Modeling and Characterization of PCM-Based Thermal Energy Harvesting

This paper investigates the feasibility of using phase change materials (PCMs) to harvest the environmental thermal energy, which is often associated with a relatively low temperature differential, less than 100°C. First, we develop a thermodynamic model for an idealized setting based on Tait equation of state, thereby deriving a theoretical upper limit of the thermal efficiency that can be achieved using PCMs. Next, we couple the thermodynamic model with a structural mechanics model based on Kirchhoff-Love plate theory, and predict the performance of specific PCM-based energy harvesters that convert the harvested energy into mechanical energy. To validate the thermomechanical model and demonstrate the feasibility of the underlying approach, we present the development and characterization of a prototype device. The measured specific energy and the prediction of the thermomechanical model are in close agreement.

Revisiting the Compressibility of Oil/Refrigerant Lubricants

A fixture was fabricated for the purpose of restraining the expansion of an existing metal bellows piezometer so that a refrigerant and oil mixture can be admitted under pressure. Measurements on a polyol ester (POE) with 9.2 wt.% of R134a show that the addition of refrigerant slightly increases compressibility. The previously reported reduction in compressibility (increase in bulk modulus) by Tuomas and Isaksson (2006, “Compressibility of Oil/Refrigerant Lubricants in Elasto-Hydrodynamic Contacts,” ASME J. Tribol., 128(1), pp. 218–220) of an ISO 68 POE when mixed with R134a cannot be supported by precise measurements of the volume compression. The increased compressibility found by Comuñas and co-workers (2002, “High-Pressure Volumetric Behavior of x 1, 1, 1, 2-Tetrafluoroethane + (1 − x) 2, 5, 8, 11, 14-Pentaoxapentadecane (TEGDME) Mixtures,” J. Chem. Eng. Data, 47(2), pp. 233–238) is the correct trend. The Tait equation of state (EoS) has been fitted to the data for both the neat POE and its 9.2% by weight mixture with refrigerant. The usual problem was encountered for the mixture with the Tait EoS at low pressure where the compressibility becomes greater than predicted due to proximity to the vapor dome. The measured relative volumes of the mixture can be used to collapse the viscosity to a master curve when plotted against the Ashurst–Hoover thermodynamic scaling parameter. The thermodynamic scaling interaction parameter is approximately the same as for the neat oil.

Modeling of density and calculations of derived volumetric properties for n-hexane, toluene and dichloromethane at pressures 0.1-60 MPa and temperatures 288.15-413.15 K

Densities data of n-hexane, toluene and dichloromethane at temperatures 288.15-413.15 K and at pressures 0.1-60 MPa, determined in our previous work, were fitted to the modified Tait equation of state. The fitted temperature-pressure dependent density data were used to calculate the derived properties: the isothermal compressibility, the isobaric thermal expansivity, the difference between specific heat capacity at constant pressure and at constant volume and the internal pressure, over the entire temperature and pressure intervals specified above. In order to assess the proposed modeling procedure, a comparison of the obtained values for the isothermal compressibility and the isobaric thermal expansivity with the corresponding literature data were performed. The average absolute percentage deviations for isothermal compressibility were: for n-hexane 2.01-3.64%, for toluene 0.64-2.48% and for dichloromethane 1.81-3.20%; for the isobaric thermal expansivity: for n-hexane 1.31-4.17%, for toluene 0.71-2.45% and for dichloromethane 1.16-1.61%. By comparing the obtained deviations values with those found in the literature it can be concluded that the presented results agree good with the literature data.