Phase Change Matters

From Building and Environment:

• A parametric study of phase change material behaviour when used with night ventilation in different climatic zones

From Energy and Buildings:

• Development and Evaluation of a Generalized Rule-Based Control Strategy for Residential Ice Storage Systems
• Characterization of potassium carbonate salt hydrate for thermochemical energy storage in buildings

From International Journal of Energy Research:

• Fly ash and slag cement slurry containing microencapsulated phase change materials

From Applied Energy:

• Thermal response of annuli filled with metal foam for thermal energy storage: An experimental study
• A scalable environmental thermal energy harvester based on solid/liquid phase-change materials

From International Journal of Hydrogen Energy:

• Thermal management of metal hydride hydrogen storage reservoir using phase change materials

From Macromolecular Research:

• Multiple Energy Harvesting Based on Reversed Temperature Difference Between Graphene Aerogel Filled Phase Change Materials

From Solar Energy:

• Experimental studies on the effect of using phase change material in a salinity-gradient solar pond under a solar simulator

From Chemical Engineering Journal:

• Thermal enhancement and shape stabilization of a phase-change energy-storage material via copper nanowire aerogel

From U.S. Office of Scientific and Technical Information:

• Prototype Testing of Encapsulated Phase Change Material Thermal Energy Storage (EPCM-TES) for Concentrated Solar Power

From E3S Web of Conferences:

• A PCM based cooling system for office buildings: a state of the art review

From Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells:

• Design of MtNS/SA microencapsulated phase change materials for enhancement of thermal energy storage performances: Effect of shell thickness

From Journal of Molecular Liquids:

• Investigating the effects of hybrid nanoparticles on solid-liquid phase change process in a Y-shaped fin-assisted LHTESS by means of FEM

From Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews:

• A review of microencapsulated and composite phase change materials: Alteration of strength and thermal properties of cement-based materials

From Heat and Mass Transfer:

• Experimental and numerical analysis of composite latent heat storage in cooling systems for power electronics

From Journal of Sol-Gel Science and Technology:

• A robust, flexible superhydrophobic sheet fabricated by in situ growth of micro-nano-SiO2 particles from cured silicone rubber

From Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry:

• High-conductivity nanomaterials for enhancing thermal performance of latent heat thermal energy storage systems

From Building Simulation:

• Optimization and sensitivity analysis of design parameters for a ventilation system using phase change materials

From Journal of Packaging Technology and Research:

• Thermal Analysis of Paper Board Packaging with Phase Change Material: A Numerical Study

From Energy Storage:

• Thermal performance of battery thermal management system using composite matrix coupled with mini‐channel

From Phase Transitions:

• A study on preparation and properties of carbon materials/myristic acid composite phase change thermal energy storage materials

From ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces:

• Melamine Foam Supported Form-stable Phase Change Materials with Simultaneous Thermal Energy Storage and Shape Memory Property for Thermal Management of Electronic Devices

From International Conference on Thermal Engineering:

• Performance Enhancement of Unitary and Packaged Air Conditioners With Phase Change Material
• Performance Comparison of Different Phase Change Materials For Solar Cooking During off Sun Sunshine Hours
• A Review on Enhancement of Thermophysical Properties of Paraffin Wax PCM With Nanomaterials
• Nano-Enhanced PCMs for Low Temperature Thermal Energy Storage Systems and Passive Conditioning Applications

From Chemistry Select:

• Designing Coconut Oil Encapsulated Poly(stearyl methacrylate‐co‐hydroxylethyl metacrylate) Based Microcapsule for Phase Change Materials

From Evolution in Polymer Technology Journal:

• Enhancement of Thermo-Regulating Textile Materials Using Phase Change Material

From Materials Research Express:

• Improved thermal characteristics of Ag nanoparticles dispersed myristic acid as composite for low temperature thermal energy storage

From Applied Energy:

• On the performance of ground coupled seasonal thermal energy storage for heating and cooling: A Canadian context

From Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells:

• Thermal stability enhancement of d-mannitol for latent heat storage applications

From Advanced Materials Interfaces:

