Phase Change Matters

From International Journal of Energy Research:

• Design of diatomite‐based hydrated salt composites with low supercooling degree and enhanced heat transfer for thermal energy storage

From Journal of Physical Chemistry B:

• Clusters in Liquid Fatty Acids: Structure and Role in Nucleation

From Construction and Building Materials:

• Development of thermal energy storage lightweight structural cementitious composites by means of macro-encapsulated PCM
• Preparation of microencapsulated phase change materials used graphene oxide to improve thermal stability and its incorporation in gypsum materials

From Journal of Power and Energy:

• Numerical modelling of phase change material melting process embedded in porous media: Effect of heat storage size

From Advanced Materials Interfaces:

• Phase Change Materials: Doubly Coated, Organic–Inorganic Paraffin Phase Change Materials: Zinc Oxide Coating of Hermetically Encapsulated Paraffins

From NASA Technical Reports Server:

• Utilization of Micro Tube Heat Exchanger for Next Generation Phase Change Material Heat Exchanger Development

From SN Applied Sciences:

• Encapsulation of paraffin wax by rigid cross-linked poly (styrene divinylbenzene-acrylic acid) and its thermal characterization

From Energy Conversion and Management:

• Transient performance of a Peltier super cooler under varied electric pulse conditions with phase change material

From Applied Thermal Engineering:

• Thermal optimization of a kirigami-patterned wearable lithium-ion battery based on a novel design of composite phase change material
• An experimental and theoretical study of the solidification process of phase change materials in a horizontal annular enclosure

From Journal of Energy Storage:

• Enhancement of the thermal energy storage capacity of a parabolic dish concentrated solar receiver using phase change materials

From Renewable Energy:

• Numerical simulation on the thermal performance of a PCM-containing ventilation system with a continuous change in inlet air temperature

From Energy Fuels:

• Graphene modified hydrate salt/UV-curable resin form-stable phase change materials: continuously adjustable phase change temperature and ultrafast solar-to-thermal conversion

From Journal of Industrial and Chemical Engineering:

• Thermal performance enhancement of a phase change material with expanded graphite via ultrasonication

From Chemistry Select:

• Microencapsulation of Stearic Acid into Strontium Titanate Shell by Sol‐Gel Approach for Thermal Energy Storage

From Materials:

• Phase Change Materials for Energy Efficiency in Buildings and Their Use in Mortars

From Applied Energy:

• Natural convection during melting in vertical finned tube latent thermal energy storage systems
• Year-round performance analysis of a photovoltaic panel coupled with phase change material

From Energy Procedia:

• A Review of the Performance of Buildings Integrated with Phase Change Material: Opportunities for Application in Cold Climate

From Journal of Applied Polymer Science:

• Encapsulation of polar phase change materials via multiemulsification and crosslinking method and its application in building

From Journal of Energy Storage:

• Thermal performance of shell and tube latent heat storage unit: Comparative assessment of horizontal and vertical orientation
• Experimental investigation of phase change in a multitube heat exchanger

From Chemistry Select:

• Preparation and Thermal Properties of Stearic Acid/n‐Octadecane Binary Eutectic Mixture as Phase Change Materials for Energy Storage

From Journal of Materials Research:

• Synthesis of novel shape-stabilized phase change materials with high latent heat and low supercooling degree for thermal energy storage

From Science of Advanced Materials:

• Fabrication and Performance of Polyurethane/Polyurea Microencapsulated Phase Change Materials with Isophorone Diisocyanate via Interfacial Polymerization
• Design and Analysis of Battery Box Based on Graphite-Phase Change Material and Air Cooling

From Experimental Techniques:

• Design, Build, and Test a Hybrid Cooling System for Crash Helmet

From Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry:

• Capric acid/intercalated diatomite as form-stable composite phase change material for thermal energy storage
• Preparation and thermal performances of microencapsulated phase change materials with a nano-Al2O3-doped shell

From Energy Procedia:

• Development of microencapsulated phase change material with poly (methyl methacrylate) shell for thermal energy storage
• Supercooling study of erythritol/EG composite phase change materials
• Thermal performance of pouch Lithium-ion battery module cooled by phase change materials
• Active cooling based battery thermal management using composite phase change materials
• Investigation on Thermal Performance of an Integrated Phase Change Material Blind System for Double Skin Facade Buildings
• Experimental study on preparation of a novel foamed cement with paraffin/ expanded graphite composite phase change thermal energy storage material

From Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects:

• Synthesis and performance evaluation of paraffin microcapsules with calcium carbonate shell modulated by different anionic surfactants for thermal energy storage

From Journal of Materials Chemistry A:

• A novel shape-stabilization strategy for phase change thermal energy storage

From Journal of Molecular Liquids:

• Melting of phase change materials in a trapezoidal cavity: Orientation and nanoparticles effects

From Energy and Buildings:

• Development of new nano-enhanced phase change materials (NEPCM) to improve energy efficiency in buildings: lab-scale characterization

From Applied Sciences:

• Efficient Characterization of Macroscopic Composite Cement Mortars with Various Contents of Phase Change Material

From Solar Energy:

• Modelling and performance analysis of a new concept of integral collector storage (ICS) with phase change material

From Energies:

• Analysis of Thermal Performance and Energy Saving Potential by PCM Radiant Floor Heating System based on Wet Construction Method and Hot Water

From Applied Energy:

• Supercooling of phase-change materials and the techniques used to mitigate the phenomenon

From Polymer Chemistry:

• Encapsulating an organic phase change material within emulsion-templated poly(urethane urea)s

From AIP Advances:

• Thermal expansion effects on the one-dimensional liquid-solid phase transition in high temperature phase change materials

From Journal of Materials Chemistry A:

• A thermal energy storage composite with sensing function and its thermal conductivity and thermal effusivity enhancement

From Materials Science and Engineering:

• Experimental Measurements of Hot Water Stratification in a Heat Storage Tank

From Thermochimica Acta:

• Modification of physical and thermal characteristics of stearic acid as a phase change materials using TiO2-nanoparticles

From Energy and Buildings:

• Thermal and Structural Performance of Geopolymer Concrete Containing Phase Change Material Encapsulated in Expanded Clay
• An experimental study on applying organic PCMs to gypsum-cement board for improving thermal performance of buildings in different climates

From International Journal of Biological Macromolecules:

• Sodium alginate/feather keratin-g-allyloxy polyethylene glycol composite phase change fiber

From Construction and Building Materials:

• Thermal properties of lightweight concrete incorporating high contents of phase change materials

From Progress in Organic Coatings:

• Fabrication and characterization of microencapsulated n-heptadecane with graphene/starch composite shell for thermal energy storage

From Sustainable Energy and Fuels:

• A thermal energy storage prototype using sodium magnesium hydride

From Thermal Science and Engineering Progress:

• Experimental investigation of the thermal performance of a helical coil latent heat thermal energy storage for solar energy applications

From International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance:

• Exploring the Efficacy of a Safe Cryotherapy Alternative: Physiological Temperature Changes from Cold Water Immersion vs Prolonged Phase Change Material Cooling

From Applied Sciences:

• A Form Stable Composite Phase Change Material for Thermal Energy Storage Applications over 700° C

From Journal of Thermal Science:

• Energy Storage Performance of a PCM in the Solar Storage Tank

From International Journal of Applied Engineering Research:

• Numerical assessment of suitability of phase-change materials in a concentric PCM-module for thermal storage applications [pdf]

From International Journal of Energy Research:

• Experimental measurements and numerical computation of nanofluid and microencapsulated phase change material in porous material

From IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering:

• Nano-enhanced phase change material effects on the supercooling degree improvement: A review

From Renewable Energy:

• Potential of ventilation systems with thermal energy storage using PCMs applied to air conditioned buildings

From Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Technology:

• Thermal performance analysis of nano enhanced paraffin wax and myristic acid

From Solar Energy:

• Synthesis and characterization of microencapsulated phase change materials with comb-like acrylic co-polymer shell as thermal energy storage materials
• Sensible and latent heat energy storage systems for concentrated solar power plants, exergy efficiency comparison

From Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells:

• Thermal energy storage characteristics of myristic acid-palmitic eutectic mixtures encapsulated in PMMA shell

From Thermal Science and Engineering Progress:

• Parametric analysis and optimization of an underfloor solar assisted heating system with phase change materials

From International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer:

• The improved enthalpy-transforming based lattice Boltzmann model for solid-liquid phase change

