Phase Change Matters

From Journal of Applied Polymer Science:

• Thermally conductive high-density polyethylene as novel phase-change material: Application-relevant long-term stability
• Reliable phase‐change polyurethane crosslinked by dynamic ionic‐bond crosslinking for thermal energy storage

From International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer:

• A molecular dynamics study of the effects of crystalline structure transition on the thermal conductivity of pentaerythritol as a solid-solid phase change material
• A comparative study of the effect of varying wall heat flux on melting characteristics of phase change material RT44HC in rectangular test cells
• High thermal response rate and super low supercooling degree microencapsulated phase change materials (MEPCM) developed by optimizing shell with various nanoparticles

From Materials Research Express:

• Evaluation of thermophysical properties of shaped inorganic hydrated salt-based phase change materials for wall energy storage

From Construction and Building Materials:

• Measurement and analysis of thermophysical parameters of the epoxy resin composites shape-stabilized phase change material
• Thermal enhanced cement-lime mortars with phase change materials (PCM), lightweight aggregate and cellulose fibers

From Energy and Buildings:

• Properties of concretes enhanced with phase change materials for building applications

From Hong Kong Polytechnic University:

• Development of encapsulation methods for organic-based phase change materials in water

From Journal of Energy Storage:

• Recent developments in the synthesis of microencapsulated and nanoencapsulated phase change materials

From Energy Conversion and Management:

• Experimental and modeling study on thermal performance of hydrated salt latent heat thermal energy storage system

From Energies:

• Thermal Response of Mortar Panels with Different Forms of Macro-Encapsulated Phase Change Materials: A Finite Element Study

From Renewable Energy:

• Influence of the location of discrete macro-encapsulated thermal energy storage on the performance of a double pass solar plate collector system

From IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science:

• Simulation and Analysis of Fuel Tank Heat Exchanger Based on Phase Change Material
• Simulation Analysis of Thermal Storage Process of Phase Change Energy Storage Materials

From Nano-Structures & Nano-Objects:

• Synthesis of organic phase change materials by using carbon nanotubes as filler material

From Processes:

• Preparation and Performance Analysis of Graphite Additive/Paraffin Composite Phase Change Materials

From International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction:

• Thermoregulating and Hydrating Microcapsules: Contributions of Textile Technology in the Design of Wearable Products for Wheelchair Dependents

From Materials Today:

• Experimental study on hybrid natural circulation type solar air heater with paraffin wax based thermal storage

From Thermal Science and Engineering Progress:

• Numerical and Experimental Investigation of Melting Characteristics of Phase Change Material-RT58

From Chemosphere:

• Spent coffee grounds as supporting materials to produce bio-composite PCM with natural waxes

From Biotechnology Reports:

• Novel phase change materials for thermal energy storage: evaluation of tropical tree fruit oils

From Construction and Building Materials:

• Compressive strength and hygric properties of concretes incorporating microencapsulated phase change material
• Thermal enhanced cement-lime mortars with phase change materials (PCM), lightweight aggregate and cellulose fibers

From Case Studies in Thermal Engineering:

• Optimal fin parameters used for enhancing the melting and solidification of phase-change material in a heat exchanger unite

From Materials Chemistry and Physics:

• Porous geopolymer as a possible template for a phase change material

From Journal of Physics: Conference Series:

• Thermophysical Characteristics of VCO-Soybean Oil Mixture as Phase Change Material (PCM) using T-History Method

From Rubber Chemistry and Technology:

• Phase-Change Material: Natural Rubber Composites for Heat Storage Applications

From Powder Technology:

• An enthalpy based discrete thermal modelling framework for particulate systems with phase change materials

From Chemistry Select:

• Carbon Soot/n–carboxylic Acids Composites As Form‐stable Phase Change Materials For Thermal Energy Storage

From International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer:

• Experimental study of thermo-physical properties and application of paraffin-carbon nanotubes composite phase change materials
• High thermal response rate and super low supercooling degree microencapsulated phase change materials (MEPCM) developed by optimizing shell with various nanoparticles

From Applied Thermal Engineering:

• Design optimization of the phase change material integrated solar receiver: A numerical parametric study

From Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells:

• Synthesis and characterization of ditetradecyl succinate and dioctadecyl succinate as novel phase change materials for thermal energy storage

From Advanced Materials Interfaces:

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

From Journal of Energy Storage:

• Heat transfer enhancement of charging and discharging of phase change materials and size optimization of a latent thermal energy storage system for solar cold storage application

• ESDA-Axiotherm GmbH won two awards in this year's INNOspace Masters ideas competition. The competition, sponsored by the Space Administration of the German Aerospace Center, honors innovative ideas that address the challenges faced by the space industry. The winners were announced this week in Berlin. ESDA-Axiotherm won the overall prize for the development of a PCM polymer compound for the thermal stabilization of components and systems. The German company also won the OHB Challenge, which honors ready-to-use solutions.

• Noor Abu Dhabi, the world’s largest single-site solar power project with an installed capacity of 1,177 MW, has been successfully commissioned. The project is a joint venture between the government of Abu Dhabi and a consortium comprising Marubeni Corp., Japan, and Jinko Solar Holding, China. Abu Dhabi says the project's 3.2 million solar  panels provide enough power for 90,000 people. 

• The Swedish power producer Vattenfall has commissioned an industrial-scale, 0.5 MW/10 MWh, pilot test facility at its Reuter power plant, employing thermal energy storage technology developed by SaltX of Sweden. The technology uses nano-coated salts to store thermal energy. 

