The Application of Phase Change Materials in Heat Storage

Dear Colleagues,

The applications of phase change materials (PCMs) in heat storage are numerous. They can be used to control the temperature of electronics devices in order to prevent overheating. They can also be used to preserve objects, drinks, food, and organs at a defined temperature during transport, without requiring a heavy cooling or heating system. One of the areas where research is also abundant is the field of latent heat storage in order to eliminate the problem of the intermittence of renewable energies. The storage of heat with PCMs matches the need for renewable resources. In industrial settings, heating and cooling cycles can be numerous and can occur in quick succession, especially in batch processes. It is, therefore, useful to reduce energy consumption by recovering heat during the cooling phases in order to reuse it for the next heating cycle, or vice versa.

There is no shortage of applications for PCMs. In practice, the use of PCMs for latent heat storage requires them to be conditioned in reservoirs of varying sizes. In order to use the latent heat for storage, it is necessary to change the state of the PCMs. The thermal behavior of PCMs during the phase changes is often complex and dependent on each phase change material (PCM), its mass, the thermal stress applied, and other factors. The thermal behavior of a PCM almost always differs between heating and cooling processes. Variations in temperature and state (liquid <--> solid) lead to variations in PCM volume and mechanical constraints. Often, additional space is left to allow the PCM to expand, however this reduces the storage capacity of the system.

To evaluate the efficiency of these systems or applications, prototypes are developed and measurement campaigns are initiated. Other researchers prefer to develop numerical models, which can also be challenging. The physical phenomena involved, as well as the knowledge required of the thermophysical properties of materials, make such tasks complex. The ultimate goal is to compare experimental measurements with numerical results.

We invite contributions to this Special Issue "The Application of Phase Change Materials in Heat Storage" covering the topics discussed above.

Usually the work that is published are those studies that are considered “successful”. We would also like to receive works that have not been successful for various reasons, for example because the results were not as expected, despite the study being well thought-out at the outset. These experiences can be beneficial to other researchers, however too often they are limited to those who were personally involved. We suggest you share your challenging and unsuccessful experiences or present them alongside your successful experiences.

Prof. Dr. Laurent Zalewski
Prof. Dr. Erwin Franquet
Guest Editors

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