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ENERGY STORAGE
Agenda set for 5th Swiss Symposium Thermal Energy Storage
The 5th Swiss Symposium Thermal Energy Storage will be held at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts on Jan. 26, 2018.
This year’s symposium will focus on the importance of energy storage in energy systems and industrial processes; the economic aspects of thermal storage; and recent findings about new storage materials. Eleven presentations, all in English, are scheduled:
• “Macro-encapsulated Phase Change Materials for Thermal Energy Storage,” Dieter Brüggemann, University of Bayreuth, Germany
• “Fast Loadable Phase Change Heat Storages for Multiple Applications,” Sven Kunkel, Matthias Rädle, University of Applied Science Mannheim, Germany
• “Future Directions in Thermal Energy Storage Systems and Applications,” Ibrahim Dinçer, University of Ontario Institute of Technology, Ontario, Canada
• “Applying PCM Beyond the Building Sector,” Esther Kieseritzky, Rubitherm Technologies GmbH, Germany
• “Thermal Recuperation with CrodaTherm PCM Using Axiotherm Heat Storage Technology,” Yvonne Reimann, Croda GmbH, Germany; Dirk Büttner, Axiotherm GmbH, Germany
• “Integration of Variable Renewable Energy in Switzerland – Implications for Storage Technologies and System Flexibility,” Tom Kober, Paul Scherrer Institute, Switzerland
• “Thermal Heat and Renewable Energy Integration in the Industry,” François Maréchal, École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland
• “Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Horizontal Packed Bed Thermal Energy Storages,” Marco Prenzel, Vladimir Danov, Siemens AG, Germany
• “Seasonal Heat Storage, the Underestimated Pillar of our Future Energy System, Examples of Realized Projects,” Stefan Brändle, Simon Büttgenbach, Amstein + Walthert AG, Switzerland
• “Large Thermal Energy Storage for Large Cities – A New Dimension,” Hannes Poier, TU Graz / S.O.L.I.D. Gesellschaft für Solarinstallation und Design GmbH, Austria
• “Ecological Comparison of Thermal and Electrical Storages for Load Shifting in PV and Heat Pump Systems,” Michel Haller, Hochschule für Technik Rapperswil, Switzerland
The registration fee is 300 Swiss francs. Lunch is included. To register, visit https://www.hslu.ch/en/lucerne-school-of-engineering-architecture/campus/veranstaltungen/2018/01/26/sstes-2018.
PATENTS
Beverage container with self-regulating thermal control member
U.S. patent application 20170325607 (applicant Pacific Market International LLC, Seattle, Wash.):
“A beverage container provided with a thermal regulation member having a sidewall extending through a beverage cavity of a container main body. The thermal regulation member contains an energy storage material that receives, stores, and transmits heat energy to and from a beverage in the beverage cavity to regulate its temperature. The energy storage material may initially absorb energy from a heated beverage having a temperature too hot for drinking, then transfers heat energy back into the beverage as it cools, keeping it within a comfortable temperature range for an extended period of time. The thermal regulation member may be selectively attachable to a stopper assembly that seals an upper opening of the beverage cavity. Alternatively, laterally extending attachment members may attach the thermal regulation member directly to a wall of the beverage cavity. …
“The energy storage material [37] may be a phase change material that undergoes phase changes within and around temperature ranges that are comfortable for human consumption of beverages.”
Passively temperature controlled storage container for an automobile
U.S. patent application 20170328623 (inventor David Legare, Ava, N.Y.):
“Thermal protection for sensitive items stored for extended periods of time in a passenger vehicle is a requirement that has not been adequately addressed by the industry. A primary object of this invention therefore, will be to provide a convenient and versatile means for forming and integrating a storage container employing appropriate phase change materials to create a controlled temperature environment for heat-sensitive articles inside an automobile, truck, or other enclosed road vehicle. As such, the invention will afford protection where summer temperatures build up to levels inside the stationary vehicle which could exceed safe limits for heat sensitive items that might be stored in the vehicle for an extended period of time; ie an hour or more. An additional optional objective will be to further include a phase change material with a substantially lower melting point to protect sensitive items from freezing during the winter months.”
IN BRIEF
• Registration is open for “Active vs. Passive Solutions: Which one is for me?” the next webinar in Sonoco ThermoSafe‘s temperature assurance packaging series. Ben Vanderplas, global product manager at Sonoco ThermoSafe, and David Bang, CEO of DHL LifeConEx, will lead the one-hour class, to be held Dec. 12.
• Brooklyn Bedding‘s new Aurora mattress collection features TitanCool technology, “a phase change surface infusion” with “high conductivity properties.”
• New from Transparency Market Research: “Thermal Management Technologies Market – Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2017 – 2027“
• MIT researchers have combined conventional phase change material with an organic compound that responds to a pulse of light. “The new system,” MIT News reports, “uses molecular switches that change shape in response to light; when integrated into the PCM, the phase-change temperature of the hybrid material can be adjusted with light, allowing the thermal energy of the phase change to be maintained even well below the melting point of the original material.” The system could be used in a thermal battery to store heat from the sun or any other source and release the heat when needed.
• Registration for the 2018 ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit is open. The event, to be held March 13-15 at the Gaylord Convention Center, outside Washington, D.C., showcases emerging energy technologies. No agenda yet.
• Researchers at the University of Maryland College Park have developed a method of fabricating fibers with boron nitride and polyvinyl alcohol using 3D print technologies which allows heat to be transferred away from the body. Clothes made with the nanocomposite thread could help keep wearers cool in hot conditions.
• Stanford University researchers have developed a reversible fabric that keeps skin a comfortable temperature whatever the weather. “On one side,” Stanford News reports, “a copper coating traps heat between a polyethylene layer and the skin; on the other, a carbon coating releases heat under another layer of polyethylene.” The fabric can either warm or cool the wearer, depending which side faces out.
RESEARCH ROUNDUP
For our full list of recent academic research, see puretemp.com/academic. Here are highlights from the past week:
From Journal of Energy Storage:• Enthalpy-temperature plots to compare calorimetric measurements of phase change materials at different sample scales
• Preparation and enhanced thermal performance of novel (solid to gel) form-stable eutectic PCM modified by nano-graphene platelets
From International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer:
• An implicit algorithm for melting and settling of phase change material inside macrocapsules
From Energy Procedia:
• Experimental study of a solar wall collector with PCM towards the natural ventilation of model house
• Experimental Study of Solar – Phase Change Material Wall for Domestic Hot Water Production under the Tropical Climate
From Applied Thermal Engineering:
• Efficiency analysis of utilizing phase change materials as grout for a vertical U-tube heat exchanger coupled ground source heat pump system
From Sustainable Cities and Societies:
• PCM Thermal Energy Storage in Solar Heating of Ventilation Air—Experimental and Numerical Investigations
From International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer:
• Evaluation of thermophysical properties of refrigerant clathrates with additives
From Solar Energy:
• A comprehensive study on the effect of hot water demand and PCM integration on the performance of SDHW system
NETWORKING
Connect with PCM experts and industry leaders on LinkedIn
More than 1,100 people have joined a LinkedIn group devoted to the discussion of phase change material and thermal energy storage. The Phase Change Matters group is an interactive complement to the award-winning blog and newsletter of the same name.
You are invited to join the group and connect with PCM and TES experts from around the world. New members this week include Jose Ignacio Iglesias Prado, a researcher at the University of Vigo, Spain; Joachim Kuhn, founder and CEO at va-Q-tec AG, Würzburg, Germany; and Denys Movchan, researcher at G.V. Kurdyumov Institute for Metal Physics.