scholarly journals Application of Phase Change Material in Sustainable Cooling of Data Centers

Author(s):  
Nikhil Dhiman ◽  
Jeet Shah ◽  
Dereje Agonafer ◽  
Naveen Kannan ◽  
James Hoverson ◽  
...  

The ever increasing information technology heat load and data center cooling energy are the main reasons to investigate the performance of microencapsulated phase change slurry over other heat transfer fluids. Microencapsulated phase change slurry is dispersion where the phase change material, microencapsulated by a polymeric capsule, is dispersed in water. Compared to water, these new fluids have a higher heat capacity during phase change and a possible enhancement, as a result of this phase change, in the heat transfer phenomenon. The composition of phase change material used in slurry greatly affects its efficiency, If not selected properly it can cause serious damage, e.g. agglomeration and clogging of pipes. The main objective of this work is to develop standalone pumpable microencapsulated phase change slurry that is able to withstand shear stresses of the pump and other course surfaces of pipe and pipe joints. In this study, experiments were performed, to determine performance of microencapsulated phase change slurry over conventional heat transfer fluids. After certain pumping cycles, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) has been done to analyze the conditions of shell material of polymeric capsule. Results obtained from SEM show that centrifugal pump is compatible with mPCM particle size upto 3 μm. It is true that selected mPCS have shown better performance over water in hot water bath in case of thermal storage. Also, closed loop final testing has shown that heat flux is about 2–3 times higher with mPCS than water.

Author(s):  
Weihuan Zhao ◽  
Alparslan Oztekin ◽  
Sudhakar Neti ◽  
Kemal Tuzla ◽  
Wojciech M. Misiolek ◽  
...  

Concentrating solar power technology is recognized as an attractive option for solar power. A major limitation however is that solar power is available for only about 2,000 hours a year in many places. Therefore it is critical to find ways to store solar thermal energy for the off hours and it is better to store the energy at high temperatures. The present work deals with certain aspects of storing solar thermal energy at high temperatures with phase change materials (PCM) in the range of 275°C to 425°C. NaNO3 is selected as a phase change material encapsulated by stainless steel. The objective is the storage of hundreds mega-watt-hours equivalent of solar energy in systems using encapsulated phase change materials (EPCM). Numerical predictions of conduction and phase change processes are reported here in the form of transient temperature profiles in the PCM and encapsulation materials of EPCM capsules for convective boundary conditions outside EPCM. The time for heating and melting during charging (storage of thermal energy into encapsulated phase change material) and the time for cooling and solidification during discharging (discharge/retrieval of thermal energy) are predicted for NaNO3 PCM in encapsulation. For a temperature range of about 125°C around melting/freezing temperature of the PCM the time it takes to melt/freeze the PCM during storage/retrieval is much longer than the time it takes for diffusion (sensible heat) storage alone. Depending on the properties of the PCM, the energy associated with the latent heat of melting can be a significant leading to smaller thermal energy storage systems and lower costs. As can be expected, the time for heat transfer is much shorter for liquid heat transfer fluids compared to those for gaseous heat transfer fluids that transport the energy to the EPCM.


2019 ◽  
Vol 111 ◽  
pp. 01001
Author(s):  
Hansol Lim ◽  
Hye-Jin Cho ◽  
Seong-Yong Cheon ◽  
Soo-Jin Lee ◽  
Jae-Weon Jeong

A phase change material based radiant cooling panel with thermoelectric module (PCM-TERCP) is proposed in this study. It consists of two aluminium panels, and phase change materials (PCMs) sandwiched between the two panels. Thermoelectric modules (TEMs) are attached to one of the aluminium panels, and heat sinks are attached to the top side of TEMs. PCM-TERCP is a thermal energy storage concept equipment, in which TEMs freeze the PCM during the night whose melting temperature is 16○C. Therefore, the radiant cooling panel can maintain a surface temperature of 16◦C without the operation of TEM during the day. Furthermore, it is necessary to design the PCM-TERCP in a way that it can maintain the panel surface temperature during the targeted operating time. Therefore, the numerical model was developed using finite difference method to evaluate the thermal behaviour of PCM-TERCP. Experiments were also conducted to validate the performance of the developed model. Using the developed model, the possible operation time was investigated to determine the overall heat transfer coefficient required between radiant cooling panel and TEM. Consequently, the results showed that a overall heat transfer coefficient of 394 W/m2K is required to maintain the surface temperature between 16○C to 18○C for a 3 hours operation.


2017 ◽  
Vol 139 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Guansheng Chen ◽  
Nanshuo Li ◽  
Huanhuan Xiang ◽  
Fan Li

It is well known that attaching fins on the tubes surfaces can enhance the heat transfer into and out from the phase change materials (PCMs). This paper presents the results of an experimental study on the thermal characteristics of finned coil latent heat storage unit (LHSU) using paraffin as the phase change material (PCM). The paraffin LHSU is a rectangular cube consists of continuous horizontal multibended tubes attached vertical fins at the pitches of 2.5, 5.0, and 7.5 mm that creates the heat transfer surface. The shell side along with the space around the tubes and fins is filled with the material RT54 allocated to store energy of water, which flows inside the tubes as heat transfer fluid (HTF). The measurement is carried out under four different water flow rates: 1.01, 1.30, 1.50, and 1.70 L/min in the charging and discharging process, respectively. The temperature of paraffin and water, charging and discharging wattage, and heat transfer coefficient are plotted in relation to the working time and water flow rate.


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (14) ◽  
pp. 4146
Author(s):  
Agnieszka Jachura ◽  
Robert Sekret

This paper presents an environmental impact assessment of the entire cycle of existence of the tube-vacuum solar collector prototype. The innovativeness of the solution involved using a phase change material as a heat-storing material, which was placed inside the collector’s tubes-vacuum. The PCM used in this study was paraffin. The system boundaries contained three phases: production, operation (use phase), and disposal. An ecological life cycle assessment was carried out using the SimaPro software. To compare the environmental impact of heat storage, the amount of heat generated for 15 years, starting from the beginning of a solar installation for preparing domestic hot water for a single-family residential building, was considered the functional unit. Assuming comparable production methods for individual elements of the ETC and waste management scenarios, the reduction in harmful effects on the environment by introducing a PCM that stores heat inside the ETC ranges from 17 to 24%. The performed analyses have also shown that the method itself of manufacturing the materials used for the construction of the solar collector and the choice of the scenario of the disposal of waste during decommissioning the solar collector all play an important role in its environmental assessment. With an increase in the application of the advanced technologies of materials manufacturing and an increase in the amount of waste subjected to recycling, the degree of the solar collector’s environmental impact decreased by 82% compared to its standard manufacture and disposal.


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