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

From Applied Energy:

• Efficiency analysis and experimental validation of the ocean thermal energy conversion with phase change material for underwater vehicle
• A numerical and experimental analysis of an integrated TEG-PCM power enhancement system for photovoltaic cells
• Molten salt selection methodology for medium temperature liquid air energy storage application

From Applied Energy Materials:

• Graphene-Oxide Aerogel Beads Filled with Phase Change Material for Latent Heat Storage and Release

From Journal of Wuhan University of Technology:

• Effect of Modified Vermiculite on the Interface of a Capric Acid-expanded Vermiculite Composite Phase Change Material with Phase Transition Kinetics

From Journal of Molecular Liquids:

• Numerical simulation of the melting process of nanostructured based colloidal suspensions phase change materials including the effect of the transport of the particles

From Fibers and Polymers:

• Encapsulated Phase Change Material Embedded by Graphene Powders for Smart and Flexible Thermal Response

From Applied Thermal Engineering:

• Influence of orientation on thermal performance of shell and tube latent heat storage unit

From Journal of Energy Storage:

• Development and validation of the numerical model of an innovative PCM based thermal storage system

From 2nd International Conference on Power, Energy and Environment:

• Feasibility Study of the Application of a Latent Heat Storage in a Solar Dryer for Drying Green Chili

From Solar Energy:

• Tetradecyl oxalate and octadecyl oxalate as novel phase change materials for thermal energy storage
• An analytical and comparative study of the charging and discharging processes in a latent heat thermal storage tank for solar water heater system
• Effect of alkaline pH on formation of lauric acid/SiO2 nanocapsules via sol-gel process for solar energy storage

From Journal of Applied Polymer Science:

• Preparation and characterization of paraffin microcapsules for energy‐saving applications

From Energy:

• Flexible heatsink based on a phase-change material for a wearable thermoelectric generator

From Journal of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology:

• Superior Form-Stable Phase Change Material Made with Graphene-Connected Carbon Nanofibers and Fatty Acid Eutectics

From Construction and Building Materials:

• Thermal and rheological characterization of bitumen modified with microencapsulated phase change materials

From Thermochimica Acta:

• Development of spherical α-Al2O3-based composite phase change materials (PCMs) and its utilization in thermal storage building materials

From Journal of Power Sources:

• Thermophysical properties of trimethylolethane (TME) hydrate as phase change material for cooling lithium-ion battery in electric vehicle

From Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells:

• Applications of cascaded phase change materials in solar water collector storage tanks: A review
• Thermal conductivity enhancement of hydrated salt phase change materials employing copper foam as the supporting material

From Journal of Energy Storage:

• Performance comparison of four spherically encapsulated phase change materials for medium temperature domestic applications

From International Journal of Thermal Sciences:

• Exploration of a thermal therapy respirator by introducing a composite phase change block into a commercial mask

From Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews:

• Review on nanoporous composite phase change materials: Fabrication, characterization, enhancement and molecular simulation

From Sci:

• The Effect of Phase Change Materials on the Physical, Thermal and Mechanical Properties of Cement 

From Applied Energy:

• High energy-density and power-density thermal storage prototype with hydrated salt for hot water and space heating

From Journal of Thermal Science and Engineering Applications:

• Thermal Cycling of Calcium Chloride Hexahydrate With Strontium Chloride as a Phase Change Material for Latent Heat Thermal Energy Storage Applications in a Nondifferential Scanning Calorimeter Set-Up
• Numerical Investigation of Scheffler Concentrator Receiver for Steam Generation Using Phase Change Material

From IntechOpen:

• Solar Thermal Energy Storage Using Paraffins as Phase Change Materials for Air Conditioning in the Built Environment

From Reactive and Functional Polymers:

• Design and fabrication of pH-responsive microencapsulated phase change materials for multipurpose applications

From Advances in Fluid and Thermal Engineering:

• Experimental Investigation on a Solar Thermal Energy Packed Bed Sensible Heat Storage Combined with Latent Heat Storage

From Bulletin of Materials Science:

• Development of an acetanilide/benzoic acid eutectic phase change material based thermal energy storage unit for a passive water heating system

From International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer:

• Solidification performance of a latent heat storage unit with innovative longitudinal triangular fins

• Ice Energy of Santa Barbara, Calif., has signed a distribution agreement with Fuji Bridex Pte Ltd. Under the agreement, Fuji Bridex will market, install and service Ice Energy’s commercial and residential ice-based thermal energy systems across Singapore, Japan, Australia and Southeast Asia. 

