International Research Journal of Education and Technology

This project entails research work for enhancing latent heat thermal energy storage system based on Salt Hydrate 29 as phase change material. The use of latent heat storage has an advantage in that it can have a high energy density while being effective for applications with constant thermal management. Nonetheless, the low inherent thermal conductivity of most PCMs, like Salt Hydrate 29, leads to lower heat transfer rates that affect the efficiency and response time of these systems. The main goals of this research are the exploration of ways to enhance the thermal conductivity of Salt Hydrate 29. Major strategies include: incorporation of high-conductivity materials like metal fins, graphite, or nanoparticles to increase thermal performance via the melting and solidification processes. Experimental configurations and simulations are performed to evaluate the heat transfer properties, energy storage efficiency, and cycle stability under various configurations. The results indicate that maximized thermal conductivity improvement does minimize charging and discharging times without compromising the latent heat storage capability. Such an improvement to thermal response will be significant for solar energy storage, temperature control in buildings, and industrial waste heat recovery applications.

     KEYWORDS:

Latent heat thermal storage, Salt Hydrate 29,

phase change material, heat transfer improvement, thermal conductivity enhancement, nanoparticles, thermal management, high-conductivity material