Latchable Phase-Change Actuators for Micro Flow Control Applications

2005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bozhi Yang ◽  
Qiao Lin
Keyword(s):  
Phase Change ◽  
Soft Lithography ◽  
Phase Changes ◽  
Minimal Energy ◽  
Control Applications ◽  
Micro Flow ◽  
Flow Through ◽  
Multilayer Soft Lithography ◽  
Solid Liquid ◽  
Lithography Technique

This paper presents a novel latchable phase-change actuator that can potentially be used for flow valving and gating in portable lab-on-a-chip systems, where minimal energy consumption is required. The actuator exploits a low melting-point paraffin wax, whose solid-liquid phase changes allow the closing and opening of fluid flow through deformable microchannels. Flow switching is initiated by melting of paraffin, with an additional pneumatic pressure required for flow switching from open to closed state. After paraffin solidifies the switched state is subsequently maintained passively without further consumption of energy. The actuator can be fabricated from PDMS through the multilayer soft lithography technique. Testing results demonstrate that the actuator has a response time about 60-100 sec for flow switching, and can passively hold a microvalve closed under pressures up to 35 kPa.

scholarly journals Paraffin Wax-Based Thermal Composites

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gulfam Raza ◽  
Saqib Iqbal ◽  
Abdul Samad Farooq
Keyword(s):  
Phase Change ◽  
Thermal Management ◽  
Phase Change Materials ◽  
Paraffin Wax ◽  
Design Standards ◽  
Control Applications ◽  
Photovoltaic Panels ◽  
Paraffin Waxes ◽  
Solid Liquid

Paraffin waxes are organic phase change materials possessing a great potential to store and release thermal energy. The reversible solid–liquid phase change phenomenon is the under-lying mechanism enabling the paraffin waxes as robust thermal reservoirs based on inherently high latent heat (i.e., ~200–250 J/g). However, the main drawback of paraffin waxes is their inability to expedite the phase change process owing to low thermal conductivity (i.e., ~0.19–0.35 Wm−1 K−1). This drawback has long been documented as a technological challenge of paraffin waxes especially for temperature-control applications where faster thermal storage/release is necessitated, encompassing thermal management of batteries, thermoelectric modules and photovoltaic panels. Besides, sustaining the solid-like form of paraffin waxes (shape-stability) is also recommended to avoid the liquid drainage threats for crucial applications, like thermal management of buildings and fabrics. These objectives can be met by developing the paraffin wax-based thermal composites (PWTCs) with help of various thermal reinforcements. However, PWTCs also encounter severe challenges, probably due to lack of design standards. This chapter attempts presenting the recent advances and major bottlenecks of PWTCs, as well as proposing the design standards for optimal PWTCs. Also, the fundamental classification of phase change phenomenon, paraffin waxes and potential thermal reinforcements is thoroughly included.

Numerical Performances Study of Curved Photovoltaic Panel Integrated with Phase Change Material

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 1439-1452
Author(s):  
Mohamed L. Benlekkam ◽  
Driss Nehari ◽  
Habib Y. Madani
Keyword(s):  
Phase Change ◽  
Phase Change Material ◽  
Numerical Study ◽  
Numerical Data ◽  
Navier Stokes ◽  
Photovoltaic Panel ◽  
Pv Panel ◽  
Energy Equations ◽  
Solid Liquid ◽  
Change Material

AbstractThe temperature rise of photovoltaic’s cells deteriorates its conversion efficiency. The use of a phase change material (PCM) layer linked to a curved photovoltaic PV panel so-called PV-mirror to control its temperature elevation has been numerically studied. This numerical study was carried out to explore the effect of inner fins length on the thermal and electrical improvement of curved PV panel. So a numerical model of heat transfer with solid-liquid phase change has been developed to solve the Navier–Stokes and energy equations. The predicted results are validated with an available experimental and numerical data. Results shows that the use of fins improve the thermal load distribution presented on the upper front of PV/PCM system and maintained it under 42°C compared with another without fins and enhance the PV cells efficiency by more than 2%.

