A very common problem in solar power generation plants and various other industrial processes is the existing gap between the period of thermal energy availability and its period of usage. This situation creates the need for an effective method by which excess heat can be stored for later use....

A combined heat transfer and exergy analysis is developed and used to quantify the performance of a latent heat thermal energy storage system (LHTES) for solar power generation taking into account two practical constraints. First, for long-term operation the thermal energy stored must equal the...

A Phase Change Slurry (PCS) is a latent heat storage and transfer medium consisting of a Phase Change Material (PCM) as a dispersed phase and a carrier fluid as a continuous phase. PCSs have a high energy density because they use not only the sensible heat capacity of the carrier fluid, but also...

PCM (phase change material) is one of the most popular media in TES (thermal energy storage) system for its high energy storage density and suitable melting temperature. However, its low heat transfer performance leads to low rate of heat stored and released. In this paper, a highly thermal...

The possibility of using magnesium based eutectic metal alloys as phase change material (PCM) for thermal energy storage (TES) in concentrated solar power (CSP) applications is analysed. An extensive thermophysical characterization of the Mg–51%Zn eutectic metal alloy between room temperature...

Phase change materials (PCM) with a transition temperature around 45°C can be used in various applications, e.g. as intermediate storages for heat pumps in space heating systems, for the thermal protection of battery systems or to increase the efficiency of dishwashers by preheating water. At...

An important option for increasing the efficiency in Concentrated Solarthermal Power (CSP) is the development of systems generating steam directly in the solar field. To produce dispatchable and affordable electrical power, the integration of an efficient and economical thermal energy storage is...

Performance of a direct-contact latent heat energy storage during discharging process has been investigated. The storage medium used is sodium thiosulphate pentahydrate of which the melting temperature is 48°C and the heat exchanging fluid is heat transfer oil. An empirical expression to...

Incorporating Phase Change Materials (PCMs) into traditional building structures has been considered as an effective way to reduce the mismatch between energy supply and demand and in turn to minimise energy consumption (cooling/heating energy). For building applications, Phase Change Material...

The primary objective of this study is to develop encapsulated phase change materials (EPCMs) capable of storing thermal energy at temperatures above 750 °C. EPCM with magnesium chloride as phase change material (PCM) are considered here for application in concentrated solar power (CSP)...