The applicability of the effectiveness–NTU method for characterising a PCM thermal energy storage system was experimentally investigated. The system consisted of PCM encapsulated in spheres with a liquid heat transfer fluid. Freezing and melting tests have been carried out for a variety of...

Thermal energy storage is very important to eradicate the discrepancy between energy supply and energy demand and to improve the energy efficiency of solar energy systems. Latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES) is more useful than sensible energy storage due to the high storage capacity per...

This paper presents a detailed review of effect of phase change material (PCM) encapsulation on the performance of a thermal energy storage system (TESS). The key encapsulation parameters, namely, encapsulation size, shell thickness, shell material and encapsulation geometry have been...

This study evaluates the concept of developing a non-deform phase change energy storage material possessing higher thermal conductivity and energy storage density through pressure compaction process. The theoretical and experimental investigations have shown that the technique is able to reduce...

Thermal energy storage in cooling applications contributes to improvements in overall system efficiency as well as to better energy quality management. Latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES) is used to provide load shifted thermal energy at small temperature swing with high storage density,...

A thermodynamic model was developed to predict transient behavior of a thermal storage system, using phase change materials (PCMs), for a novel electric vehicle climate conditioning application. The main objectives of the paper are to consider the system’s dynamic behavior, such as a dynamic...

Latent thermal energy storage (TES) systems have shown growing potential in matching the production to the demand in Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) systems. Indeed, the improved storage density and the constant temperature release of energy allow for more compact heat exchanger design and...

Accurate measurement of thermophysical properties of PCM-concrete brick is very important for simulation and evaluation of its energy saving performance. However, there is currently no effective way to accurately measure thermophysical properties of PCM-concrete brick. First we analyzed the...

In this paper, a numerical model is established to predict the phase change material (PCM) melting process in porous media. The heat transfer enhancement technique using metal foam in a shell-and-tube type latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES) unit is investigated. The solid–liquid phase...

The exploitation of renewable energy sources and specifically photovoltaic (PV) devices have been showing significant growth; however, for a more effective development of this technology it is essential to have higher energy conversion performances. PV producers often declare a higher efficiency...