Investigation of Heat transfer enhancement in Thermal Storage Systems with Phase Change Materials

The energy consumption is in the form of heat for heating systems and hot water in domestic and
commercial buildings represent more than the 40% of the global energy consumption. Thermal
Energy Storage (TES) is a key aspect in efficient use of thermal renewable energy sources or
waste heat. The TES with Phase Change Materials (PCM) can serve the above purpose because
offer higher thermal energy storage capacity and compact design, compared to the conventional
systems. The main limitations of many PCMs are their low thermal conductivity and the cost and
these constitute one of the major challenges for their potential applications. Therefore, it is
necessary to considerate cost-effective methods which would enhance heat transfer in TES with
PCM.
The aim of this project is to investigate and seek the most "cost-effective" materials and methods
to enhance the thermal conductivity of the low and medium temperature PCM in order to control
the charging and discharging rates.
The project will involve the research on materials and configurations to optimize the heat transfer
between PCM in TES and heat transfer fluid, the study of the heat transfer during melting and
solidification processes with enhanced PCM in low-medium TES applications, the thermophysical
characterization of PCMs, the numerical and experimental investigations, the derivation
of numerical dimensionless heat transfer correlations and guidelines on the design of compact
TES. The creation of cost-effective new conceptual design of high-performance TES will promote
the wider utilisation of renewable energy resources for heating systems and hot water in
domestic and commercial buildings.

ReNU's enhanced doctoral training programme delivered by three uniquely co-located major UK universities, Northumbria (UNN), Durham (DU) and Newcastle (NU), addresses clear skills needs in small-to-medium scale renewable energy (RE) and sustainable distributed energy (DE). It was co-designed by a range of companies and is supported by a balanced portfolio of 27 industrial partners (e.g. Airbus, Siemens and Shell) of which 12 are small or medium size enterprises (SMEs) (e.g. Enocell, Equiwatt and Power Roll). A further 9 partners include Government, not-for-profit and key network organisations. Together these provide a powerful, direct and integrated pathway to a range of impacts that span whole energy systems.

Industrial partners will interact with ReNU in three main ways: (1) through the Strategic Advisory Board; (2) by providing external input to individual doctoral candidate's projects; and (3) by setting Industrial Challenge Mini-Projects. These interactions will directly benefit companies by enabling them to focus ReNU's training programme on particular needs, allowing transfer of best practice in training and state-of-the-art techniques, solution approaches to R&D challenges and generation of intellectual property. Access to ReNU for new industrial partners that may wish to benefit from ReNU is enabled by the involvement of key networks and organisations such as the North East Automotive Alliance, the Engineering Employer Federation, and Knowledge Transfer Network (Energy).

In addition to industrial partners, ReNU includes Government organisations and not for-profit-organisations. These partners provide pathways to create impact via policy and public engagement. Similarly, significant academic impact will be achieved through collaborations with project partners in Singapore, Canada and China. This impact will result in research excellence disseminated through prestigious academic journals and international conferences to the benefit of the global community working on advanced energy materials.