Heat Energy Transfer Using Butyl Stearate as Phase Change Material for Free-Cooling Applications
Publication: Journal of Energy Engineering
Volume 144, Issue 4
Abstract
Buildings exploit 40% of the total annual global energy consumption and account for 33% of the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions around the world. A significant portion of this energy is consumed in buildings for heating, cooling, and air-conditioning purposes. Phase change materials (PCMs) can be used as cold accumulators for nighttime ventilation of buildings, also termed the “free-cooling concept.” An experimental test setup was established in the Laboratory for Advanced Energy Materials at US-Pakistan Center for Advanced Studies in Energy (USPCAS-E) for investigating heat transfer during charging and discharging using butyl stearate as PCM for free-cooling application. Effects of airflow rate and different metal additions on PCM charging and discharging were also assessed. Analysis of the data indicated that the increased airflow cuts the PCM charging time but reduces the time for useful cold availability. The addition of metals like aluminum (Al) and copper (Cu) powders to the PCM enhances the heat transfer rate during the charging process by 25 and 15%, respectively. Variation in size of the metal particles reveals that finer the metal size, more it enhances the heat transfer rate of the PCM during the charging process. The results and performance characteristics of the PCM show that it will be suitable for free-cooling applications.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
Al-Abidi, A. A., S. Mat, K. Sopian, M. Sulaiman, and A. T. Mohammad. 2014. “Experimental study of melting and solidification of PCM in a triplex tube heat exchanger with fins.” Energy Build. 68 (16): 33–41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2013.09.007.
Arkar, C., B. Vidrih, and S. Medved. 2007. “Efficiency of free cooling using latent heat storage integrated into the ventilation system of a low energy building.” Int. J. Refrig. 30 (1): 134–143. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrefrig.2006.03.009.
Cabeza, L. F., H. Mehling, S. Hiebler, and F. Ziegler. 2002. “Heat transfer enhancement in water when used as PCM in thermal energy storage.” Appl. Therm. Eng. 22 (10): 1141–1151. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1359-4311(02)00035-2.
Castell, A., C. Solé, M. Medrano, J. Roca, L. F. Cabeza, and D. García. 2008. “Natural convection heat transfer coefficients in phase change material (PCM) modules with external vertical fins.” Appl. Therm. Eng. 28 (13): 1676–1686. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2007.11.004.
Crane, R. A., and G. Bharadhwaj. 1991. “Evaluation of thermal energy storage devices for advanced solar dynamic systems.” J. Sol. Energy Eng. 113 (3): 138–145. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.2930485.
Darzi, A. A. R., S. M. Moosania, F. L. Tan, and M. Farhadi. 2013. “Numerical investigation of free-cooling system using plate type PCM storage.” Int. Commun. Heat Mass Transfer 48 (15): 155–163. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icheatmasstransfer.2013.08.025.
de Gracia, A., L. Navarro, A. Castell, Á. Ruiz-Pardo, S. Álvarez, and L. F. Cabeza. 2013. “Thermal analysis of a ventilated facade with PCM for cooling applications.” Energy Build. 65 (15): 508–515. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2013.06.032.
Frusteri, F., V. Leonardi, S. Vasta, and G. Restuccia. 2005. “Thermal conductivity measurement of a PCM based storage system containing carbon fibers.” Appl. Therm. Eng. 25 (11–12): 1623–1633. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2004.10.007.
Fukai, J., M. Kanou, Y. Kodama, and O. Miyatake. 2000. “Thermal conductivity enhancement of energy storage media using carbon fibers.” Energy Convers. Manage. 41 (14): 1543–1556. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0196-8904(99)00166-1.
Hed, G., and R. Bellander. 2006. “Mathematical modelling of PCM air heat exchanger.” Energy Build. 38 (2): 82–89. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2005.04.002.
Inaba, H., K. Matsuo, and A. Horibe. 2003. “Numerical simulation for fin effect of a rectangular latent heat storage vessel packed with molten salt under heat release process.” Heat Mass Transfer 39 (3): 231–237. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00231-002-0298-7.
Jeon, J., J. H. Lee, J. Seo, S. G. Jeong, and S. Kim. 2013. “Application of PCM thermal energy storage system to reduce building energy consumption.” J. Therm. Anal. Calorim. 111 (1): 279–288. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-012-2291-9.
