Advanced phase change cold storage macro encapsulated sphere for refrigerated transportation

Abstract

The advantages of hydrated salt phase change materials (PCMs) have garnered increasing attention within the refrigerated transportation sector. Encapsulation of hydrated salts offers a promising solution to mitigate their corrosive properties, thereby enabling their implementation in equipment. In this work, a PCM with a melting temperature of 9.4 °C, a melting latent heat of 107.4 J/g, and a degree of supercooling of 1.2 °C was prepared. By using different characterization methods and theoretical analysis, its unique thermodynamic properties and regulation mechanism of performance were revealed. The prepared material was encapsulated in a polypropylene hollow sphere, whose hermeticity was verified by experiment. The heat transfer performance of the encapsulated sphere was researched from the aspects of heat transfer medium, size effect, and flow velocity, whose influence mechanisms was discussed through a comprehensive analysis.