Thermal Energy Storage with Phase Change Materials

Dear Colleagues,

Thermal energy storage (TES) allows the storage of excessive heat, aiding in the efficient use and provision of thermal energy, wherever there are mismatches of time, temperature, power, or location between the energy generation and applications. The application of novel phase change materials (PCMs) enables thermal energy storage in the form of combined sensible and latent heat, providing a larger heat storage capacity within a limited volume. PCMs also feature nearly constant temperature behavior during melting and solidification, and this benefits efficient system thermal management. However, the remaining challenge aligned with PCMs is its low thermal conductivity. Continuous research efforts on improving heat storage efficiencies are meaningful for extending their practical applications. The past two decades have witnessed the extensive research and applications surrounding the TES with PCMs, including the smart system design, heat transfer enhancement, accurate heat storage modelling, synthesis and characterization of novel materials, micro/nano encapsulation, and recently the involvement of artificial intelligence. Hence, with this Special Issue, we would like to take this opportunity to provide a concentrated platform and gather the latest related research in this rapidly evolving field.

This Special Issue on “Thermal Energy Storage with Phase Change Materials” aims to curate novel advances in the development and application of phase change materials to address longstanding challenges in effective thermal energy storage. Topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Development and characterization of innovative phase change materials;
• Effective heat transfer enhancement in phase change materials;
• Micro/Nano technologies for phase change materials;
• Application of artificial intelligence in thermal energy storage and phase change material design;
• Experiments and numerical simulations for small–medium scale thermal energy storage units;
• Fundamental study on the melting and solidifying processes of phase change materials;
• Novel applications of phase change materials for heat storage in robotics, space, electronics, energy, manufacture and biomedical fields.

Dr. Zhen Qin
Dr. How Wei Benjamin Teo
Guest Editors

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