Thermal cycling test of PCM to ensure long-term performance of domestic hot water systems

摘要

The successful use of thermal energy storage systems relays on the stability of the phase change materialsrn(PCM). The thermal stability of these materials can be determined by measuring its thermophysical propertiesrnafter a number of repeated thermal cycles. In this paper, results when three different PCM for domestic hotrnwater applications (fatty acid, paraffin and salt hydrate) are thermally-cycled 0, 100, 1000 and 3650 times, arernpresented. Thermophysical characterization before and after those cycles was performed in differentialrnscanning calorimeter (DSC) and chemical degradation was evaluated by FT-IR. Results show that there is norndegradation after cycling, therefore the three PCM retain their thermophysical properties after 3650 cycles.