Influence of Metal Substitution on the Pressure-Induced Phase Change in Flexible Zeolitic Imidazolate Frameworks

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Michael McGuirk ◽  
Tomče Runčevski ◽  
Julia Oktawiec ◽  
Ari Turkiewicz ◽  
mercedes K. taylor ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Phase Change ◽  
Single Crystal ◽  
Gas Adsorption ◽  
High Capacity ◽  
Phase Changes ◽  
Zeolitic Imidazolate Frameworks ◽  
Metal Substitution ◽  
Heat Management ◽  
Metal Organic ◽  
First Time

<p>Metal–organic frameworks that display step-shaped adsorption profiles arising from discrete pressure-induced phase changes are promising materials for applications in both high-capacity gas storage and energy-efficient gas separations. The thorough investigation of such materials through chemical diversification, gas adsorption measurements, and <i>in situ </i>structural characterization is therefore crucial for broadening their utility. We examine a series of isoreticular, flexible zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs) of the type M(bim)<sub>2</sub> (SOD; M = Zn<sup> </sup>(ZIF-7), Co (ZIF-9), Cd (CdIF-13); bim<sup>–</sup> = benzimidazolate), and elucidate the effects of metal substitution on the pressure-responsive phase changes and the resulting CO<sub>2</sub> and CH<sub>4</sub> step positions, pre-step uptakes, and step capacities. Using ZIF-7 as a benchmark, we reexamine the poorly understood structural transition responsible for its adsorption steps and, through high-pressure adsorption measurements, verify that it displays a step in its CH<sub>4 </sub>adsorption isotherms. The ZIF-9 material is shown to undergo an analogous phase change, yielding adsorption steps for CO<sub>2</sub> and CH<sub>4</sub> with similar profiles and capacities to ZIF-7, but with shifted threshold pressures. Further, the Cd<sup>2+</sup> analogue CdIF-13 is reported here for the first time, and shown to display adsorption behavior distinct from both ZIF-7 and ZIF-9, with negligible pre-step adsorption, a ~50% increase in CO<sub>2</sub> and CH<sub>4</sub> capacity, and dramatically higher threshold adsorption pressures. Remarkably, a single-crystal-to-single-crystal phase change to a pore-gated phase is also achieved with CdIF-13, providing insight into the phase change that yields step-shaped adsorption in these flexible ZIFs. Finally, we show that the endothermic phase change of these frameworks provides intrinsic heat management during gas adsorption. </p>

scholarly journals Numerical Study of a Cooling System Using Phase Change of a Refrigerant in a Thermosyphon

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (12) ◽  
pp. 3634
Author(s):  
Grzegorz Czerwiński ◽  
Jerzy Wołoszyn
Keyword(s):  
Mass Transfer ◽  
Phase Change ◽  
Heat Dissipation ◽  
Cooling System ◽  
Numerical Study ◽  
Relaxation Parameter ◽  
Phase Changes ◽  
Transfer Time ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
Time Relaxation

With the increasing trend toward the miniaturization of electronic devices, the issue of heat dissipation becomes essential. The use of phase changes in a two-phase closed thermosyphon (TPCT) enables a significant reduction in the heat generated even at high temperatures. In this paper, we propose a modification of the evaporation–condensation model implemented in ANSYS Fluent. The modification was to manipulate the value of the mass transfer time relaxation parameter for evaporation and condensation. The developed model in the form of a UDF script allowed the introduction of additional source equations, and the obtained solution is compared with the results available in the literature. The variable value of the mass transfer time relaxation parameter during condensation rc depending on the density of the liquid and vapour phase was taken into account in the calculations. However, compared to previous numerical studies, more accurate modelling of the phase change phenomenon of the medium in the thermosyphon was possible by adopting a mass transfer time relaxation parameter during evaporation re = 1. The assumption of ten-fold higher values resulted in overestimated temperature values in all sections of the thermosyphon. Hence, the coefficient re should be selected individually depending on the case under study. A too large value may cause difficulties in obtaining the convergence of solutions, which, in the case of numerical grids with many elements (especially three-dimensional), significantly increases the computation time.

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