Incorporating insulation material with phase change materials (PCMs) could help enhance the insulation capability for a refrigerator system. The phase change material can absorb or release large amount of latent heat of fusion depending on surrounding temperatures for efficient thermal management. This research focuses on how incorporating PCM to the conventional PU foam insulation affects the inside temperatures of the refrigerator system and in-turn helps in conserving energy by reducing the compressor run time. It was found that only 0.25-inch-thick PCM layer in insulation can certainly benefit the refrigerators by reducing the amount of electricity consumption and thus increasing the total energy savings through the numerical study results via COMSOL Multiphysics in this study. This work aims to investigate a PCM-incorporated insulation material to accomplish the enhancement of thermal insulation performance for refrigerators.

Convection in a layer of fluid with a free surface due to a combination of thermocapillary stresses and buoyancy is a classic problem of fluid mechanics. It has attracted increasing attentions recently due to its relevance for two-phase cooling. Many of the modern thermal management technologies exploit the large latent heats associated with phase change at the interface of volatile liquids, allowing compact devices to handle very high heat fluxes. To enhance phase change, such cooling devices usually employ a sealed cavity from which almost all noncondensable gases, such as air, have been evacuated. Heating one end of the cavity, and cooling the other, establishes a horizontal temperature gradient that drives the flow of the coolant. Although such flows have been studied extensively at atmospheric conditions, our fundamental understanding of the heat and mass transport for volatile fluids at reduced pressures remains limited. A comprehensive and quantitative numerical model of two-phase buoyancy-thermocapillary convection of confined volatile fluids subject to a horizontal temperature gradient has been developed, implemented, and validated against experiments as a part of this thesis research. Unlike previous simplified models used in the field, this new model incorporates a complete description of the momentum, mass, and heat transport in both the liquid and the gas phase, as well as phase change across the entire liquid-gas interface. Numerical simulations were used to improve our fundamental understanding of the importance of various physical effects (buoyancy, thermocapillary stresses, wetting properties of the liquid, etc.) on confined two-phase flows. In particular, the effect of noncondensables (air) was investigated by varying their average concentration from that corresponding to ambient conditions to zero, in which case the gas phase becomes a pure vapor. It was found that the composition of the gas phase has a crucial impact on heat and mass transport as well as on the flow stability. A simplified theoretical description of the flow and its stability was developed and used to explain many features of the numerical solutions and experimental observations that were not well understood previously. In particular, an analytical solution for the base return flow in the liquid layer was extended to the gas phase, justifying the previous ad-hoc assumption of the linear interfacial temperature profile. Linear stability analysis of this two-layer solution was also performed. It was found that as the concentration of noncondensables decreases, the instability responsible for the emergence of a convective pattern is delayed, which is mainly due to the enhancement of phase change. Finally, a simplified transport model was developed for heat pipes with wicks or microchannels that gives a closed-form analytical prediction for the heat transfer coefficient and the optimal size of the pores of the wick (or the width of the microchannels).

Les travaux présentés dans ce manuscrit portent sur la conception, simulation et réalisation des nouvelles structures des commutateurs hyperfréquences basées sur l’intégration des couches minces des matériaux innovants fonctionnels tels que les matériaux à changement de phase (PCM) et les matériaux à transition de phase (PTM). Le principe de fonctionnement de ces composants repose sur le changement de résistivité présenter par ces matériaux. Nous avons exploité le changement de résistivité réversible du GeTe de la famille des matériaux à changement de phase (PCM) entre les deux états : amorphe à forte résistivité et cristallin à faible résistivité, pour réaliser une nouvelle structure d’un simple commutateur SPST. Ensuite, nous avons intégré ce commutateur dans une nouvelle structure de la matrice de commutation DPDT (Double Port Double Throw) à base de PCM pour l’application dans la charge utile du satellite. Nous avons utilisé la transition isolant-métal présenté par le dioxyde de vanadium (VO2) de la famille des matériaux à transition de phase, pour réaliser une nouvelle structure de commutateur simple à deux terminaux sur une très large bande de fréquence (100 MHz–220 GHz). / The work presented in this manuscript focuses on the design, simulation and realization of new microwave switches structures based on the integration of thin layers of innovative functional materials such as phase change materials (PCM) and phase transition materials. (PTM). The operating principle of these components is based on the change of resistivity present by these materials. We exploited the reversible resistivity change of GeTe of phase change materials family between the two states: amorphous with high resistivity and crystalline with low resistivity to realize a new structure of SPST switch. Then, we have integrated this switch structure on a new structure of DPDT (Double Port Double Throw) switch matrix based on phase change materials for application in satellite payload. We have used the insulatingmetal transition presented by the vanadium dioxide (VO2) of phase transition materials family to realize a new two terminals simple switch structure on a very wide frequency band (100 MHz–220 GHz).

