horizontal and vertical positions. The effects of the channel width (0.5 W, W, and 2 W) and the airflow temperature (318 K, 323 K, and 328 K) are exclusively studied and reported. The results reveal the much better performance of the horizontal corrugated configuration compared with the smooth channel during both melting and solidification modes. It is found that the melting rate is about 8% faster, and the average temperature is 4 K higher in the corrugated region compared with the smooth region because of the large heat-exchange surface area, which facilitates higher rates of heat transfer into the PCM channel. In addition to the higher performance, a more compact unit can be achieved using the corrugated system. Moreover, applying the half-width PCM channel accelerates the melting rate by eight times compared to the double-width channel. Meanwhile, applying thicker channels provides faster solidification rates. The melting rate is proportional to the airflow temperature. The PCM melts within 274 s when the airflow temperature is 328 K. However, the melting time increases to 460 s for the airflow temperature of 308 K. Moreover, the PCM solidifies in 250 s and 405 s in the cases of 318 K and 328 K airflow temperatures, respectively. Full article

This study researches the effect of phase change materials (PCMs) containing carbonized rice husks (CRHs) in wood plastic composites (WPCs) as roof finishing materials on roof-surface and indoor temperatures. A cool roof miniature model was prepared, and measurements were taken using three fixed temperatures of 30 to 32 °C, 35 to 37 °C, and 40 to 42 °C. Sodium sulfate decahydrate (Na₂SO₄·10H₂O) and paraffin wax were selected as the PCMs. CRHs were used as additives to improve the thermal conductivities of the PCMs. At lower fixed temperatures such as 30 to 32 °C and 35 to 37 °C, the rates of increase of the surface temperatures of roofs containing CRHs with Na₂SO₄·10H₂O, and paraffin wax, were observed to gradually decrease compared to those of the roofs without PCMs. The indoor temperatures for the above-mentioned PCMs containing CRHs were maintained to be lower than those of the indoors without PCMs. Additionally, as the CRH content in the PCM increased, the rates of increase of the roof-surface and indoor temperatures decreased due to a faster roof heat absorption by PCMs through the improved thermal conductivity of CRHs. However, under higher artificial temperatures such as 40 to 42 °C, Na₂SO₄·10H₂O with CRHs exhibited no effect due to being out of latent heat range of Na₂SO₄·H₂O. For paraffin wax, as CRH content increased, their roof- surface and indoor temperatures decreased. Especially, the surface temperature of the roof containing paraffin contained 5 wt.% CRHs reduced by 11 °C, and its indoor temperature dropped to 26.4 °C. The thermal conductivity of PCM was enhanced by the addition of CRHs. A suitable PCM selection in each location can result in the reduction of the roof-surface and indoor temperatures. Full article

The construction and maintenance of building stock is responsible for approximately 36% of all CO₂ emissions in the European Union. One of the possibilities of how to achieve high energy-efficient and decarbonized building stock is the integration of renewable energy sources (RES) in building energy systems that contain efficient energy storage capacity. Phase Change Materials (PCMs) are latent heat storage media with a high potential of integration in building structures and technical systems. Their solid-liquid transition is specifically utilized for thermal energy storage in building applications. The typically quite old example is the use of ice that serves as long-term storage of cold. Large pieces of ice cut in winter were stored in heavily insulated spaces and prepared for cooling of food or beverages in summer. In the contemporary use of the principle, the PCMs for building applications and tested in this study must have a melting range close to the desired temperature in the occupied rooms. As the PCMs need to be encapsulated, several types of metal containers have been developed and tested for their thermal conductivity and resistance to mechanical damage, which enhances the performance of these so-called latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES) systems. Long-term compatibility of metals with PCMs depends, i.e., on the elimination of an undesirable interaction between the metal and the specific PCM. Heat storage medium must be reliably sealed in a metal container, especially if the LHTES is integrated into systems where PCM leaks can negatively affect human health (e.g., domestic hot water tanks). The aim of this study is to evaluate the interactions between the selected commercially available organic (Linpar 17 and 1820) and inorganic (Rubitherm SP22 and SP25) PCMs and metals widely used for PCM encapsulation (aluminum, brass, carbon steel, and copper). The evaluation is based on the calculation of the corrosion rate (CR), and the gravimetric method is used for the determination of the weight variations of the metal samples. The results show good compatibility for all metals with organic PCMs, which is demonstrated by a mass loss as low as 2.1 mg in case of carbon steel immersed in Linpar 1820 for 12 weeks. The exposure of metals to organic PCMs also did not cause any visual changes on the surface except for darker stains, and tarnishing occurred on the copper samples. More pronounced changes were observed in metal samples immersed in inorganic PCMs. The highest CR values were calculated for carbon steel exposed to inorganic PCM Rubitherm SP25 (up to 13.897 mg·cm⁻²·year⁻¹). The conclusion of the study is that aluminum is the most suitable container material for the tested PCMs as it shows the lowest mass loss and minimal visual changes on the surface after prolonged exposure to the selected PCMs. Full article

