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Intelligent Phase Change Control and Thermal Management for Energy Applications

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A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "J: Thermal Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 February 2025 | Viewed by 5620

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Wenxiao Chu

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Guest Editor

Key Laboratory of Thermo-Fluid Science and Engineering (Ministry of Education), Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, China
Interests: energy systems; enhanced heat transfer; thermal management; heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC); supercritical fluid
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Chi-Chuan Wang

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Guest Editor

Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, 1001 University Road, Hsinchu 300, Taiwan
Interests: heat transfer; HVAC; energy

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The Intelligent Phase Change Control and Thermal Management of energy applications has become popular, particularly in fields such as electronics cooling, renewable energy systems, and energy storage. These technologies play a significant role in optimizing the efficiency, reliability, and lifespan of various energy devices.

This Special Issue aims to present and disseminate the most recently advanced theories, mechanisms, designs, models, applications and control of AI thermal management technologies.

Topics of interest for publication include, but are not limited to:

Cooling Systems;
Refrigeration and Air Conditioning;
Dynamic Cooling;
Phase Change Control;
Thermal Management;
Optimized Energy Conversion;
Predictive Maintenance;
Intelligence and Automation;
Renewable Energy;
AI Application for Electric Vehicles;
Thermal Management in Data Centers;
Energy Saving in Buildings and HVAC Systems;
Heat and Mass Transfer Enhancement;
CFD Simulation and Prediction;
Artificial Intelligence Application.

Prof. Dr. Wenxiao Chu
Prof. Dr. Chi-Chuan Wang
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Energies is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

cooling systems
refrigeration and air conditioning
dynamic cooling
phase change control
thermal management

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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17 pages, 6640 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Thermal Management for a Stadium Power Supply Container Using a Rack-Level Air Cooling Strategy

by Yue Dong, Yi Ding, Karem Elsayed Elfeky, Yu Qi, Wenxiao Chu and Qiuwang Wang

Energies 2024, 17(7), 1654; https://doi.org/10.3390/en17071654 - 29 Mar 2024

Viewed by 868

Abstract

This study investigates the airflow and thermal management of a compact electric energy storage system by using computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulation. A porous medium model for predicting the flow resistance performance of the battery modules in a battery cabinet is developed. By studying the influence of rack shapes, the effects of heat exchanger arrangements and other parameters on the airflow and battery thermal distribution are analyzed. When applying a larger bottom air channel, the inlet flow uniformity of each battery cabin in the cabinet increases by 5%. Meanwhile, temperature standard deviation decreases by 0.18 while raising the flow rate from 3 m/s to 8 m/s, indicating better temperature uniformity in the battery cabin. When the charge–discharge ratio reaches 0.5 C, the temperature deviation of the entire cabinet significantly increases, reaching 8 K. Furthermore, a rack-level thermal management scheme is proposed to effectively reduce the thermal deviation of the container electric energy storage system and improve the overall temperature uniformity. Results reveal that the rack-level thermal management of the wavy cabinet in the electric storage container can effectively improve the thermal uniformity of the distributed battery cabin, and the overall thermal deviation is controlled within 1.0 K. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Intelligent Phase Change Control and Thermal Management for Energy Applications)

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18 pages, 6181 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Numerical Study on Peak Shaving Performance of Combined Heat and Power Unit Assisted by Heating Storage in Long-Distance Pipelines Scheduled by Particle Swarm Optimization Method

by Haoran Ju, Yongxue Wang, Yiwu Feng and Lijun Zheng

Energies 2024, 17(2), 492; https://doi.org/10.3390/en17020492 - 19 Jan 2024

Viewed by 867

Abstract

Thermal energy storage in long-distance heating supply pipelines can improve the peak shaving and frequency regulation capabilities of combined heat and power (CHP) units participating in the power grid. In this study, a one-dimensional numerical model was established to predict the thermal lag in long-distance pipelines at different scale levels. The dynamic response of the temperature at the end of the heating pipeline was considered. For the one-way pipe lengths of 10 km, 15 km and 20 km, the response times of the temperature at the distal end were 2.33 h, 2.94 h and 3.54 h, respectively. The longer the flow period, the further the warming-up time is delayed. An optimization scheduling approach was also created to illustrate the peak shaving capabilities of a CHP unit combined with a long-distance pipeline thermal energy storage component. It was demonstrated that the maximum heating load of the unit increased up to 503.08 MW, and the heating load could be expanded in the range of 17.88 MW to 203.76 MW at the minimum electric load of the unit of 104.08 MW. Finally, the particle swarm optimization method was adopted to guide the operating strategy through a whole day to meet both the electric power and heating power requirements. For the optimized case, the comprehensive energy utilization efficiency and the exergy efficiency increase to 64.4% and 56.73%. The thermal energy storage applications based on long-distance pipelines were simulated quantitively and proved to be effective in promoting the operational flexibility of the CHP unit. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Intelligent Phase Change Control and Thermal Management for Energy Applications)

