from the conferences organized by TANGER Ltd.
Phase change materials (PCMs) are now a well-established category of materials for thermal energy storage. Most PCMs need to be hermetically sealed in a container or a storage tank because of the risk of leakage to the surrounding environment when a PCM is in the liquid state. A good compatibility between the PCMs and the materials for their encapsulation is very important for the long lifespan and safety of the heat storage systems. Metals are excellent heat conductors and for this reason they are often used as encapsulation materials for PCMs. The present paper focuses on the methodology and results of the compatibility tests of organic and inorganic PCMs with metals. Three sets of metallic samples of encapsulation materials have been prepared. The first set contained copper samples, the second aluminum samples and the third stainless steel samples. The samples were immersed in the PCMs creating metal - PCM pairs and then subjected to periodical heating and cooling in a small environmental chamber, which imitated the operation of thermal energy storage. One set of metal samples was withdrawn for testing each month. The results indicate a good compatibility between stainless steel and all tested PCMs.
Keywords: Corrosion, metals, phase change materials, material compatibility© This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.