Phase-change materials, systems and applications for low- and medium-temperature thermal energy storage

Determining the ideal size of compact thermal energy storage containers has been an issue for many building designers due to the difficulty of determining the transient performance of the thermal storage systems. Research and development of compact thermal energy storage systems has been ongoing for more than 80 years with phase change materials (PCMs) used to replace conventional water based thermal stores. PCMs have the potential to store larger amounts of energy when compared to water-based thermal stores over a narrow temperature range, providing a greater thermal storage capacity for the same available volume. This research was undertaken to investigate theoretically and experimentally the thermal behaviour of various PCMs and the overall decarbonisation potential when integrated into current heating and cooling systems. The overall aim was to develop algorithms that could determine optimal and cost effective compact thermal storage geometries and their system integration into the various heating and cooling applications studied. Three operating temperatures were selected based on the application: office space cooling (10 to 24$^\circ$C), residential domestic hot water and space heating (40 to 65$^\circ$C) and district heating (55 to 80$^\circ$C). The algorithms developed predict the energy performance and $CO_2$ emissions reduction for each application with a latent heat thermal storage system compared to a reference (current system design) case in each application. Previous research has focused on the melting behaviour of the PCM within a specific geometry, modelling the heat transfer fluid (HTF) in a separate analysis. The algorithms developed focus on the modelling of these 2 elements simultaneously within the respective application. This provided a useful tool to evaluate the thermal performance of each storage technology compared to the reference case in each application studied. The levelized costs of energy (LCOE) in each application were compared. It was found that in all cases studied, the latent heat thermal energy storage system is an expensive solution, compared to the reference case in each application (72\% more expensive in the office space cooling study, 69\% more expensive in the domestic hot water and space heating study and 9\% more expensive in the district heating study); although the obtained emission reductions are considerable (36\% by shifting daily cooling loads, 57\% by shifting domestic hot water and space heating loads and 11\% by utilizing industrial waste heat via a compact portable thermal store). Further integration of renewable energy sources and the electrification of current heating and cooling applications with the possibility of shifting heating and cooling loads into periods with lower carbon emissions can significantly contribute to meet the UK s 80\% carbon emissions reduction targets by 2050

Compact latent heat storage decarbonization potential for domestic hot water and space heating applications in the UK

A performance comparison is presented for a domestic space and hot water heating system with a conventional gas boiler and an air source heat pump (ASHP) with latent heat storage, both with solar thermal collectors for a typical UK climate, to demonstrate the potential of phase change material based energy storage in active heating applications. The latent heat thermal storage system consisted of 10 modules with RT54HC comprising a total storage capacity of 14.75kWh that provided 53% extra thermal storage capacity over the temperature range of 40 to 65°C compared to a water only store. The simulations predicted a potential yearly CO2 reduction of 56%, and a yearly energy reduction of 76% when operating the heat pumps using the economy 10 electricity tariff i.e a low tariff between 00.00-05.00 and 13.00-16.00 with current grid emission values compared to the conventional gas boiler system; successfully offsetting the electrical load to meet the required heat demand. Due to the high capital costs of the heat pump system with latent heat storage, its levelized cost of energy was 117.84£/MWh, compared to 69.66£/MWh for the gas boiler, on a 20-year life cycle

Thermal energy storage for low and medium temperature applications using phase change materials – a review

A comprehensive review of phase change materials (PCMs) with phase transition temperatures between 0 and 250 °C is presented. From that review, organic compounds and salt hydrates seem more promising below 100 °C and eutectic mixtures from 100 to 250 °C. Practical indirect heat exchanger designs for latent heat storage systems were also assessed and feasible heat enhancement mechanisms reviewed. The focus on this temperature range is due to potential CO2 emissions reduction able to be achieved replacing conventional heating and cooling applications in the domestic, commercial and public administration sectors, which represented around a quarter of the UK’s final energy consumption in 2015

Fatigue Behavior of Metallic Components Obtained by Topology Optimization for Additive Manufacturing

The main goal of the present research is to propose an integrated methodology to address the fatigue performance of topology optimized components, produced by additive manufacturing. The main steps of the component design will be presented, specially the methods and parameters applied to the topology optimization and the post-smoothing process. The SIMP method was applied in order to obtain a lighter component and a suitable stiffness for the desired application. In addition, since residual stresses are intrinsic to every metallic additive manufacturing process, the influence of those stresses will be also analyzed. The Laser Powder Bed Fusion was numerically simulated aiming at evaluating the residual stresses the workpiece during the manufacturing process and to investigate how they could influence the fatigue behavior of the optimized component. The effect of the built orientation of the workpiece on the residual stresses at some selected potential critical points are evaluated. The final design solution presented a stiffness/volume ratio nearly 6 times higher when compared to the initial geometry. By choosing the built orientation, it is possible impact favorably in the fatigue life of the component

Análise Comparativa Da Tensão Limite De Escoamento De Argamassas Por Meio Da Técnica De Pashias E Reometria Rotacional

Studies about the rheological behavior of cementitious materials, especially mortars and concretes, have been developed to improve the quality and durability of these materials as well as prevent any future problems in the hardened state. The rotational rheometry is the classic test for the rheological characterization of cementitious materials, because it allows to infer about the level of yield stress and apparent viscosity of the material. The rotational rheometers are, however, costly equipments, which led to the development of alternative me-thods for low cost, as the Pashias technique. The Pashias technique is a modification of the slump-test proce-dure in order to characterize, rheologically, the materials by single determining of the yield stress. The work developed aimed to determine the yield stress of mortars from compositions of high performance concretes (HPC) dosed by the concepts of rheology and particles packing. For this, it was used the classic rheometric test and the Pashias technique (cylinder), in order to compare the results, and evaluate the capacity of alterna-tive technique in determining the yield stress of mortars. The comparison of the results obtained by different rheological test methods showed a good ability of the Pashias technique (alternative technique) to evaluate the of yield stress parameter of mortars (with errors ranging from 1% to 20%). In addition, was observed that the mortar obtained from HPC dosed by the concepts of particles packing appeared more fluid and workable, with less yield stress. © 2016, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. All rights reserved.21486687

Forming parts over small radii

Stamping simulations usually make the plane stress simplifying assumption. However, this becomes less valid when material draws around features with radius to sheet thickness ratios less than 20. Pereira, Yan & Rolfe (Wear, Vol.265, p.1687 (2008)) predicted that out-of-plane stress equivalent to material yield can occur because a line contact forms briefly at the start of the draw process. The high transient stress can cause high rates of tool wear and may cause the \u27die impact line\u27 cosmetic defect. In this work, we present residual strain results of a channel section that was drawn over a small radius. Using the neutron source at the Institut Laue-Langevin, in-plane and out-of-plane strains were measured in the channel part to show some support for the conclusions of Pereira et. al