Novel Functional Thermal Energy Storage Materials for Buildings Applications

Shuang Cui, Madeline Hicks, Pranvera Kolari, Sumanjeet Kaur, Judith Vidal, Roderick Jackson

Research output: Contribution to conferencePaperpeer-review

1 Scopus Citations

Abstract

The leakage of solid-liquid phase change materials (PCMs) tremendously limits their long-term application in thermal energy storage (TES). In this work, we present durable and form-stable shape-stabilized PCMs (ss-PCMs) for TES in building envelopes. These ss-PCMs are fabricated by encapsulating polyethylene glycol (PEG) consisting of different molecular weights within mesoporous magnesium oxide and silica dioxide. For the first time, the phase transition temperature (Tt) of ss-PCMs has been fine-tuned synthetically to be comfortable to building occupants by utilizing PEG blends with molecular weights of 600 and 800 g/mol. Several parameters, including surface hydrophilicity/hydrophobicity, surface area, and PCM loading percentage, have been studied to maximize the latent heat enthalpy for high energy efficiency and maintain form stability. The best ss-PCM candidate with suitable Tt and appreciable latent heat enthalpy exhibits a repeatable phase change behavior for up to 1,000 thermal cycles without leakage, which provides a promising solution for durable TES in buildings. The Tt tunability extends its application over a wider temperature range beyond buildings.

Original languageAmerican English
Number of pages8
DOIs
StatePublished - 2022
EventASME 2021 International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition, IMECE 2021 - Virtual, Online
Duration: 1 Nov 20215 Nov 2021

Conference

ConferenceASME 2021 International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition, IMECE 2021
CityVirtual, Online
Period1/11/215/11/21

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2021 by The United States Government

NREL Publication Number

  • NREL/CP-5500-79210

Keywords

  • Durability
  • Shape-stabilized phase change materials
  • Thermal energy storage
  • Tunable thermal properties

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Novel Functional Thermal Energy Storage Materials for Buildings Applications'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this