Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Individual

Storage of thermal energy from sustainable energy sources (e.g., solar) or recovery of waste heat in industrial processes has great importance in a world facing challenges of growing energy demand and climate change. Also, effective thermal management is critical for the improvement of efficiency and reliability of many energy systems, such as steam and gas turbines, nuclear reactors, and subsea pipelines in offshore oil and gas production systems. With a high latent heat of fusion, a phase change material (PCM) can absorb (or release) significant amounts of thermal energy during melting (or solidification) processes while it maintains a nearly constant temperature. These features make PCMs attractive in thermal energy storage and thermal management systems. However, the practical applications of PCMs have been limited due to the low thermal conductivity and subcooling problems. This research program aims to address these challenges with a multi-scale approach. Nanoparticles with a high thermal conductivity are proposed to be added into a base PCM to increase its overall thermal conductivity. The nanoparticles may also serve as nucleating agents that could reduce or eliminate the subcooling problem. The nano-enhanced PCMs (NPCMs) will be integrated with macroscale structures for further heat transfer enhancement. An experimental unit with this multi-scale enhancement will be developed for solar thermal energy storage, as well as new thermal insulation techniques for subsea pipelines. Both mathematical modelling and experimental investigations will be conducted to better understand the solidification and melting processes of the NPCMs, and to achieve optimal design of various thermal energy storage and thermal management systems. The experimental data and predictive tools from this research program will provide valuable insight into the development of latent heat thermal energy storage and thermal management systems with higher efficiency and reduced cost. Storage of thermal energy from renewable sources will gain significant share in a projected $50 billion energy storage market, and greatly contribute to the global effort of energy conservation and environmental protection. Also, the new thermal insulation technique proposed in this research may significantly improve safety operations of subsea oil and gas production lines and help the continuous growth of the offshore energy industry in Canada and worldwide.