Shape-stabilized phase change material (SSPCM) is a promising thermal energy storage material in energy-saving buildings. However, its flammability leads to a fire risk. The conventional bulk addition method has a limited flame-retardant effect. Herein, a series of surface coatings with various flame retardants were introduced to improve flame retardance of SSPCM. The results showed that all of the coatings had flame-retardant effects on SSPCM; In particular, the EG coating performed the best: the horizontal burning time was the longest, the limiting oxygen index was above 30%, the V0 classification was obtained, the peak heat release rate was sharply decreased from 1137.0 to 392.5 kW/m² and the burning process was prolonged with the least total smoke production. The flame-retardant mechanism was discussed. As paraffin easily evaporated from the SSPCM at a moderate temperature, it caused flames. After being surface coated, the EG-based coatings first hindered the volatilization of paraffin at a moderate temperature, then expanded and formed thick porous carbon layers at a high temperature to block the transfer of combustibles, oxygen and heat between the bulk and the environment. Therefore, the surface coating strategy achieved a desirable flame-retardant level with fewer flame retardants. Full article

The aim of the study was the combination of two measurement methods, the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and infrared thermography to evaluate thermal performance of woven and knitted fabrics coated with acrylic pastes containing 20% (P/20) and 40% (P/40) of microcapsules of phase change materials (MPCM) with transition temperatures of 28 °C (MPCM28) and 43 °C (MPCM43). The DSC analysis showed that the phase transition processes for materials modified with pastes P/20 occur in a narrower temperature range than those modified with P/40 pastes. The initial temperatures T_{Onset (S-S)} and T_{Onset (S-L)} are higher for materials modified respectively with pastes P/20 and P/40. The melting and crystallization enthalpy values of both P/20 coated materials are lower by about 45% and 35% compared to P/40. Infrared thermography analysis showed that materials modified with P/20 are heating up faster than modified with P/40 for both MPCM. In the cooling process for modified fabrics the highest temperature decrease was observed in the first 30s. Materials modified with paste P/40 were cooled more slowly in comparison with paste P/20, both for MPCM28 and MPCM43. Full article

Nine monoamides were synthesized from carboxylic acids (C8–C18) and crude glycerol. The final monoamides were the result of a rearrangement of the acyl chain during the final hydrogenation process. The purity of the final compounds was determined by spectroscopic and mass spectrometry (MS) techniques. The thermophysical properties of solid monoamides were investigated to determine their capability to act as phase change materials (PCM) in thermal energy storage. Thermophysical properties were determined with a differential scanning calorimeter (DSC). The melting temperatures of the analyzed material ranged from 62.2 °C to 116.4 °C. The analyzed enthalpy of these monoamides ranged from 25.8 kJ/kg to 149.7 kJ/kg. Enthalpy values are analyzed considering the carbon chain and the formation of hydrogen bonds. Full article