• Pluss Advanced Technologies of Gurgaon, India, announced on LinkedIn this week that its PronGO insulated food bag is now available in 13 states across India and has "moved over 150 metric tons of #frozen and #chilled foods safely every month." The bag, right, uses PCM cooling pouches to keep perishable foods cool for up to eight hours and frozen foods frozen for up to five hours. 

• 1414 Degrees of Australia fired up the burners for the first time at its gas thermal energy storage system at the Glenelg Wastewater Treatment Plant in Adelaide this week. The system will enable South Australia Water to time-shift the use of its biogas to produce electricity and heat on demand, rather than use the biogas as it is generated. 

• Registration is open for the 5th International Conference on Industrial Waste Heat Valorisation May 21-22 in Kortrijk, Belgium. Among the topics: "Thermal storage technologies for medium and high temperatures," "Thermal (heat and cold) storage in industrial processes," "Thermal storage in P2H2P (Power to Heat to Power)" and "Increase flexibility of your energy system by adding thermal storage."

• Alexium International Group Ltd. this week announced that it has entered into a supply agreement with an unnamed "multi-billion dollar North American manufacturer of mattresses." Alexium says the agreement makes it "the preferred supplier of phase change material (PCM) products for textile applications to its bedding products with the intent to form a strategic partnership." 

• Brooklyn Bedding's new Aurora hybrid mattress features PCM "gel beads" that melt and solidify as needed to maintain a comfortable temperature. A reviewer for the Stamford Advocate gives the mattress high marks: "While I admittedly didn't take a thermometer to bed with me, I can say that this technology isn't marketing fluff — it actually worked for me. I never overheated, and neither did my partner who tends to sleep much hotter than I do."

• MIT researchers have developed thin polymer films that conduct heat better than ceramics and many metals, including steel. “We think this result is a step to stimulate the field,” says Gang Chen, the Carl Richard Soderberg Professor of Power Engineering at MIT, and a senior co-author on the paper. “Our bigger vision is, these properties of polymers can create new applications and perhaps new industries, and may replace metals as heat exchangers.” 

• Matthias Wuttig, a professor at RWTH Aachen University, was honored by the Materials Research Society as a 2019 Fellow for making "path-breaking contributions to the advancement of phase-change materials, including unraveling their unique bonding mechanism, unconventional transport properties and unusual kinetics." The society, founded in 1973, has more 14,500 members who are material experts from industry, academia and national labs. 

• Posted by Warmilu founder Grace Hsia on LinkedIn this week: "So honored Doctors Without Borders is piloting the Warmilu infant warming incubator blankets in Bangladesh. Thank you again to the whole Doctors Without Borders team and the Warmilu team stepping up to support infant healthcare initiatives. It was a great honor to be an abstract presenter at Doctors Without Borders MSF 2019 International Paediatric Days! We just saw the abstract published in ResearchGate and two of my personal + career dreams have finally come true: working with Doctors Without Borders and being published! Huge thank you to the whole MSF Scientific Committee and to Dr. Nadia Lafferty for your words of wisdom and amazing insights." Warmilu's IncuBlanket uses packs filled with sodium acetate trihydrate to keep infants warm for up to five hours.

