Characterization and Modification of Thermal Response Through Intentional Design of Phase Change Material Composites

Abstract

Phase change materials (PCMs) can act as highly efficient cooling components within thermal energy storage systems when effectively applied, accounting for the objectives of a given thermal management application. To compensate for the typically low power density of PCMs, high thermal conductivity elements are often used to increase the effective power density of the resulting composite while also benefiting from the high thermal capacity of the PCMs. In the absence of design guidelines for the internal design of these composites, produced systems are highly unlikely to achieve full utilization of the melting process and available volume, leading to underperforming thermal management systems. By tuning the composition and spacing of the material components within the composite system a given thermal response can be selected to best suit the desired application. Translation of fundamental heat transfer principles into design implications requires exhaustive exploration of the effects of design aspects with relation to well defined design objectives which is pursued analytically, numerically, and experimentally. These pursuits culminate in an increased tractability of the descriptions of thermal transport within these composites and a high degree of control over the thermal behavior of intentionally designed systems.