The need for affordable systems that are capable of regulating the temperature of living or storage spaces has increased the interest in exploring phase change materials (PCMs) for latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES). This study investigates n-nonadecane (C₁₉H₄₀) and n-eicosane (C₂₀H₄₂) as alkane hydrocarbons/paraffins for LHTES applications. An epoxy resin is used as the support matrix medium to mitigate paraffin leakage, and a thickening agent is utilized to suppress phase separation during the curing process. In order to enhance the thermal conductivity of the epoxy–paraffin composite, conductive agents including carbon nanofibers (CNFs), carbon nanotubes (CNTs), boron nitride (BN) microparticles, or boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) are incorporated in different gravimetric ratios. Enhancements in latent heat, thermal conductivity, and heat transfer are realized with the addition of the thermal fillers. The sample composition with 10 wt.% BN shows excellent reversibility upon extended heating–cooling cycles and adequate viscosity for template casting as well as direct three-dimensional (3D) printing on fabrics, demonstrating the feasibility for facile integration onto liners/containers for thermal regulation purposes. Full article

Light-driven phase change materials (PCMs) have received significant attention due to their capacity to convert visible light into thermal energy, storing it as latent heat. However, continuous photo-thermal conversion can cause the PCMs to reach high thermal equilibrium temperatures after phase transition. In our study, a novel light-driven phase change material system with temperature-control properties was constructed using a thermochromic compound. Thermochromic phase change materials (TC-PCMs) were prepared by introducing 2-anilino-6-dibutylamino-3-methylfluoran (ODB-2) and bisphenol A (BPA) into 1-hexadecanol (1-HD) in various proportions. Photo-thermal conversion performance was investigated with solar radiation (low power of 0.09 W/cm²) and a xenon lamp (at a high power of 0.14 W/cm²). The TC-PCMs showed a low equilibrium temperature due to variations in absorbance. Specifically, the temperature of TC-PCM₁₈₀ (ODB-2, bisphenol A and 1-HD ratio 1:2:180) could stabilize at 54 °C approximately. TC-PCMs exhibited reversibility and repeatability after 20 irradiation and cooling cycles. Full article

The storage and utilization of waste heat in low and medium temperature ranges using phase change materials (PCMs) is an effective technology to improve energy utilization efficiency in combined cooling, heating, and power (CCHP) systems. In this paper, stearic acid/inorganic porous matrix phase change composites were developed to store waste heat for hot water systems. Among them, stearic acid/expanded graphite (EG) phase change composite was highlighted and the thermal physical properties, the dynamic response, and the long-term cyclic stability were evaluated. The stearic acid concentrations in the composites were over 95 wt%. The thermal diffusion coefficients were 3–5 times higher than pure stearic acid, independent of composite densities. Accordingly, the heat storage and release times were decreased by up to 41% and 55%, respectively. After 100 cycles, the composites maintained good dynamic response and long-term cyclic stability, with heat storage density of 122–152 MJ/m³. Hence, this stearic acid/EG phase change composite exhibits excellent comprehensive performances. It is also easy to be prepared and flexible for various types of heat exchangers. Full article

Practical applications of Phase Change Materials (PCMs) often require their encapsulation in other materials, such as metals or plastics. This raises the issue of compatibility between PCMs and encapsulating materials, which has still not been sufficiently addressed. The study presented here follows existing research and provides experimental evaluation of the suitability of selected PCMs for proposed integration in building structures. Two organic PCMs, two inorganic PCMs and three representative plastics (polypropylene (PP-H), high density polyethylene (PE-HD) and polyvinylchloride (PVC-U)) were selected for compatibility tests. Evaluation of the results is based on the mass variations of the plastic samples during the test period. Plastic samples were immersed in PCMs and subjected to periodic heating and cooling (for 16 weeks) in a small environmental chamber simulating real operational conditions. The results show that the organic PCMs have a greater ability to penetrate the PE-HD and PP-H compared with the inorganic PCMs. The penetration of all PCMs was most notable during the first four weeks of the experiment. Later it slowed down significantly. Overall, the mass changes in PE-HD and PP-H samples did not exceed 6.9% when immersed in organic PCMs and 1.8% in inorganic PCMs. PVC-U samples exhibited almost negligible (less than 0.1%) mass variation in all cases. Full article

