>Magister Scientiae - MSc / Phase change material (PCM) through latent heat of molten salt, is a convincing way for thermal energy storage in CSP applications due to its high volume density. Molten salt, with (60% NaNO3 and 40% KNO3) has been used extensively for energy storage however; the low thermal conductivity and specific heat have limited its large implementation in solar applications. For that, molten salt with the additive of silver nanowires (AgNWs) was synthesized and characterized. This research project aims to investigate the thermophysical properties enhancement of nanosalt (Mixture of molten salt and silver nanowires). The results obtained showed that by simply adjusting the temperature, Silver nanowires with high aspect ratio have been synthesized through the enhanced PVP polyol process method. SEM results revealed a network of silver nanowires and TEM results confirmed the presence of silver nanowires with an average diameter of 129 nm and 16 μm in length.

Les matériaux à changement de phase (MCP) constituent une alternative prometteuse pour l'amélioration de l'inertie thermique des matériaux de construction. Grâce à leur chaleur latente, ces matériaux permettent de stocker des quantités importantes d'énergie thermique, ce qui permet de réduire la consommation d'énergie liée au chauffage et à la climatisation. Cependant, leur incorporation dans les matériaux cimentaires entraine une baisse de la résistance mécanique du nouveau matériau composite ainsi obtenu. Durant ces dernières décennies, les composites MCP/bétons ont suscité un grand intérêt conduisant à un grand nombre de travaux expérimentaux. Cependant, les modèles théoriques et numériques pour prédire les comportements de ces matériaux complexes sont aujourd'hui très peu développés en raison de la complexité du comportement thermique avec changement de phase, de la séparation d'échelle et de la difficulté que représente la prédiction de l'endommagement par fissuration à l'échelle des hétérogénéités microscopiques. L'objectif de cette thèse est précisément de développer des outils de modélisation numériques pour prédire le comportement thermomécanique effectif du matériau en vue de calculs de structures. Pour cela, des modèles numériques sont développés pour simuler le transfert de chaleur, le comportement mécanique, la fissuration ainsi que la fuite du MCP liquide à travers les fissures, à l'échelle d'un Volume Elémentaire Représentatif du matériau. Après avoir étudié les effets des changements de phase dans le MCP sur le comportement mécanique effectif, une approche multi-échelle (méthode EF²$) est proposée afin de réaliser des calculs de structures en tenant compte des phénomènes à l'échelle des micro capsules. Des caractérisations expérimentales thermo-physiques sont menées afin de prouver l'utilité des MCP dans les matériaux de construction et de faire des comparaisons avec les outils d'homogénéisation développés. Enfin, nous proposons une étude dans le but de comprendre et d'évaluer les effets du MCP dans la dégradation des propriétés mécaniques de ces nouveaux matériaux / A promising way to enhance thermal inertia of buildings is the use of phase change materials (PCMs). Thanks to their high latent heat, PCMs can be used to store a significant amount of thermal energy in order to reduce energy consumption related to air conditioning. However, their use leads to a decrease in the mechanical strength of the obtained composites. During the last decades, the incorporation of PCMs in concrete has been of great interest leading to many experimental works. However, theoretical and numerical models to predict the behavior of such complex materials are not developed so far, due to the complexity of the phase change behavior, the scale separation and issues associated to the damage which is mainly induced by microcracking at the scale of microstructural heterogeneities. The objective of this thesis is precisely to develop numerical modeling tools to predict the effective thermomechanical behavior of the material with aim of structural calculations. For this purpose, numerical tools based on microstructures at the scale of microencapsulated PCM are developed to simulate heat transfer, mechanical response, cracks propagation as well as leakage of liquid PCM through cracks. After studying the effects of phase changes in the PCM on the effective mechanical response of the composites, a multi-scale approach (FE² method) is proposed to carry out structural calculations taking into account phenomena at micro scale. Thermo-physical experimental characterizations are carried out to show the usefulness of PCMs in building materials and to make comparisons with the developed homogenization tools. Finally, we propose a study to understand and evaluate the effects of PCMs in the degradation of the mechanical properties of these new materials

Cryogenic propellants are going to be the cornerstone for effective future human space exploration. These propellants need to be stored and maintained at really low temperatures for a long duration. Accurate phase change modeling is necessary for characterizing the thermal state of future cryogenic propellant tanks and for designing systems to alleviate the self pressurization problem. Better understanding about how to properly store and manage cryogenic propellants would help greatly with In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) strategies for future missions to Mars and further. Predicting the fluid flow, heat transfer, and phase change mass transfer in long term cryogenic storage using CFD models is greatly affected by our understanding of the accommodation coefficient. The kinetically limited phase change model governed by the Hertz-Knudsen-Schrage equation is the model of choice for such calculations. The value of the accommodation coefficient required for the model is unknown for cryogenic propellants. Even in the case of water, the value of the accommodation coefficient has been found to vary over three orders of magnitude based on 80 years of measurements. Experiments specifically built to study accommodation coefficient are needed to estimate the value of the accommodation coefficient and understand some of the uncertainties surrounding these models. <div><br></div><div>Two phase change models, viz. the thermally limited and the kinetically limited phase change model are implemented in OpenFOAM. Different approaches to implement the Hertz-Knudsen-Schrage equation in a sharp interface conjugate heat transfer solver are studied. Evaporation and condensation calculations for a liquid hydrogen meniscus inside an aluminum container are compared with experimental measurements. The effect of accommodation coefficient on phase change is then studied with the kinetically limited model by comparing with the thermally limited model and the experimental measurements. The uncertainties associated with the temperature and pressure measurements in the experiment are quantified to show their effect on computational predictions. Since cryogenic propellants are perfectly wetting fluids, modeling the thin-film region close to the contact line leads to a multi-scale computational problem. However, the phase change contribution from the thin-film region is approximated in these computations to show the importance of modeling the contact line region accurately to adequately capture the small local thermodynamics in that region.</div>

No description available.

