Selection principles for energy storage materials

Are phase change materials a good choice for solar energy storage?

Development of efficient thermal energy storage (TES) technology is key to successful utilisation of solar energy for high temperature (>420 °C) applications. Phase change materials (PCMs) have been identified as having advantages over sensible heat storage media. An important component of TES development is therefore selection of PCM media.

What are the selection principles for phase change TES materials?

In this review, the selection principles for phase change TES materials are evaluated through a related literature summary and analysis, mainly focused on the high temperature PCM which can be widely used in CSP project and whose phase change temperatures are above 300 ℃.

Can CES Selector be used for high temperature energy storage?

With the abundance, and growing number of new materials being reported in the literature, the use of dedicated databases for materials selection is becoming more common. In the following the Granta Design's CES Selector package is used for selection of metals and alloys as PCMs for high temperature energy storage—up to 750 °C.

What is the energy storage capacity of a phase change material?

The energy storage capacity ( Q) of a phase change material heated from T1 to T2 through a phase transition temperature T, is the sum of the sensible heat storage in solid phase ( Cpsolid ), the latent heat storage at phase transition ( λ) and the sensible heat storage in liquid ( Cpliquid ).

Which material is best suited for thermal energy storage?

Recent reviews , , , have shown that, in the case of metals, aluminium and its alloys are favoured for thermal energy storage applications. Maximum effectiveness arises when the outlet temperature of the HTF is the same as the phase change temperature.

What is thermal energy storage?

Thermal energy storage is based on either sensible heat storage (SHS), or latent heat storage (LHS) using a phase change material (PCM). Sensible heat storage involves storing energy in the form of heat by changing the internal energy of a material without phase change, and the temperature of the material varies with the amount of heat stored.