Thermal energy storage systems work in conjunction with solar technologies with the aim of increasing their dispatchability and competitiveness in the energy market. Among others, latent heat thermal energy storage systems have become an appealing research subject and many efforts have therefore been invested in selecting the best phase change material (PCM) to fit the final application. In this study, an extended corrosion characterization was performed for two PCM candidates, solar salt (40 wt.% KNO₃/60 wt.% NaNO₃) and myo-inositol (C₆H₁₂O₆), to be applied in Fresnel solar plants. Corrosion rates were determined in aluminium, stainless steel (AISI 304), carbon steel (AISI 1090), and copper by gravimetric tests, gauging the weight loss after 2000 h of immersion at 250 °C. The corrosion products were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and x-ray diffraction (XRD). The corrosion tests carried out with myo-inositol did not show accurate enough results to draw conclusions regarding corrosion on the metals. However, it was observed that this sugar alcohol strongly sticks to the metal specimens, making myo-inositol extremely difficult to manage as an energy storage material. Therefore, the present paper discourages the use of myo-inositol as a PCM beyond its corrosion rate. Full article

The present study aims to investigate the impact of thermal energy storage aggregate (TESA) and nano-titanium (NT) on properties of structural concrete. TESA was made of scoria encapsulated with phase change materials (PCMs). Coarse aggregates were replaced by TESA at 100% by volume of aggregate and NT was added at 5% by weight of cement. Compressive strength, probability of corrosion, thermal performance, and microstructure properties were studied. The results indicated that the presence of TESA reduced the compressive strength of concrete, although the strength was still high enough to be used as structural concrete. The use of TESA significantly improved the thermal performance of concrete, and slightly improved the resistance of corrosion in concrete. The thermal test results showed that TESA concrete reduces the peak temperature by 2 °C compared to the control. The addition of NT changed the microstructure of concrete, which resulted in higher compressive strength. Additionally, the use of NT further enhanced the thermal performance of TESA concrete by reducing the probability of corrosion remarkably. These results confirmed the crucial role of NT in improving the permeability and the thermal conductivity of mixtures containing PCM. In other words, the charging and discharging of TESA was enhanced with the presence of NT in the mixture. Full article

This study first reviewed previous studies on floor heating systems based on the installation of a phase change material (PCM) and the current status of technical developments and found that PCM-based research is still in its infancy. In particular, the improvement of floor heat storage performance in indoor environments by combining a PCM with existing floor structures has not been subject to previous research. Thus, a PCM-based radiant floor heating system that utilizes hot water as a heat source and can be used in conjunction with the widespread wet construction method can be considered novel. This study found the most suitable PCM melting temperature for the proposed PCM-based radiant floor heating system ranged from approximately 35 °C to 45 °C for a floor thickness of 70 mm and a PCM thickness of 10 mm. Mock-up test results, which aimed to assess the performance of the radiant floor heating system with and without the PCM, revealed that the PCM-based room was able to maintain a temperature that was 0.2 °C higher than that of the room without the PCM. This was due to the rise in temperature caused by the PCM’s heat storage capacity and the emission of waste heat that was otherwise lost to the underside of the hot water pipe when the PCM was not present. Full article