From Applied Energy:

• Innovative design of superhydrophobic thermal energy-storage materials by microencapsulation of n-docosane with nanostructured ZnO/SiO2 shell

From AIP Conference Proceedings:

• Preparation and characterization of nanoparticle blended polymers for thermal energy storage applications

From Energy:

• Energy performance and economic analysis of a TIM-PCM wall under different climates

From Applied Energy:

• A modeling study on the heat storage and release characteristics of a phase change material based double-spiral coiled heat exchanger in an air source heat pump for defrosting
• Dynamic thermal management for industrial waste heat recovery based on phase change material thermal storage

From Solar Energy:

• Modeling of solidification including supercooling effects in a fin-tube heat exchanger based latent heat storage

From Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells:

• Experimental study on thermal properties and thermal performance of eutectic hydrated salts/expanded perlite form-stable phase change materials for passive solar energy utilization
• Cotton-derived carbon sponge as support for form-stabilized composite phase change materials with enhanced thermal conductivity
• Enhanced thermal conductivity of microencapsulated phase change materials based on graphene oxide and carbon nanotube hybrid filler
• A novel core-shell structural montmorillonite nanosheets/stearic acid composite PCM for great promotion of thermal energy storage properties

From Energy and Buildings:

• Numerical analysis for maximizing effective energy storage capacity of thermal energy storage systems by enhancing heat transfer in PCM
• Optimization of phase change materials (PCMs) to improve energy performance within thermal comfort range in the South Korean climate

From Journal of King Saud University - Science:

• Exact and approximate solutions of a phase change problem with the moving phase change material and variable thermal coefficients

From Journal of Molecular Liquids:

• Preparation and thermophysical properties of low temperature composite phase change material octanoic-lauric acid/expanded graphite

From International Journal of Refrigeration:

• Supercooling characteristics of phase change material particles within phase change emulsions
• Enhancement of ice formation around vertical finned tubes for cold storage applications

From Frontiers in Materials:

• Thermoplastic polyurethane blends with thermal energy storage/release capability

From Energies:

• Review of Reactors with Potential Use in Thermochemical Energy Storage in Concentrated Solar Power Plants

From Progress in Computational Fluid Dynamics:

• Towards the simulation of supercooling and convection in phase change materials using a thermal lattice Boltzmann method

From Nanomaterials:

• Palm Kernel Shell Activated Carbon as an Inorganic Framework for Shape-Stabilized Phase Change Material

From Journal of Power Sources:

• A comprehensive review on a passive (phase change materials) and an active (thermoelectric cooler) battery thermal management system and their limitations

From Applied Energy:

• Process integration of thermal energy storage systems – Evaluation methodology and case studies

From Journal of Nanomaterials:

• Effects of Biceramic AlN-SiC Microparticles on the Thermal Properties of Paraffin for Thermal Energy Storage

The lab folks at PureTemp have had a keen interest in the T-history method since our days as a tech startup with a small budget. T-history is a relatively simple, low-cost way to determine the heat of fusion, specific heat and thermal conductivity of phase change materials.

New research on the topic turned up in one of our automated searches earlier this month: “Characterizing phase change materials using the T-History method: On the factors influencing the accuracy and precision of the enthalpy-temperature curve.” The lead author, Pepe Tan, is a pursuing a Ph.D. at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden. I contacted him to find out more. 

Q: What prompted your interest in studying the T-history method?

A: “When I started my Ph.D. at Chalmers, T-history was a good complement to the available DSC instrument in our research group. And it was a nice opportunity to collaborate with ZAE Bayern and learn the method. While implementing the method, we found it was very worth studying certain aspects of it in parallel, because of how different the method has been presented so far in the scientific community.”

Q: Do you envision T-history replacing DSC for characterizing and validating PCMs as an industry standard? If not for PCM validation, perhaps for application engineering and thermal modeling?

A: “I definitely consider T-history and DSC as complementary methods since their limitations for finding the intrinsic PCMs properties are still subject to research. With this uncertainty, any measurement available from different sources would be useful for the engineer to carefully estimate the actual behavior of the PCM in its application.”   

Q: When do you believe T-history will be studied and validated sufficiently to become adopted as a commercially available piece of equipment?

