Transient thermal response of a PCS heat storage system

Over the last years the use of phase change slurries (PCSs) based on microencapsulated phase change material (MEPCM) increased considerably due to their capacity of adaptation to various heat storage systems. PCSs are obtained by dispersing a microencapsulated PCM (particle diameter 5–20 μm) into a heat carrier fluid (e.g. water). Heat storage systems are used in applications where the available energy supply is not synchronous with the demand, such as solar thermal and waste heat recovery systems. The theoretical study conducted here – based on heat transfer and energy conservation equations – is intended to developing a theoretical model of the heat storage properties of phase change slurries capable of predicting the transient thermal response of a thermal energy storage system (TES). Most of the research work was focused on investigating the enthalpy–temperature curves resulting from a heating–cooling cycle around the melting point of the PCM. The influence of other parameters such as mico-particles diameter was assessed.