The Science behind amorphous Chalcogenide materials opened up new technologies in the arena of Phase Change Memories. The Ovonic universal phase change memory is called universal because it can replace flash memory, DRAM and SRAM. These are not only basic computer memory devices but also are becoming the driving force for the ongoing revolutionary growth of cell phones and other mobile devices, which are in desperate need of memory providing higher density, faster speed and lower power consumption. In this thesis, compositional dependence of various properties of different chalcogenide glasses are investigated, to explore the possibility of their application in Phase Change Memories. Efforts are also made to understand the effect of rigidity and extended rigidity transition on the composition dependence of properties investigated. This thesis comprises of 9 chapters; a brief summary is given below. Chapter 1 deals with fundamental aspects of amorphous semiconductors with a particular reference to chalcogenide glasses. The advantages and applications of chalcogenide glasses are also described. Chapter 2 outlines preparation and characterization of the glasses investigated. The sample preparation and various experimental setup used in the present thesis work like Raman Scattering, Nanoindentation, Alternating Differential Scanning Calorimetry (ADSC), Photo-thermal Deflection Spectroscopy (PDS), Electrical Switching are summarized here. Chapter 3 deals with Micro-Raman studies in Ge15Te85-x Inx Glasses. Micro-Raman studies reveal that as-quenched Ge15Te85-xInx samples exhibit two prominent peaks, at 123 and 155 cm-1. In thermally annealed samples, the peaks at 120 cm-1 and 140 cm-1, which are due to crystalline Te, emerge as the strongest peaks. The Raman spectra of polished samples are similar to those of annealed samples, with strong peaks at 123 cm-1 and 141 cm-1. The spectra of lightly polished samples outside the thermally reversing window resemble those of thermally annealed samples; however, the spectra of glasses with compositions in the thermally reversing window resemble those of as-quenched samples. This observation confirms the earlier idea that compositions in the thermally reversing window are non-ageing and are more stable. Chapter 4 explains nanoindentation studies undertaken on Ge15Te85-xInx glasse (1 ≤ x ≤ 11). Nanoindentation studies on Ge15Te85-xInx glasses indicate that the hardness and elastic modulus of these glasses increase with indium concentration. While a pronounced plateau is seen in the elastic modulus in the composition range 3 ≤ x ≤ 7, the hardness exhibits a change in slope at compositions x = 3 and x = 7. Also, the density exhibits a broad maximum in this composition range. The observed changes in the mechanical properties and density are clearly associated with the thermally reversing window in Ge15Te85-xInx glasses in the composition range 3 ≤ x ≤ 7. In addition, a local minimum is seen in density and hardness around x = 9, the chemical threshold of the system. Chapter 5 deals with crystallization kinetics of Ge15Te85-xInx glasses. The crystallization kinetics of Ge15Te85Inx glasses have been studied by non-isothermal method. The composition dependence of Tg and Tc at different heating rates, is investigated. The activation energy of crystallization is calculated using the Kissinger’s plot. It is found that the composition dependence of the glass transition temperature, Tg and the crystallization temperature, Tc, the activation energy of crystallization, Ec, and the stability factor, (ΔT= Tc-Tg) exhibit specific signatures of intermediate phase in the composition rang 3 ≤ x ≤ 7 and Chemical Threshold at x = 9. Chapter 6 explains Alternating Differential Scanning Calorimetric and XRD studies on silver doped Ge15Te80In5 glasses. X-ray diffraction studies on quaternary Ge15Te80-xIn5Agx glasses (2 ≤ x ≤ 24) reveal the presence of Te, GeTe, Ag8GeTe6, AgTe, In2Te3 and In4Te3. Thermal studies on quaternary Ge15Te80-xIn5Agx glasses exhibit signatures of Intermediate Phase (IP) in the variation of Tg, ∆HNR and ∆Cp with Ag addition in the composition range 8 ≤ x ≤ 16. The composition x = 16 has been identified to be the Chemical Threshold (CT) based on the saturation of flexible Ag-Te bonds. Micro-Raman, molar volume, thermal diffusivity studies on Ge15Te80-xIn5Agx glasses reveal a clear evidence of intermediate phase in the composition range 8 ≤ x ≤ 16 as depicted in the ADSC