Improvement of Phase Change Materials (PCM) Used for Solar Process Heat Applications

Prieto, Cristina; López-Román, Antón; Martínez, Noelia; Morera Prat, Josep M.; Cabeza, Luisa F.

doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26051260

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Issue date

2021

Author

Prieto, Cristina

López-Román, Antón

Martínez, Noelia

Morera Prat, Josep M.

Cabeza, Luisa F.

Suggested citation

Prieto, Cristina; López-Román, Antón; Martínez, Noelia; Morera Prat, Josep M.; Cabeza, Luisa F.; . (2021) . Improvement of Phase Change Materials (PCM) Used for Solar Process Heat Applications. Molecules, 2021, vol. 26, num. 5, p. 1260-1-1260-13. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26051260.

Abstract

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.

URI

http://hdl.handle.net/10459.1/70645

DOI

https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26051260

Is part of

Molecules, 2021, vol. 26, num. 5, p. 1260-1-1260-13

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Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as cc-by (c) Prieto, Cristina et al., 2021