Is this project an undergraduate, graduate, or faculty project?
Graduate
group
What campus are you from?
Daytona Beach
Authors' Class Standing
Andrew Heiles, Graduate Student Jennifer Perskin, Graduate Student
Lead Presenter's Name
Andrew Heiles
Faculty Mentor Name
Sandra Boetcher
Abstract
The increasing desire to shift towards renewable energy sources and reduce waste heat across various industries has led to new developments within energy storage technologies. One such technology, as identified by the Department of Energy, is thermal energy storage and its applications within buildings. Phase change materials (PCM) are one such method of TES, and provide energy storage at a set temperature through the material's latent heat. Various PCMs have been studied within different geometries and simplified boundary conditions to better understand the materials' behavior during melting and solidification. This study aims to replicate a realistic boundary condition, similar to one found in a residential air-condition system, by means of a heat exchanger test loop which will provide temperature controlled air flow to a test section. This section will be made of clear 3-D printed resin to allow for examination of the phase transition and interface propagation. Image processing and liquid crystal thermography will be used to evaluate the melting characteristics of the PCM and heat transfer within the system. This will allow for better analysis into the interaction between forced convection within the working fluid and natural convection in PCM, and will help inform future designs of TES systems.
Did this research project receive funding support from the Office of Undergraduate Research.
Yes, Student Internal Grant
Investigation of Thermal Energy Storage in Residential Air-Conditioning Systems
The increasing desire to shift towards renewable energy sources and reduce waste heat across various industries has led to new developments within energy storage technologies. One such technology, as identified by the Department of Energy, is thermal energy storage and its applications within buildings. Phase change materials (PCM) are one such method of TES, and provide energy storage at a set temperature through the material's latent heat. Various PCMs have been studied within different geometries and simplified boundary conditions to better understand the materials' behavior during melting and solidification. This study aims to replicate a realistic boundary condition, similar to one found in a residential air-condition system, by means of a heat exchanger test loop which will provide temperature controlled air flow to a test section. This section will be made of clear 3-D printed resin to allow for examination of the phase transition and interface propagation. Image processing and liquid crystal thermography will be used to evaluate the melting characteristics of the PCM and heat transfer within the system. This will allow for better analysis into the interaction between forced convection within the working fluid and natural convection in PCM, and will help inform future designs of TES systems.