Analysis of dynamic phase change materials

As the global demand for energy and high-power computing grows, thermal management and storage remain key global challenges. While phase change materials (PCMs) have been explored as solutions to address both areas, they suffer from the fundamental physical challenge of melt front propagation, which reduces their power density. Dynamic Phase Change Materials (dynPCMs) have been investigated to eliminate the challenge of melt front propagation, enabling higher energy and power densities for thermal management and storage systems. DynPCMs have been explored in previous work, however many of their underlying assumptions, governing mechanisms, and implementation considerations have yet to be analyzed. Here, we introduce the governing principles of dynPCM and analyze the validity of commonly used assumptions to understand where they may break down. We use analytical and simulation approaches to understand the dynamics within the thin melt layer present in dynPCM, including the pressure and velocity distribution. We compare dynPCM to a variety of state-of-the-art technologies in both thermal management and storage and show that dynPCM can have a more than tenfold improvement in energy and power density compared to state-of-the-art thermal storage solutions. We show that dynPCM can have substantial improvement in effective heat transfer coefficient compared to state-of-the-art thermal management solutions, including a ' 100 × increase over conventional PCMs. Finally, we explore the implementation of dynPCM into real systems, including a variety of balance-of-plant considerations and the design of a holistic approach for dynPCM selection and evaluation.