Title: Processing of phase change materials by fused deposition modeling: Toward efficient thermal energy storage designs

Abstract

We report that recently, several efforts have emerged that employ additive manufacturing techniques to integrate phase change material (PCM) thermal energy storage into geometrically complex designs for advanced thermal management. In this work, we contribute to this emerging research by reporting on the production of a composite nylon-based filament for fused deposition modeling incorporating encapsulated PCMs for 3D printing heat sink geometries. Microencapsulated PCM (MEPCM) with a 6 degrees C transition temperature was selected as the material for thermal energy storage. This transition temperature was selected due to its suitability to provide thermal energy storage to target air-conditioning applications in buildings. In an attempt to improve the thermal conductivity of the composite, fine boron nitride fillers were added, although the effect on improvement was found to be negligible in the overall composite mixture. The nylon-MEPCM ratio in the filaments was optimized, and filaments containing up to 40 wt% MEPCM were successfully synthesized, which were found optimal for 3D printing complex heat sink and other geometries. Thermal and mechanical properties of the filaments were characterized, including latent heat of fusion, thermal conductivity, phase change temperature, tensile strength, and more. Thermal infrared imaging of heat sink geometries printed using the MEPCM filamentsmore » undergoing thermal discharging was also conducted. This work presents the most promising result to date in the open literature for a 3D-printed PCM composite in the combination of size, energy density, and geometric complexity of printed parts.« less

Authors:

Singh, Paramjot ^[1]; Odukomaiya, Adewale  ^[1];

• Search DOE PAGES for author "Odukomaiya, Adewale"
• Search DOE PAGES for ORCID "0000-0002-9560-9964"

Smith, Matthew K. ^[2]; Aday, Anastasia ^[1]; Cui, Shuang  ^[3];

• Search DOE PAGES for author "Cui, Shuang"
• Search DOE PAGES for ORCID "0000-0003-0151-8605"

Mahvi, Allison  ^[1]

• Search DOE PAGES for author "Mahvi, Allison"
• Search DOE PAGES for ORCID "0000-0002-4162-1220"

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+ Show Author Affiliations

1. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
2. TCPoly Inc., Atlanta, GA (United States)
3. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX (United States)

Publication Date:

Fri Sep 09 00:00:00 EDT 2022

Research Org.:

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

Sponsoring Org.:

USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Energy Efficiency Office. Building Technologies Office; USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Energy Efficiency Office. Advanced Manufacturing Office

OSTI Identifier:

1898002

Report Number(s):

NREL/JA-5500-82022
Journal ID: ISSN 2352-152X; MainId:82795;UUID:f96ed6c4-7722-4bbe-a67f-3344e425a489;MainAdminID:67777

Grant/Contract Number:  

AC36-08GO28308

Resource Type:

Accepted Manuscript

Journal Name:

Journal of Energy Storage

Additional Journal Information:

Journal Volume: 55; Journal Issue: Part B; Journal ID: ISSN 2352-152X

Publisher:

Elsevier

Country of Publication:

United States

Language:

English

Subject:

25 ENERGY STORAGE; composite filament; fused deposition modeling; phase change material; polymer heat exchanger; thermal energy storage