A: “To reach that goal, a systematic assessment of different implementations of the method (setup and data evaluation) would be necessary. But spending this effort also depends on the current needs for accurate PCM properties in typical applications.”

Q: Will the mathematical model of the method become open-source and available for laboratories?

A: “The data evaluation method in the paper should be seen as one proposal on how to calculate the enthalpy from real experimental data. And it is presented in detail, so that it can be recreated.

“The challenge in our experiments was to negate the noise amplification when differentiating the temperature over time data. But this could be done in many different ways, which will in turn affect the enthalpy results. We made the raw experimental data available so that other data evaluation methods can be tested.”

Q: What do you view as the most significant challenge with T-history? How does this compare to the challenges associated with DSC?

A: “That would be to perform a rigorous measurement uncertainty analysis in order to specify a reliable limit for accuracy and precision in terms of an uncertainty. Since this strongly depends on the individual implementation of the method and the chosen data evaluation, the DSC is in my opinion one step ahead.”

Q: Is T-history capable of accurate and precise measurement with thermal conductivity additives or nucleating agents?

A: “This depends on the material and the actual implementation of the method. And this would be an example where the possibility to use complementary methods that utilize different sample sizes like DSC and T-history will be helpful to filter out the intrinsic material behavior. The larger sample sizes of the T-history setup should increase the chance to actually have representative samples, meaning samples containing a representative amount of the nucleating agent and/or the thermal conductivity additives."  

Q: What are your postdoctoral plans?

A: “I expect to graduate by June 2020. At the moment, I plan to wait and see what options are available when the graduation date comes a bit closer.”

• Fabrication of shape-stable composite phase change materials based on lauric acid and graphene/graphene oxide complex aerogels for enhancement of thermal energy storage and electrical conduction [Thermochimica Acta]

• Performance analysis of PCM based thermal energy storage system containing nanoparticles [International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology]

• Cold temperature performance of phase change material based battery thermal management systems [Energy Reports]

• Design and functionality of a segmented heat-storage prototype utilizing stable supercooling of sodium acetate trihydrate in a solar heating system [Applied Energy]

• Macro-encapsulation and characterization of chloride based inorganic phase change materials for high temperature thermal energy storage systems [Applied Energy]

• Parametric analysis of a residential building with phase change material (PCM)-enhanced drywall, precooling, and variable electric rates in a hot and dry climate [Applied Energy]

• Fabrication of high thermal conductive shape-stabilized polyethylene glycol/silica phase change composite by two-step sol gel method [Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing]

• Performance enhancement of cold thermal energy storage system using nanofluid phase change materials: A review [International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer]

• Development of form stable Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) coated thermal phase change material for solar water heater applications [IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science]

• Design and Analysis of PCM Based Radiant Heat Exchanger for Thermal Management of Buildings [Energy and Buildings]

• A new ventilated window with PCM heat exchanger – performance analysis and design optimization [Energy and Buildings]

• Thermal enhancement of paraffin/hydrophobic expanded perlite granular phase change composite using graphene nanoplatelets [Energy and Buildings]

• Thermal Performance of Microencapsulated Phase Change Material (mPCM) in Roof Modules during Daily Operation [Energies]

• Synthesis and Characterization of Thermochemical Storage Material Combining Porous Zeolite and Inorganic Salts [Heat Transfer Engineering]

• Effect of percussion vibration on solidification of supercooled salt hydrate PCM in thermal storage unit [Renewable Energy]

• A review of the applications of phase change materials in cooling, heating and power generation in different temperature ranges [Applied Energy]

• Experimental and numerical study on the performance of a new high-temperature packed-bed thermal energy storage system with macroencapsulation of molten salt phase change material [Applied Energy]

• Energy and exergy efficiencies assessment for a stratified cold thermal energy storage [Applied Energy]

• Eccentricity optimization of a horizontal shell-and-tube latent-heat thermal energy storage unit based on melting and melting-solidifying performance [Applied Energy]

• Numerical study on the thermal performance of lightweight temporary building integrated with phase change materials [Applied Thermal Engineering]

• Thiol-yne photo-clickable electrospun phase change materials for thermal energy storage [Reactive and Functional Polymers]

• Highly Graphitized 3D Network Carbon for Shape-stabilized Composite PCMs with Superior Thermal Energy Harvesting [Nano Energy]