From Applied Surface Science:

• Effects of surface functionalization on thermal and mechanical properties of graphene/polyethylene glycol composite phase change materials

From Applied Energy:

• Facile flexible reversible thermochromic membranes based on micro/nanoencapsulated phase change materials for wearable temperature sensor
• Shape-remodeled macrocapsule of phase change materials for thermal energy storage and thermal management
• Investigation on the thermal performance of a high temperature packed bed thermal energy storage system containing carbonate salt based composite phase change materials
• Toward a new method for the design of combined sensible/latent thermal-energy storage using non-dimensional analysis
• Strategic control and cost optimization of thermal energy storage in buildings using EnergyPlus
• Adaptive measures for mitigating urban heat islands: The potential of thermochromic materials to control roofing energy balance

From Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells:

• Poly(styrene-co-divinylbenzene-co-acrylamide)/n-octadecane microencapsulated phase change materials for thermal energy storage

From Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews:

• Recent advances in direct expansion solar assisted heat pump systems: A review
• Review on nanoporous composite phase change materials: Fabrication, characterization, enhancement and molecular simulation

From Energy and Buildings:

• Experimental Testing of Phase Change Materials in a Warm-Summer Humid Continental Climate

From International Journal of Energy Research:

• Development of pentadecane/diatomite and pentadecane/sepiolite nanocomposites fabricated by different compounding methods for thermal energy storage

From Applied Thermal Engineering:

• Heat transfer performance of graphene nano-platelets laden micro-encapsulated PCM with polymer shell for thermal energy storage based heat sink

From Journal of Applied Polymer Science:

• Investigations on thermal properties of microencapsulated phase‐change materials with different acrylate‐based copolymer shells as thermal insulation materials

From Solar Energy:

• Experimental investigation on the impact of thermal energy storage on the solar still performance coupled with PV module via new integration

From Thermochimica Acta:

• Nanoencapsulated phase change material with polydopamine-SiO2 hybrid shell for tough thermo-regulating rigid polyurethane foam

From International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer:

• Optimization of the detailed factors in a phase-change-material module for battery thermal management

From Journal of Traffic and Transportation Engineering :

• A review on the best practices in concrete pavement design and materials in wet-freeze climates similar to Michigan

From Case Studies in Thermal Engineering:

• Study of a passive solar air heater using palm oil and paraffin as storage media

From Acta Microscopica:

• Preparation of Graphene Hybrid Material and Thermal Properties of Polymer Composites

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

• Ice Energy of Santa Barbara, Calif., has reached distribution agreements with four California companies to sell, install and maintain its ice-based thermal storage system, the Ice Bear 20. The companies are Correy Baker Heating and Air of Murrieta; Emery Mechanical Engineering of San Diego; H3 of Santa Barbara; and SunRize Mechanical of Temecula. “This distribution network will enable us to further expand our footprint in the residential market in Southern California,” said Marcel Christians, co-COO of Ice Energy.

• Sonoco ThermoSafe and AirBridgeCargo Airlines have announced a global partnership agreement for the leasing of the PharmaPort 360 temperature-controlled shipping container. The agreement will enable pharmaceutical shippers to lease PharmaPort 360 containers directly from AirBridgeCargo.

• Thermal battery maker Sunamp Ltd. of Scotland has appointed Martin Bloom as chairman of the board. Bloom, right, has extensive experience in high-growth technology and renewable energy companies, including Chinese solar company Renesola and Loughborough-based fuel cell specialist Intelligent Energy. Bloom succeeds Sunamp’s founding chairman, Bob Pettigrew, who oversaw its early growth.

• Nominations are being accepted for the 2019 Poncelet Prize for Innovation in Microencapsulation, co-sponsored by Procter & Gamble and the Bioencapsulation Research Group. The award recognizes innovation in process design and modernization; development of new core and shell materials; innovation in characterization methods; or innovation in emerging fields of applications. The deadline for submitting nominations is May 31, 2019.

• Peli BioThermal is rebranding its Chronos temperature-controlled shippers. CoolGuard PCM will replace Chronos Express, and CoolGuard Advance will replace Chronos Advance. The CoolGuard shippers will offer configurations with fewer components and additional temperature set points, such as 16º C.

• Registration is open for "Phase Change Material & Passive Cooling in Large Venues," a lunch-hour presentation by Henderson Engineers. The free event, sponsored by AIA Kansas City, will be held June 12 at the Center for Architecture & Design in Kansas City, Mo.