studies. Chapter 7 deals with Micro-Raman studies on as-quenched Ge15Te80-xIn5Agx glasses reveal the presence of tetrahedral structural units. Further, the Raman peak positions are found to shift with silver addition. In addition, specific signatures of the Intermediate Phase (IP) are observed in the composition dependence of Raman frequencies and corresponding intensities of different modes in the composition range, 8 ≤ x ≤ 16. In thermally annealed samples, the observed Raman peaks can be attributed to crystalline tellurium and silver lattice vibrational modes; significant increase in intensity is observed at 93 and 141cm-1 with silver addition in annealed samples, suggesting an increase in silver lattice vibrational modes. Also, the compositional dependence of density, molar volume and thermal diffusivity confirms the presence of the intermediate phase. Chapter 8 contains the current-voltage characteristics and electrical switching behavior of Ge15Te80-xIn5Agx glasses. The glasses are found to exhibit memory type switching for 3mA current in the voltage range 70 -120 V, for a sample thickness 0.3 mm. But when the current is lowered to 1mA the samples exhibit threshold switching. The compositional studies indicate the presence of an intermediate phase in the composition range 8 ≤ x ≤ 16. SET-RESET studies have been carried out using a triangular pulse of 6 mA amplitude for SET and 21 mA amplitude for RESET for a sample thickness 0.3 mm. Raman studies on SET and RESET indicates SET state resemble annealed samples and RESET state resemble as-quenched samples. It is interesting to note that the samples in the intermediate phase, especially compositions at x =10, 12, 14 withstand more set-reset cycles. This indicates compositions in the intermediate phase are suitable for PCM devices. Chapter 9 summarizes the significant results obtained and explains the scope of this thesis.

This master thesis deals with problematic of the heat convection in phase change materials (PCM) and PCM with nanoparticles. The derivation of stationary and non-stationary equations for 1D, 2D and 3D heat convection are described in detail. The finite element volume method is used for solution to these equations, of which principle is described carefully. The aim of this thesis is model development for 2D solution to temperature distribution at heat convection in PCM and influence assessment of nanoparticle implementation into material on given temperature distribution. Software MATLAB was used for model development, solution and plotting graphs.

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One of prospective procedures of absorbing thermal energy and releasing it during the required time is the application of phase change materials known as PCMs in building envelopes. High thermal energy storage (TES) materials has been a technology that effects the energy efficiency of a building by contributing in using onsite resources and reducing cooling or heating loads. Currently, many TES systems are emerging and contributing in building assemblies, however using an appropriate type of TES in a specific building and climate requires an in-depth knowledge of their properties. This research aims to provide a thorough review of a broad range of thermal energy storage technologies including their potential application in buildings. Subsequently, a comparative study and simulation between a basecase and an optimized model by PCM is thoroughly considered to understand the effect of high thermal storage building's shell on energy efficiency and indoor thermal comfort. Specifically this study proposes that the incorporation of PCM into glazing system as a high thermal capacity system will improve windows thermal performance and thermal capacity to varying climatic conditions. The generated results by eQUEST energy modeling software demonstrates approximately 25% reduction in cooling loads during the summer and 10% reduction in heating loads during the winter for optimized office building by PCM in hot arid climate of Arizona. Besides, using PCM in glazing system will reduce heat gain through the windows by conduction phenomenon. The hourly results indicates the effect of PCM as a thermal energy storage system in building envelopes for building's energy efficiency and thermal regulation. However, several problems need to be tackled before LHTES can reliably and practically be applied. We conclude with some suggestions for future work.