Karlessi, T., M. Santamouris, A. Synnefa, D. Assimakopoulos, P. Didaskalopoulos, and K. Apostolakis. 2011. “Development and testing of PCM doped cool colored coatings to mitigate urban heat island and cool buildings.” Build. Environ. 46 (3): 570–576. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2010.09.003.
Lazaro, A., P. Dolado, J. M. Marín, and B. Zalba. 2009. “PCM-air heat exchangers for free-cooling applications in buildings: Experimental results of two real-scale prototypes.” Energy Convers. Manage. 50 (3): 439–443. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2008.11.002.
Li, M., and Z. Wu. 2011. “Preparation and performance of highly conductive phase change materials prepared with paraffin, expanded graphite, and diatomite.” Int. J. Green Energy 8 (1): 121–129. https://doi.org/10.1080/15435075.2011.546759.
Mesalhy, O., K. Lafdi, A. Elgafy, and K. Bowman. 2005. “Numerical study for enhancing the thermal conductivity of phase change material (PCM) storage using high thermal conductivity porous matrix.” Energy Convers. Manage. 46 (6): 847–867. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2004.06.010.
Py, X., R. Olives, and S. Mauran. 2001. “Paraffin/porous-graphite-matrix composite as a high and constant power thermal storage material.” Int. J. Heat Mass Transfer 44 (14): 2727–2737. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0017-9310(00)00309-4.
Raj, V. A. A., and R. Velraj. 2010. “Review on free cooling of buildings using phase change materials.” Renewable Sustainable Energy Rev. 14 (9): 2819–2829. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2010.07.004.
Regin, A. F., S. Solanki, and J. Saini. 2009. “An analysis of a packed bed latent heat thermal energy storage system using PCM capsules: Numerical investigation.” Renewable Energy 34 (7): 1765–1773. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2008.12.012.
Shatikian, V., G. Ziskind, and R. Letan. 2008. “Numerical investigation of a PCM-based heat sink with internal fins: Constant heat flux.” Int. J. Heat Mass Transfer 51 (5–6): 1488–1493. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijheatmasstransfer.2007.11.036.
Tay, N., F. Bruno, and M. Belusko. 2013. “Experimental investigation of dynamic melting in a tube-in-tank PCM system.” Appl. Energy 104 (15): 137–148. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2012.11.035.
Tay, N. H. S., M. Belusko, and F. Bruno. 2012. “Designing a PCM storage system using the effectiveness-number of transfer units method in low energy cooling of buildings.” Energy Build. 50 (14): 234–242. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2012.03.041.
Tay, N. H. S., M. Belusko, M. Liu, and F. Bruno. 2015. “Investigation of the effect of dynamic melting in a tube-in-tank PCM system using a CFD model.” Appl. Energy 137 (17): 738–747. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2014.06.060.
Tyagi, V. V., and D. Buddhi. 2007. “PCM thermal storage in buildings: A state of art.” Renewable Sustainable Energy Rev. 11 (6): 1146–1166. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2005.10.002.
Waqas, A., M. Ali, and Z. Din. 2017. “Performance analysis of phase-change material storage unit for both heating and cooling of buildings.” Int. J. Sustainable Energy 36 (4): 379–397. https://doi.org/10.1080/14786451.2015.1018832.
Waqas, A., and Z. U. Din. 2013. “Phase change material (PCM) storage for free cooling of buildings: A review.” Renewable Sustainable Energy Rev. 18 (15): 607–625. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2012.10.034.
Waqas, A., and S. Kumar. 2011. “Thermal performance of latent heat storage for free cooling of buildings in a dry and hot climate: An experimental study.” Energy Build. 43 (10): 2621–2630. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2011.06.015.
Zalba, B., J. M. Marín, L. F. Cabeza, and H. Mehling. 2003. “Review on thermal energy storage with phase change: Materials, heat transfer analysis and applications.” Appl. Therm. Eng. 23 (3): 251–283. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1359-4311(02)00192-8.
Zhang, Y., and A. Faghri. 1996. “Heat transfer enhancement in latent heat thermal energy storage system by using an external radial finned tube.” J. Enhanced Heat Trans. 3 (2): 119–127. https://doi.org/10.1615/JEnhHeatTransf.v3.i2.50.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Energy Engineering
Volume 144 • Issue 4 • August 2018
Copyright
©2018 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Sep 12, 2017
Accepted: Feb 20, 2018
Published online: May 26, 2018
Published in print: Aug 1, 2018
Discussion open until: Oct 26, 2018
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.