Sensitivity analysis of thermophysical properties on PCM selection under steady and fluctuating heat sources: a comparative study

Yu, X., Chang, J., Huang, R., Huang, Y., Lu, Y. , Li, Z. and Wang, L. (2021) Sensitivity analysis of thermophysical properties on PCM selection under steady and fluctuating heat sources: a comparative study. Applied Thermal Engineering, 186, 116527. (doi: 10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2020.116527)

Abstract

Previous studies on phase change material (PCM) selection for latent thermal energy storage (LTES) mainly focused on steady heat source conditions without considering the effects of thermal fluctuation of real heat sources, and how fluctuating heat sources will affect the charging performance of LTES and material selection is still unclear. This study aims to compare the difference in material selection for a shell-and-tube LTES under steady and fluctuating heat sources, which comprehensively considers the effects of PCM thermophysical properties including the melting temperature, density, specific heat capacity, thermal conductivity and latent heat, as well as their interaction effects. By taking heat storage capacity and charging rate as objectives, orthogonal experiment design and stepwise regression analysis have been conducted to specify the significant factors among these parameters under steady and fluctuating heat source conditions. To further investigate the difference in the ranking of candidate PCMs under two conditions, fourteen pre-screened PCMs are ranked under steady and fluctuating heat sources. The results show that the order of prominent factors for heat storage capacity is , followed by under both conditions. However, when considering the charging rate, temperature fluctuation will weaken the effect of melting temperature, and strengthen the effect of specific heat capacity and latent heat. The order of prominent factors for charging rate is and under fluctuating heat source. According to the ranking results, LiNO3-NaNO2 within the melting temperature of 100–200 °C has an excellent comprehensive charging performance under both conditions.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: The research project has been funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51976176 and No. 51806189). Support from the China Science Foundation (Grant No. 2018M640556 and 2019T120514), from Zhejiang Province Science Foundation (Grant No. ZJ20180099) and from the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Grant No. 2020QNA4008) are also greatly appreciated. The authors also would like to thank the Royal Academy of Engineering through the Transforming Systems through Partnerships programme (Grant No. TSPC1098).
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Lu, Dr Yiji

Creator Roles

Lu, Y.: Writing – review and editing, Supervision

• Authors: Yu, X., Chang, J., Huang, R., Huang, Y., Lu, Y., Li, Z., and Wang, L.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering > Systems Power and Energy
• Journal Name: Applied Thermal Engineering
• Publisher: Elsevier
• ISSN: 1359-4311
• ISSN (Online): 1359-4311
• Published Online: 02 January 2021
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd.
• First Published: First published in Applied Thermal Engineering 186:116527
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the publisher copyright policy