Thesis (MEng) -- Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Solar energy is a time dependent, high-temperature radiant energy resource. The utility of a solar thermal energy system increases if the hot temperature source is available when it is needed most. This is realized by the thermal storage of the solar energy. Thermal storage gives greater versatility to a solar energy system by decoupling the heat source from the heat sink. A large quantity of energy may be stored during the melting process in a phase change material (PCM) within a small temperature range. This molten PCM can then deliver its absorbed heat at a constant temperature in a heating application. In this study a phase change storage system (PCS) is developed and proposed for a solar water heating application. This PCS system stores more heat per unit mass than would be possible with water across the same temperature range. The heat transfer rate in and out of many PCMs is slow because of the low thermal conductivity of the PCM. However, heat transfer enhancers (HTE), such as heat pipes and fins may be added to enhance heat absorption and heat removal rates. Heat pipes have the inherent capability to transfer heat at high rates across large distances, even where the temperature difference is small. In this thesis a description is given of a PCS system consisting of paraffin wax as the PCM and which uses rectangular heat pipes in conjunction with aluminium fins to enhance heat transfer. The storage design is modular and each module has the characteristic that enhanced heat transfer in and out of the PCM is possible when the module is heated or cooled. It also has the capability to quickly absorb or alternatively to supply heat at a nearly constant temperature during the phase change of the module. A rectangular module was designed and built. The module was then analysed under controlled heat absorption and heat removal cycles. The heat up experiment involved an electrical kettle as the hot temperature source. The heat sink was a mains water heat exchanger. The experimental results were compared to those of a transient numerical model, which calculates theoretically how the module will perform thermally under the given test conditions. The numerical model of the experimental set-up was validated when it was found that the numerical model results resemble the experimental results. The numerical model was then adapted to simulate a novel solar water heater (SWH) with an additional PCS container. The improvement over previous designs is that the additional storage container can be heated to a higher temperature than the allowable geyser temperature. The system also heats up and cools down at a faster rate than would be possible without the HTEs. From the numerical simulation the size and performance of such a system is determined. This numerical analysis indicated that a phase change storage system in a SWH application will increase the hot water delivered by a given solar collector and geyser by increasing the storage capacity and by heating up the geyser overnight for early morning hot water use. / AFRIKKANSE OPSOMMING: Son energie is ‘n tyd afhanklike, hoë temperatuur radiasie energiebron. Die bruikbaarheid van ‘n sontermiese energie sisteem verhoog indien die hoë temperatuur bron beskikbaar is wanneer dit die meeste benodig word. Dit kan verwesenlik word deur die sonenergie termies te stoor. Termiese storing bied groter veelsydigheid aan ‘n sontermiese stelsel deur effektief die hittebron te ontkoppel van die hitte sink. ‘n Groot hoeveelheid energie kan, gedurende die smeltingsproses in ‘n faseveranderingsmateriaal binne ‘n nou temperatuurband gestoor word. Hierdie gesmelte materiaal kan weer op sy beurt in die waterverhittingstoepassing, die geabsorbeerde hitte teen ‘n konstante temperatuur oordra. In hierdie studie word ‘n sonwaterverwarmer stelsel wat aangepas is deur ‘n addisionele latente hittestoor daaraan te heg, voorgestel. Hierdie faseverandering hittestoor kan meer hitte stoor as wat water in dieselfde temperatuur band sou kon. Die hitteoordrag tempo na en van baie van die faseveranderingsmateriale (FVM) is egter as gevolg van die lae termiese geleidingskoëfisient, stadig. Hierdie eienskap kan gelukkig verbeter word deur hittepype en hitteoordrag verhogings materiaal soos vinne by te voeg. Hittepype het die inherente eienskap om hitte teen ‘n hoë tempo oor groot afstande, oor te dra, selfs oor ‘n klein temperatuurverskil. In hierdie tesis word ‘n ondersoek rakende ‘n faseverandering storingsisteem wat bestaan uit paraffien was as die FVM en reghoekige hittepype wat te same met met aluminium finne gebruik word om die hitteoordragtempo te verhoog, beskryf. Die stoorontwerp is modulêr en elke module het die kenmerk van hoë hitteoordrag na en van die FVM. Die module het verder ook die eienskap om vining hitte te absorbeer of hitte af te gee. Dit gebeur teen ‘n konstante temperatuur gedurende die faseverandering van die FVM. Presies so ‘n reghoekige module is ontwerp en gebou en onder beheerde hitte absorbering- en hitte verwyderingsiklusse analiseer. Tydens die verhittings eksperiment is ‘n elektriese ketel van gebruik gemaak wat gedien het as die hoë temperatuur bron. Die hitte sink was ‘n hitteruiler wat kraanwater van ‘n konstante hoogte tenk ontvang het. Die resultate van die volledige toets is met die resultate van tydafhanklike numeriese model vergelyk. Hierdie numeriese model bereken teoreties wat die module se storing verrigting onder gegewe toets omstandighede sal wees. Die numeriese model se resultate het goed vergelyk met die resultate van die eksperimente. Die numeriese model van die module is toe aangepas om ‘n sonwaterverwarmer met addisionele stoortenk wat fase verandering materiaal gebruik, te simuleer. Hierdie ontwerp is anders as vorige ontwerpe in die sin dat hoër temperature as wat die warmwatertoestel kan hanteer, in die faseverandering storingstenk, bereik kan word. Die sisteem kan ook as gevolg van die hitteoordrag verhoging materiaal, vinniger verhit of afkoel en teen ‘n vinniger tempo. Die simulasie van die sonwaterverwarmer met FVM word gebruik om die grootte en verrigting van die sisteem te bepaal. Hierdie numeriese model toon aan dat wanneer ‘n addisionele faseverandering storingstelsel in ‘n sonwaterverwarmer toepassing gebruik word, die warm water wat die verbruiker uit die sisteem kan verkry, kan verhoog. Die rede hiervoor is dat meer hitte gestoor kan word, wat beskikbaar gemaak word aan die warm water tenk.