In the presented work, five bio-based and bio-degradable cyclic esters, i.e. lactones, have been investigated as possible phase change materials for applications in latent heat storage systems. Commercial natural lactones such as ε-caprolactone and γ-valerolactone were easily purchased through chemical suppliers, while 1,2-campholide, oxa-adamantanone and dibenzochromen-6-one were synthesized through Baeyer-Villiger oxidation. The compounds were characterized with respect to attenuated total reflectance spectroscopy and gas chromatography coupled with mass spectroscopy, in order to confirm their chemical structures and identity. Subsequently, thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry were used to measure the phase change temperatures, enthalpies of fusion, degradation temperatures, as well to estimate the degree of supercooling. The lactones showed a wide range of phase change temperatures from −40 °C to 290 °C, making them a high interest for both low and high temperature latent heat storage applications, given the lack of organic phase change materials covering phase change temperature ranges below 0 °C and above 80 °C. However, low enthalpies of fusion, high degrees of supercooling and thermal degradations at low temperatures were registered for all samples, rendering them unsuitable as phase change materials. Full article

Density changes produced by pressure increments during melting of a spherically confined phase-change material have an impact on the thermal energy absorbed by the heat storage unit. Several authors have assumed incompressible phases to estimate the volume change of the phase-change material and the thermal balance at the liquid–solid interface. This assumption simplifies the problem but neglects the contribution of density changes to the thermal energy absorbed. In this work, a thermal balance at the interface that depends on the rate of change of the densities and on the shape of the container is found by imposing total mass conservation. The rigidity of the container is tuned through the coupling constant of an array of springs surrounding the phase-change material. This way, the behavior of the system can be probed from the isobaric to the isochoric regimes. The sensible and latent heat absorbed during the melting process are obtained by solving the proposed model through numerical and semi-analytical methods. Comparing the predictions obtained through our model, it is found that even for moderate pressures, the absorbed thermal energy predicted by other authors can be significantly overestimated. Full article

The use of adequate thermal energy storage (TES) systems is an opportunity to increase energy efficiency in the building sector, and so decrease both commercial and residential energy consumptions. Nano-enhanced phase change materials (NEPCM) have attracted attention to address one of the crucial barriers (i.e. low thermal conductivity) to the adoption of phase change materials (PCM) in this sector. In the present study two PCM based on fatty acids, capric and palmitic acid, were nano-enhanced with low contents (1.0 wt.%, 1.5 wt.% and 3.0 wt.%) of copper (II) oxide (CuO) nanoparticles. Copper (II) oxide (CuO) was synthesized via coprecipitation method obtaining 60–120 nm diameter sized nanoparticles. Thermal stability and high thermal conductivity were observed for the nano-enhanced phase change materials (NEPCM) obtained. Experimental results revealed remarkable increments in NEPCM thermal conductivity, for instance palmitic acid thermal conductivity was increased up to 60% with the addition of 3 wt.% CuO nanoparticles. Moreover, CuO nanoparticles sedimentation velocity decreases when increasing its content. Full article

An artificial aging study of novel heat absorbers based on phase change materials (PCMs) prepared from recycled high-density polyethylene (HDPE), paraffin wax (PW), and expanded graphite (EG) was investigated. The optimal composition of PCMs contained 40 wt% HDPE, whereas the paraffin wax content ranged from 40 to 60 wt% and the expanded graphite content ranged from 5 to 15 wt%. PCMs were artificially aged through exposure to UV irradiation, enhanced temperature, and humidity. It was clearly demonstrated that the addition of EG to PCMs led to the suppression of PW leakage and improved the photooxidation stability of the PCMs during the aging process. The best performance was achieved by adding 15 wt% of EG to the PCMs. The sample shows a leakage of paraffin wax below 10%, retaining a melting enthalpy of PW within PCMs of 54.8 J/g, a thermal conductivity of 1.64 W/mK and the lowest photooxidation, characterized by an increase in the concentration of carbonyl groups from all investigated materials after artificial aging. Furthermore, PCMs mixed with EG exhibited good mechanical properties, even after 100 days of exposure to artificial aging. Finally, this work demonstrates a justification for the use of recycled plastics in the formation of PCMs. Full article