• Croda International Plc posted a product announcement on its LinkedIn page this week: "CrodaTherm can be incorporated into wearable and non-wearable textile fibres to improve temperature regulation." There's more information on crodatherm.com. According to the website, Croda has encapsulated its bio-based phase change material "in a durable acrylic polymer shell, so that when the bio-based core changes phase, the particle remains solid." I hope to have more details on the technology in time for next week's newsletter.

U.S. patent application 20190186844 (applicant Tohoku University, Sendai-shi, Japan):

"A latent heat storage device includes: a heat transfer cylindrical body allowing a flow of a heat medium inside thereof and being rotatable about a longitudinal axis as a center of rotation; a fixed blade being adjacent to or in a slidable contact with an outer peripheral surface of the heat transfer cylindrical body; and a latent heat storage material disposed around the heat transfer cylindrical body, wherein by rotation of the heat transfer cylindrical body, the fixed blade scrapes a solidified body of the latent heat storage material adhering to the outer peripheral surface of the heat transfer cylindrical body off the outer peripheral surface of the heat transfer cylindrical body, and creates circulation of the latent heat storage material."

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/20190186844.pdf

From Renewable Energy:

• A N-octadecane/hierarchically Porous TiO2 Form-Stable PCM for Thermal Energy Storage

From International Journal of Energy Research:

• Hybrid solar parabolic dish power plant and high‐temperature phase change material energy storage system

From Journal of Applied Polymer Science:

• Thermal and dynamic mechanical properties of polyethylene glycol/quartz composites for phase change materials

From Journal of Cleaner Production:

• Using fuzzy clustering and weighted cumulative probability distribution techniques for optimal design of phase change material thermal energy storage

From Construction and Building Materials:

• Thermoregulation effect analysis of microencapsulated phase change thermoregulation agent for asphalt pavement

From Applied Energy:

• Residential cooling using separated and coupled precooling and thermal energy storage strategies

U.S. patent application 20190177224 (applicant Université de Cergy-Pontoise, Cergy, France):

"A method for manufacturing a solid-solid organic phase-change material made of polyurethane, said method comprising: a single step (i) of synthesis by mixing and reacting a liquid polyethylene glycol, a crosslinking agent, and a liquid polyisocyanate, combined by mechanical agitation at a first controlled temperature, in an enclosure in order to obtain the liquid polyurethane, a step (ii) of curing the liquid polyurethane at a second controlled temperature in order to solidify the polyurethane, the synthesis step (i) being carried out in the absence of a solvent."

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/20190177224.pdf

Viking Cold Solutions has completed the installation of eight thermal energy storage systems as part of a utility-backed demand management program in Massachusetts. The Houston company says its PCM-based system, designed for use in cold storage facilities,  stores enough energy to cycle off refrigeration for up to 13 hours per day and reduce energy consumption by more than 25 percent. 

https://www.vikingcold.com/news/release-viking-cold-solutions-installs-1-3-mw-of-thermal-energy-storage-in-industrial-cold-storage-facilities-as-part-of-a-massachusetts-utility-demand-management-program/

• The agenda is set for the 14th International Conference on Advanced Building Skins, to be held Oct. 28-29 in Bern, Switzerland. The Japanese architect and Pritzker laureate Shigeru Ban will be the keynote speaker. Among the more than 150 speakers is Thomas Friedrich of Innogration GmbH, Germany, who will discuss "collection of thermal energy from the façade" and "decentralized PCM storage elements for saving thermal energy." The registration fee is 680 euros and includes the conference documentation as well as meals during both days. Participants who register by May 31 will receive a 20 percent discount.

• In a LinkedIn post, former Ice Energy CEO Mike Hopkins shared his take on two of the California company's competitors in distributed thermal energy storage. "Look at @CALMAC, a Portfolio of Trane - been in our industry forever, good product, but haven't been able to secure utility deals because their large bespoke systems make it too risky to commit to MWs in a location on a schedule," wrote Hopkins, who is now CEO at Bakken Midstream. "Relative newcomer [Axiom Exergy] came to market with their #refrigeration #battery. Good concept but not plug and play. Not surprising, they seem to have recast themselves as a #cloud based power management company."

• Speaking of CALMAC: CEO Mark McCracken will speak on "some of the myths surrounding ice-based TES" at an ASHRAE technical seminar on thermal energy storage in building design in Hong Kong June 13. 

• FedEx Express has launched a temperature-controlled shipping solution in Japan, Korea and Singapore. The company says its Medpak VIºC packaging, first introduced in Europe, provides 96-hour temperature stability. The reusable thermal packaging features vacuum insulated panels and phase change material validated to International Safe Transit Association 7D standards.

• CIC energiGUNE, a research center in Spain's Basque Country, has an opening for a researcher in its thermal energy storage area. The research will focus on the storage of heat through reversible chemical reactions "in a range of temperature few explored so far (120 - 250 °C)." The application deadline is Sept. 11, 2019.   

• Barbara Pause of Textile Testing & Innovation will be among the speakers at this year's Advances in Thermal Management conference, to be held Aug. 7-8 in Denver, Colo. Her topic: "Measuring and Modeling the Thermal Performance of Products Equipped with Phase Change Materials." 

• Thermal energy storage startup NET Energy of Chicago is among 10 finalists for the University of Chicago’s 19th annual Edward L. Kaplan New Venture Challenge. Winners will be announced next week, with the top companies sharing $250,000 in cash, along with $250,000 worth of office space and professional services from program sponsors. 

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