With the emergence of multi-standard and cognitive radios, the need for reconfigurable RF circuits increased. Such circuits require wide-band quadrature voltage controlled oscillators (QVCOs) to provide the local oscillator (LO) signal for up and down conversion. Wide-band QVCOs performance has lagged behind their narrowband VCO counterparts and numerous circuit techniques have been introduced to bridge the gap. This dissertation presents techniques that have been used to implement wide-band reconfigurable QVCOs with focus on dual-resonance based circuits. System and circuit analysis are performed to understand the tuning-range, phase noise, and power tradeoffs and to consider quadrature phase errors. An 8.8-15.0 GHz actively coupled QVCO and a 13.8-20GHz passively coupled QVCO are presented. Both oscillators employ dual-resonance to achieve extended tuning ranges. Impulse sensitivity functions were used to study the impact of different passive and active device noises on the overall phase noise performance of the dual-resonance oscillator and the actively and passively coupled quadrature oscillators. The quadrature phase error due to the different architecture parameters were investigated for the actively and passively coupled quadrature oscillators. The advantages of using switched capacitor tuning as a major part of passive tuning are identified, and the advantage of employing switches with large bandwidths, such as those associated with phase change materials, is mathematically quantified. Furthermore, a novel method for accurate off chip phase error measurement using discrete components and phase shifters that does not require calibration is introduced.

Lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) has been developed as a powerful numerical approach to simulate the complex fluid flow and heat transfer phenomena during the past two decades. As a mesoscale method based on the kinetic theory, LBM has several advantages compared with traditional numerical methods such as physical representation of microscopic interactions, dealing with complex geometries and highly parallel nature. Lattice Boltzmann method has been applied to solve various fluid behaviors and heat transfer process like conjugate heat transfer, magnetic and electric field, diffusion and mixing process, chemical reactions, multiphase flow, phase change process, non-isothermal flow in porous medium, microfluidics, fluid-structure interactions in biological system and so on. In addition, as a non-body-conformal grid method, the immersed boundary method (IBM) could be applied to handle the complex or moving geometries in the domain. The immersed boundary method could be coupled with lattice Boltzmann method to study the heat transfer and fluid flow problems. Heat transfer and fluid flow are solved on Euler nodes by LBM while the complex solid geometries are captured by Lagrangian nodes using immersed boundary method. Parallel computing has been a popular topic for many decades to accelerate the computational speed in engineering and scientific fields. Today, almost all the laptop and desktop have central processing units (CPUs) with multiple cores which could be used for parallel computing. However, the cost of CPUs with hundreds of cores is still high which limits its capability of high performance computing on personal computer. Graphic processing units (GPU) is originally used for the computer video cards have been emerged as the most powerful high-performance workstation in recent years. Unlike the CPUs, the cost of GPU with thousands of cores is cheap. For example, the GPU (GeForce GTX TITAN) which is used in the current work has 2688 cores and the price is only 1,000 US dollars. The release of NVIDIA's CUDA architecture which includes both hardware and programming environment in 2007 makes GPU computing attractive. Due to its highly parallel nature, lattice Boltzmann method is successfully ported into GPU with a performance benefit during the recent years. In the current work, LBM CUDA code is developed for different fluid flow and heat transfer problems. In this dissertation, lattice Boltzmann method and immersed boundary method are used to study natural convection in an enclosure with an array of conduting obstacles, double-diffusive convection in a vertical cavity with Soret and Dufour effects, PCM melting process in a latent heat thermal energy storage system with internal fins, mixed convection in a lid-driven cavity with a sinusoidal cylinder, and AC electrothermal pumping in microfluidic systems on a CUDA computational platform. It is demonstrated that LBM is an efficient method to simulate complex heat transfer problems using GPU on CUDA.