Experimental study of evaluation of dynamical utilization of a microencapsulated phase change material slurry based on temperature range matching analysis

Abstract

Microencapsulated phase change material (MPCM) slurries are energy-carrier fluids. Their latent heat utilization has been investigated by a new method based on the temperature properties of the phase-change fluid, in which match of the working and phase-change temperature ranges is considered. Based on the working-temperature range (3–15 °C) in heat-exchange circulation, the dynamic heat-transfer characteristics and utilization of the MPCM slurry with the core material n-docosane (C22H46) are discussed. The experimental results indicate that the effects of the stirring rate and flow rate on the dynamic heat-transfer characteristics are similar to those of water, and they have little influence on utilization of the 10% MPCM slurry, whereas the corresponding effect of the concentration is relatively large. When investigating the effect of the concentration, it was found that a low phase-change ratio suppressed movement of the phase-change-temperature range owing to the residual solid core material acting as a crystal nucleus, while the heat-transfer performance and latent heat utilization of the MPCM slurry suppressed each other. The 10% MPCM slurry is the most suitable energy carrier fluid, but supercooling still needs to be resolved. The experimental results provide a reference for practical efficient application of MPCM slurries as energy carrier fluids.