THERMAL ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEM COMPRISING ENCAPSULATED PHASE CHANGE MATERIAL
First Claim
Patent Images
1. An apparatus for storing and retrieving thermal energy, said apparatus comprising:
- a tank containinga heat transfer fluid; and
a plurality of capsules submerged in said heat transfer fluid, wherein each one of said plurality of capsules encapsulates a phase change material;
a first heat exchanger in fluid communication with said tank, said first heat exchanger configured for heating said heat transfer fluid; and
a second heat exchanger in fluid communication with said tank, said second heat exchanger configured for cooling said heat transfer fluid.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Systems for storing and retrieving thermal energy in encapsulated phase change material are disclosed. Thermal energy is substantially stored and/or retrieved in the form of latent heat. The capsules comprise an outer shell which is impervious to both the heat transfer fluid within which they are submerged and the phase change material encapsulated therewithin. Methods for encapsulating the phase change material are also disclosed.
-
Citations
83 Claims
-
1. An apparatus for storing and retrieving thermal energy, said apparatus comprising:
-
a tank containing a heat transfer fluid; and a plurality of capsules submerged in said heat transfer fluid, wherein each one of said plurality of capsules encapsulates a phase change material; a first heat exchanger in fluid communication with said tank, said first heat exchanger configured for heating said heat transfer fluid; and a second heat exchanger in fluid communication with said tank, said second heat exchanger configured for cooling said heat transfer fluid. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
-
-
37. A method of encapsulating a phase change material in a capsule, said method comprising suspending a particle of said phase change material in an air stream;
-
coating an entire surface of said suspended particle with at least one layer of a first material, said step of coating comprising atomizing a solution of said first material; depositing said atomized first material onto said surface of said suspended particle; and drying said first material deposited on said suspended particle; coating an entire surface of said layer of said first material with at least one layer of a second material; and encapsulating said phase change material within a shell formed by said second material, said step of encapsulating comprising heating said particle coated with said first material and said second material; decomposing said first material; and vaporizing said first material. - View Dependent Claims (38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64)
-
-
65. A method of encapsulating a phase change material in a capsule, said method comprising
suspending a particle of said phase change material in an air stream; -
coating an entire surface of said suspended particle with at least one layer of a mixture of a binder and metal particles, said step of coating comprising depositing said mixture onto said surface of said suspended particle; and drying said mixture deposited on said suspended particle; encapsulating said phase change material within said capsule, said step of encapsulating comprising heating said particle coated with said mixture; vaporizing said binder; and sintering said metal particles to form a shell encapsulating said phase change material. - View Dependent Claims (66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83)
-
Specification