Heating efficiency enhanced by combination of phase change materials and activated carbon for dry floor heating system

Abstract

Phase change materials (PCMs) have diverse applications in energy storage, buildings, cooling, and heat exchangers. In this study, n-docosane and activated carbon (AC) were combined using the vacuum impregnation method to form an aggregate, which was then injected into a Poly vinyl chloride container and applied to a dry floor heating system. Thermal storage, gravimetric, conductivity, and specific heat analyses were performed to evaluate the thermal performance of n-docosane and AC-based heat-storage aggregate (D-HSA). The dynamic heat transfer performance and power consumption of the dry floor heating system after D-HSA application were then evaluated. Pure n-docosane and D-HSA showed latent heat capacities of 242.7 J/g and 235.1 J/g and 92.10 J/g and 92.66 J/g during heating and cooling. In terms of thermal durability, D-HSA was more stable than pure n-docosane. Thermal conductivity analysis revealed that D-HSA had a high thermal conductivity (approximately 597 %) in the liquid state. In the field-based dynamic heat transfer analysis experiment, the PCM dry floor heating system filled with D-HSA had the advantages of both dry and wet floor heating systems, namely, a fast surface temperature increase rate and the time-lag effect, respectively. Therefore, the PCM dry floor heating system can compensate for the disadvantages of the dry and wet floor heating systems and can be considered an efficient heating system in terms of energy savings.