Modelling Advanced Materials and Systems for Thermal Energy Storage

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Energy Science and Technology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 January 2022) | Viewed by 4231

Special Issue Editors

Department of Energy, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129 Torino, Italy
Interests: heat and mass transfer; applied thermodynamics; nanotechnology; energy; multi-scale simulations; thermal energy storage
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Department of Energy, Politecnico di Torino, 10129 Torino, Italy
Interests: heat and mass transfer; heat storage; desalination; renewable energy; solar energy; molecular dynamics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Thermal Energy Storage (TES) technologies are essential for moving towards a more reliable and competitive exploitation of intermittent sources of heat (e.g., solar energy). In this regard, one of the most crucial aspects is the material adopted to store the thermal energy. A relevant approach for short-term TES is based on phase change materials, which can ensure higher energy density than traditional sensible heat storage systems while keeping low cost and high cyclability. Thermochemical TES shows energy density even higher than the latent one, with the additional advantage of loss-free storage, which makes it particularly suitable for long-term heat accumulation. The scientific community has also shown a growing interest towards composite TES materials formed by at least two components. In these composites, micro- or nano-fillers are introduced in the base TES material (e.g., latent or sorption one), to enhance its effective properties. The current challenge is predicting the heat and mass transfer and thermal storage performance throughout the different scales of interest, thus correlating the molecular features of TES materials with the effective response of TES systems.

This Special Issue on “Modelling Advanced Materials and Systems for Thermal Energy Storage” provides a forum to show original research works mainly related to the computational study of novel materials and systems for TES. Topics and themes can include but are not limited to:

  • At microscopic level: ab-initio, molecular dynamics, and mesoscopic simulations to understand the thermophysical properties of TES materials.
  • At macroscopic level: continuum simulations to assess the heat and mass transfer and heat storage performance of TES components.
  • At system level: lumped-element models to study the operation of complex TES systems for realistic time intervals.
  • Machine learning tools to ease the coupling between the different physical scales and to improve the overall design and efficiency of TES systems.

Dr. Matteo Fasano
Dr. Matteo Morciano
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • Thermal energy storage
  • Latent heat storage
  • Thermochemical heat storage
  • Phase change materials
  • Composite materials
  • Sorption materials
  • Molecular dynamics
  • Mesoscopic modelling
  • Continuum modelling
  • System modelling

Published Papers (2 papers)

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15 pages, 3515 KiB  
Article
A Fast-Reduced Model for an Innovative Latent Thermal Energy Storage for Direct Integration in Heat Pumps
by Valeria Palomba and Andrea Frazzica
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(19), 8972; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11198972 - 26 Sep 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1475
Abstract
In the present paper, the numerical modeling of an innovative latent thermal energy storage unit, suitable for direct integration into the condenser or evaporator of a heat pump is presented. The Modelica language, in the Dymola environment, and TIL libraries were used for [...] Read more.
In the present paper, the numerical modeling of an innovative latent thermal energy storage unit, suitable for direct integration into the condenser or evaporator of a heat pump is presented. The Modelica language, in the Dymola environment, and TIL libraries were used for the development of a modular model, which is easily re-usable and adaptable to different configurations. Validation of the model was carried out using experimental data under different operating modes and it was subsequently used for the optimization of a design for charging and discharge. In particular, since the storage unit is made up of parallel channels for the heat transfer fluid, refrigerant, and phase change material, their number and distribution were changed to evaluate the effect on heat transfer performance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Modelling Advanced Materials and Systems for Thermal Energy Storage)
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14 pages, 5572 KiB  
Article
Li2CO3 as Protection for a High-Temperature Thermoelectric Generator: Thermal Stability and Corrosion Analysis
by Gorka Argandoña, Maite Aresti, Jesus M. Blanco, Esteban Muel and Jesús Esarte
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(16), 7597; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11167597 - 18 Aug 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2207
Abstract
In most steelmaking processes, huge amounts of waste heat at high temperature (700–800 °C) are thrown into the environment without any use. An alternative use for this waste heat is electricity generation through thermoelectric generators. However, these high temperatures, as well as their [...] Read more.
In most steelmaking processes, huge amounts of waste heat at high temperature (700–800 °C) are thrown into the environment without any use. An alternative use for this waste heat is electricity generation through thermoelectric generators. However, these high temperatures, as well as their fluctuations over time, affect not only the conversion rate of the thermoelectric generator but also its useful lifetime. The incorporation of a latent thermal energy storage (TES) system could be a solution; nevertheless, the thermal stability and corrosive effect of the (PCM) phase change material are key aspects for the thermal storage system definition, in terms of durability. In this work, developed in the framework of the European project “PowGETEG” (RFSR-CT-2015-00028, funded by the Research Fund for Coal and Steel), a high-temperature analysis (700–800 °C) of the Li2CO3 thermal properties, thermal stability and corrosive effect on the AISI 304 and AISI 310 stainless steels is carried out. The results show that the eutectic salt Li2CO3 exhibits high thermal stability with neither change in its thermal properties nor material degradation. This work shows that lithium carbonate Li2CO3 and AISI 310 make a very good combination for the definition of a thermal storage system able to protect a high-temperature thermoelectric converter from temperature variations, making it more reliable. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Modelling Advanced Materials and Systems for Thermal Energy Storage)
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