Abstract
This manuscript integrates the experimental findings of recently developed epoxy-phase change material (PCM) formulations with modeling efforts aimed to determine the energy demands and savings derived from their use. The basic PCM system employed was composed of an epoxy resin, a thickening agent, and nonadecane, where the latter was the hydrocarbon undergoing the phase transformation. Carbon nanofibers (CNF) and boron nitride (BN) particulates were used as heat flow enhancers. The thermal conductivities, densities, and latent heat determined in laboratory settings were introduced in a model that calculated, using EnergyPlus software, the energy demands, savings and temperature profiles of the interior and the walls of a shelter for six different locations on Earth. A shipping container was utilized as exemplary dwelling. Results indicated that all the epoxy-PCM formulations had a positive impact on the total energy savings (between 16% and 23%) for the locations selected. The use of CNF and BN showed an increase in performance when compared with the formulation with no thermal filler additives. The formulations selected showed great potential to reduce the energy demands, increase savings, and result in more adequate temperatures for living and storage spaces applications.
Highlights
IntroductionThermal energy storage (TES) systems, such as phase change materials (PCM), can create a balance between day and night energy demands by storing thermal energy in the form of latent heat [1,2]
Thermal energy storage (TES) systems, such as phase change materials (PCM), can create a balance between day and night energy demands by storing thermal energy in the form of latent heat [1,2].PCMs, due to their high latent heat of fusion, stand out from other TES due to their ability to store larger amounts of energy within small temperature intervals [3]
For the current work, an epoxy resin was utilized as the support matrix for mitigating paraffin leakage, which was not employed in other studies [38]
Summary
Thermal energy storage (TES) systems, such as phase change materials (PCM), can create a balance between day and night energy demands by storing thermal energy in the form of latent heat [1,2]. PCMs, due to their high latent heat of fusion, stand out from other TES due to their ability to store larger amounts of energy within small temperature intervals [3]. PCMs can be an attractive solution to improve energy efficiency and thermal comfort in buildings, storage and other living spaces [4]. Among organic PCMs, alkanes (Cn H2n+2 ) or paraffins have been widely studied, given their chemical stability, high latent heat of fusion, cost-effectiveness, non-corrosive nature, and compatibility of metallic containers [5]. CNFs are especially attractive owing to Materials 2020, 13, 639; doi:10.3390/ma13030639 www.mdpi.com/journal/materials
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