Performance evaluation of fatty acids as phase change material for thermal energy storage

Thermal energy storage (TES) systems using Phase Change Materials (PCM) are very attractive due to high storage density and economic viability. Use of fatty acids as phase change material for various TES applications: buildings, solar heating systems, air-conditioning systems have been widely accepted. It is highly desired to study the performance of PCMs for a particular application, in terms of heat transfer mechanism and geometry/structure of the container, as it helps in optimizing the cost and quality of TES systems. In the present work, authors studied the performance of five different fatty acids (Capric acid, Lauric acid, Myristic acid, Palmitic acid and Stearic acid) when used with aluminum containers. The numerical simulation of heating and cooling of PCMs has been conducted using finite element analysis (FEM). The results are reported in term of melt fraction, temperature variation, the transition of solid-liquid interface and the quantity of thermal energy stored in different fatty acids with time for melting and solidification. Based on the simulated results it can be concluded that the Capric takes minimum time for melting and solidification with the same boundary conditions, among the studied PCMs in this work. Such studies could be quite helpful in developing fatty acid based TES applications.