Experimental demonstration of an active latent heat storage concept

Abstract

Latent heat storage allows efficient energy storage in systems with isothermal processes. The low thermal conductivity of cost-effective storage materials is the main challenge in the development of latent heat storage systems. Most of these systems developed so far use extended heat transfer surfaces to ensure sufficient heat transfer rates. The PCMflux concept described in this paper is based on the transport of the storage material across the heat transfer surface. The aim of this approach is to avoid the blockage of the heat transfer surfaces by solidified storage material. The paper gives an overview of the current development of the PCMflux concept including the theoretical analysis and the experimental proof-ofconcept.