Nowadays continuous increase of energy consumption increases the importance of replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy sources so the CO2 emissions can be reduced. To use the energy in a more efficient way is also favorable for this purpose. Thermal Energy Storage (TES) is a technology that can make use of waste heat, which means that it can help energy systems to reduce the CO2 emissions and improve the overall efficiency. In this technology an appropriate material is chosen to store the thermal energy so it can be stored for later use. The energy can be stored as sensible heat and latent heat. To achieve a high energy storage density it is convenient to use latent heat based TES. The materials used in this kind of storage system are called Phase Change Materials (PCM) and it is its ability of absorbing and releasing thermal energy during the phase change process that becomes very useful. In this thesis a simulation model for a system of thermal energy transportation has been developed. The background comes from district heating systems ability of using surplus heat from industrials and large scale power plants. The idea is to implement transportation of heat by trucks closer to the demand instead of distributing heat through very long pipes. The heat is then charged into containers that are integrated with PCM and heat exchangers. A mathematical model has been created in Matlab to simulate the system dynamics of the logistics of the thermal energy transport system. The model considers three main parameters: percentage content of PCM in the containers, annual heat demand and transport distance. How the system is affected when these three parameters varies is important to visualize. The simulation model is very useful for investigation of the economic and environmental capability of the proposed thermal energy transportation system. Simulations for different scenarios show some expected results. But there are also some findings that are more interesting, for instance how the variation of content of PCM gives irregular variation of how many truck the system requires, and its impact on the economic aspect. Results also show that cost for transporting the heat per unit of thermal energy can be much high for a small demands compared to larger demands.

No description available.

The world is facing a major challenge when it comes to proper energy utilization. The increasing energy demand, the depleting fossil fuel resources and the growing environmental and ecological concerns are factors that drive the need for creative solutions. Renewable energy resources such as solar sit in the center of these solutions. Due to their intermittent nature, development of energy storage systems is crucial. This dissertation focused on the latent thermal energy storage systems that incorporate phase change materials (PCM). The main goal was to enhance the heat transfer rates in these systems to address the low melting (energy storage stage) and solidification (recovery stage) rates that are caused by the PCMs’ low thermal conductivity values. The application of multiple PCMs (m-PCMs) with varying melting temperatures in several arrangements was investigated. The effects of applying m-PCMs on the conduction heat transfer and on the natural convection heat transfer in both horizontally and vertically oriented heat exchangers were studied. This was followed by an optimization study of the PCMs’ melting temperatures and the working fluid flow rate. Further heat transfer enhancement using metal fins was also investigated. Numerical models were developed and validated. Results are reported and discussed. Significant enhancement in both complete melting time and energy storage capacity was obtained by the m-PCMs in series arrangement. This enhancement is more pronounced in the vertically oriented system. The working fluid flow rate was found to have a limited effect during the melting stage. However, it seems to be crucial in the solidification stage.

No description available.

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・論文博士 / 博士(工学) / 乙第12983号 / 論工博第4130号 / 新制||工||1637(附属図書館) / 32453 / 台湾国立成功大学大学院工学研究科建築学専攻 / (主査)教授 鉾井 修一, 教授 原田 和典, 教授 神吉 紀世子 / 学位規則第4条第2項該当 / Doctor of Philosophy (Engineering) / Kyoto University / DGAM

The major challenge associated with renewable-energy systems especially solar, is the supply intermittency. One effective solution is to incorporate thermal energy storage components utilizing phase change materials (PCMs). These materials have the potential to store large amounts of energy in relatively small volumes and within nearly an isothermal storage process. The primary drawback of today’s PCMs is that their low thermal conductivity values critically limit their energy storage applications. Also, this grossly reduces the melting/ solidification rates, thus making the system response time to be too long. So, the application of heat transfer enhancement is very important. To improve the PCM storage performance, an efficient performing containment vessel (triplex-tube) along with applications of various heat transfer enhancement techniques was investigated. The techniques were; (i) dispersion of solid nanoparticles, (ii) incorporation of metal foam with nanoparticle dispersion, and (iii) insertion of longitudinal fins with nanoparticle dispersion. Validated simulation models were developed to examine the effects of implementing these techniques on the PCM phase-change rate during the energy storage and recovery modes. The results are presented with detailed model description, analysis, and conclusions. Results show that the use of nanoparticles with metal foam or fins is more efficient than using nanoparticles alone within the same volume usage. Also, employing metal foam or fins alone results in much better improvement for the same system volume.