Microencapsulated phase change materials (MicroPCMs)-incorporated in epoxy composites have drawn increasing interest due to their promising application potential in the fields of thermal energy storage and temperature regulation. However, the study on the effect of MicroPCMs on their microstructure, thermal and viscoelastic properties is quite limited. Herein, a new type of smart epoxy composite incorporated with polyurea (PU)-shelled MicroPCMs was fabricated via solution casting method. Field emission-scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) images revealed that the MicroPCMs were uniformly distributed in the epoxy matrix. The thermal stabilities, conductivities, phase change properties, and dynamic mechanical behaviors of the composite were studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), thermal constant analyzer and infrared thermography. The results suggested that the heat storage ability of the composites was improved by increasing the MicroPCMs content. The thermal stability of MicroPCMs was found to be enhanced after incorporation into the matrix, and the MicroPCMs-incorporated epoxy composites showed a good thermal cycling reliability. Moreover, the incorporation of MicroPCMs reduced the composites’ storage modulus but increased the glass transition temperature (T_g) as a result of their restriction to the chain motion of epoxy resin. Besides, a less marked heating effect for the composite was explored through infrared thermography analysis, demonstrating the good prospect for temperature regulation application. Full article

Developing phase change materials (PCMs) with suitable phase change temperatures and high latent heat is of great significance for accelerating the development of latent heat storage technology to be applied in solar water heating (SWH) systems. The phase change performances of two mixtures, NH₄Al(SO₄)₂·12H₂O-MgCl₂·6H₂O (mixture-A) and KAl(SO₄)₂·12H₂O-MgCl₂·6H₂O (mixture-B), were investigated in this paper. Based on the DSC results, the optimum contents of MgCl₂·6H₂O in mixture-A and mixture-B were determined to be 30 wt%. It is found that the melting points of mixture-A (30 wt% MgCl₂·6H₂O) and mixture-B (30 wt% MgCl₂·6H₂O) are 64.15 °C and 60.15 °C, respectively, which are suitable for SWH systems. Moreover, two mixtures have high latent heat of up to 192.1 kJ/kg and 198.1 kJ/kg as well as exhibit little supercooling. After 200 cycles heating-cooling experiments, the deviations in melting point and melting enthalpy of mixture-A are only 1.51% and 1.20%, respectively. Furthermore, the XRD patterns before and after the cycling experiments show that mixture-A possesses good structure stability. These excellent thermal characteristics make mixture-A show great potential for SWH systems. Full article

Latent Heat Storage (LHS) with Phase-Change Materials (PCMs) represents a high energy density storage technology which could be applied in a variety of applications such as waste heat recovery and integration of renewable energy technologies in energy systems. To increase the sustainability of these storage solutions, PCMs have to be developed with particular regard to bio-origin and biodegradability. Triglycerides represent an interesting class of esters as the main constituents of animal and vegetable fats, with attractive thermal properties. In order to be used as PCMs, the thermal behaviour of triglycerides has to be fully understood, as in some cases they have been reported to show polymorphism and supercooling. This study assesses the suitability of triglycerides as PCMs by reviewing the literature published so far on their behaviour and properties. In particular, melting points, enthalpies of fusion, polymorphism, thermal conductivities, heat capacities and thermal cycling stabilities are considered, with a focus on LHS and thermal energy storage applications. In addition, the efforts conducted regarding modelling and the prediction of melting points and enthalpies based on chemical structures are summarized and assessed. Full article

Phase-change materials (PCMs) are essential modern materials for storing thermal energy in the form of sensible and latent heat, which play important roles in the efficient use of waste heat and solar energy. In the development of PCM technology, many types of materials have been studied, including inorganic salt and salt hydrates and organic matter such as paraffin and fatty acids. Considerable research has focused on the relationship between the material structure and energy storage properties to understand the heat storage/emission mechanism involved in controlling the energy storage performance of materials. In this study, we review the application of various carbon-filled organic PCMs in the field of heat storage and describe the current state of this research. Full article