• Axiotherm GmbH's kraftBoxx thermal energy storage system is a finalist for a Smarter E Award in the renewable energy category. KraftBoxx is a joint development with Klara Energy and Tuxhorn within the scope of the PCM-based HeatSel product line marketed by Axiotherm. Winners will be announced May 15 in Munich.

• PCM expert Harald Mehling's new book is available on Amazon: "Understanding the Basics of Energy: An Introduction from Simple to Complex Situations."

• Tempur-Pedic of Lexington, Ky., says its new TEMPUR-breeze mattress will help sleepers "stay up to 8 degrees F cooler through the night." According to Tempur-Pedic: "At about 80°F, the molecules within TEMPUR-breeze’s most efficient Phase Change Material (PCM) to-date, PURECOOL+, activate, shifting from a solid to a liquid to absorb massive amounts of heat. For the first time, Tempur-Pedic’s scientists successfully altered these proprietary molecules to deliver more phase change material, increasing its capacity to absorb heat by 2x compared to other PCM."

• Two new ASHRAE publications will be available in June: "Owner’s Guide for Buildings Served by District Cooling" and an updated edition of the "District Cooling Guide" for designers and building owners around the world.

• Researchers at Sweden's KTH Royal Institute of Technology have developed a polyethylene glycol-infused wood material that could be used to make windows that absorb heat during the day and release it into the home at night. The researchers are working to increase the heat storage capacity of the transparent wood, Smithsonian.com reports.

U.S. patent application 20190101337 (applicant SABIC Global Technologies B.V., Bergen op Zoom, Netherlands):

"A thermal energy storage system utilizes a phase change material with an encapsulating material surrounding the phase change material. The encapsulating material fully contains the phase change material to prevent passage of the phase change material out of the encapsulating material and/or prevent direct contact of the phase change material with external objects. The encapsulating material is a high density polyethylene (HDPE), which may be a non-crosslinked or crosslinked HDPE. In a method of forming a thermal energy storage system a phase change material is surrounded with the encapsulating material."

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/20190101337.pdf

• The U.S. Department of Energy has announced $33 million in research funding to advance technologies that work toward achieving the department's 2030 cost target of 5 cents per kilowatt-hour for CSP-generated electricity with at least 12 hours of thermal energy storage. "This research," DOE writes, "includes new materials and technologies that significantly reduce the cost of manufacturing, enable new energy storage technologies, and develop solutions that enable a solar field to operate autonomously without any human input."

• Walero racewear, which uses Outlast phase change technology to regulate temperature in race and rally drivers, has been put to the test on reigning British GT4 champion Jack Mitchell in a temperature-controlled race simulator. The tests were directed by racing performance coach Dean Fouache. On the first day, Mitchell, right, wore standard Nomex underwear; on the second day, he wore Walero underwear. Three measurements were recorded every five minutes during the hourlong tests: body temperature, heart rate and weight loss. In all three areas, Walero showed measurable advantages over the Nomex. "Jack sweated around 40 percent less in the Walero underwear and his average heart rate was eight beats less over the course of the hour," Fouache told Autosport magazine. "So, all in all, relatively conclusive results - even though it is a small comparison test."

• New this month from Central West Publishing in Australia: "Phase Change Materials," edited by Vikas Mittal, an associate professor of chemical engineering at the Petroleum Institute in Abu Dhabi.

• The International Conference on Innovative Applied Energy in the United Kingdom earlier this month featured a number of experiments with phase change materials, including Auburn University's development of micro-encapsulated phase change materials that can be combined with many different media. Other PCM research included a bio-composite made with hemp lime concrete and a novel utilization of fly ash to encapsulate phase change materials.

• The 200th anniversary of the birth of physicist James Prescott Joule will be commemorated with the unveiling of a plaque in Sale, United Kingdom, in April. The English physicist and mathematician, who gave his name to the unit of energy, was born on Dec. 24, 1818, in Salford. He died in Sale in 1889.

• The deadline for submitting manuscripts for "Phase Change Materials of Buildings," a special issue of the journal Buildings, is Sunday, March 31. Dr. Morshed Alam of Australia's Swinburne University of Technology is the guest editor.