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18 pages, 3903 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Experimental Study of a Passive Thermal Management System Using Expanded Graphite/Polyethylene Glycol Composite for Lithium-Ion Batteries

by Zhenggang Xia, Chaoen Li, Hang Yu and Zhirong Wang

Energies 2023, 16(23), 7786; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16237786 - 27 Nov 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1287

Abstract

Modern energy batteries are mainly used in pure electric vehicles. The stability of battery operation relies heavily on thermal management systems for which phase-change batteries have become an effective solution. In this study, we designed a battery thermal management system divided into two parts: a shaped phase-change material (PCM) module and a battery module. In the qualitative PCM module, polyethylene glycol was used to absorb heat, expanded graphite (EG) was used as the thermally conductive agent, and copper foam formed the support skeleton. The battery module comprised an 18650 lithium-ion battery with an enthalpy of 155 J/g. In our experiments, we applied PCMs to the battery modules and demonstrated the effectiveness of composite PCM (CPCM) in effectively lowering the temperature of both battery packs and minimizing the temperature discrepancies among individual batteries. At a gradually increasing discharge rate (1C/2C/3C), the battery’s T_max could be lowered and the temperature could be de creased at various positions. It was evident that the battery temperature could be effectively preserved using CPCM. The findings of this study lay a foundation for future research on battery thermal management. Finally, the copper foam and EG contributed significantly to the prevention of leakage. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Intelligent Phase Change Control and Thermal Management for Energy Applications)

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17 pages, 6723 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Numerical Research on Thermodynamic Properties of a Thermocline in Thermal Energy Storage Tank Based on Modified One-Dimensional Dimensionless Model

by Haoran Ju, Lijun Zheng and Wei Zhong

Energies 2023, 16(22), 7499; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16227499 - 9 Nov 2023

Viewed by 989

Abstract

The application of thermal energy storage (TES) has been proved effective to improve the energy utilization efficiency of renewable energy and industrial waste heat energy. In this paper, a modified one-dimensional dimensionless model for the thermocline thermal energy storage tank is derived to simulate the system more accurately. An adaptive strategy for solving region compartmentalization is proposed for reducing computing time. Based on the proposed model, the effects of three different parameters on the performance of the thermocline tank are studied. The results show that increasing the inlet velocity can reduce the thickness of the thermocline and improve the system efficiency. Increasing the temperature difference between hot and cold water leads to a thicker thermocline, but the thermal energy stored in the tank increases. Increasing the tank height has no effect on the motion characteristic of thermocline, but the system efficiency can be increased. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Intelligent Phase Change Control and Thermal Management for Energy Applications)

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Review

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20 pages, 9760 KiB

Open AccessReview

Application and Challenge of High-Speed Pumps with Low-Temperature Thermosensitive Fluids

by Beile Zhang, Ben Niu, Ze Zhang, Shuangtao Chen, Rong Xue and Yu Hou

Energies 2024, 17(15), 3732; https://doi.org/10.3390/en17153732 - 29 Jul 2024

Viewed by 1042

Abstract

The rapid development of industrial and information technology is driving the demand to improve the applicability and hydraulic performance of centrifugal pumps in various applications. Enhancing the rotational speed of pumps can simultaneously increase the head and reduce the impeller diameter, thereby reducing the pump size and weight and also improving pump efficiency. This paper reviews the current application status of high-speed pumps using low-temperature thermosensitive fluids, which have been applied in fields such as novel energy-saving cooling technologies, aerospace, chemical industries, and cryogenic engineering. Due to operational constraints and thermal effects, there are inherent challenges that still need to be addressed for high-speed pumps. Based on numerical simulation and experimental research for different working fluids, the results regarding cavitation within the inducer have been categorized and summarized. Improvements to cavitation models, the mechanism of unsteady cavity shedding, vortex generation and cavitation suppression, and the impact of cavitation on pump performance were examined. Subsequently, the thermal properties and cavitation thermal effects of low-temperature thermosensitive fluids were analyzed. In response to the application requirements of pump-driven two-phase cooling systems in data centers, a high-speed refrigerant pump employing hydrodynamic bearings has been proposed. Experimental results indicate that the prototype achieves a head of 56.5 m and an efficiency of 36.1% at design conditions (n = 7000 rpm, Q = 1.5 m³/h). The prototype features a variable frequency motor, allowing for a wider operational range, and has successfully passed both on/off and continuous operation tests. These findings provide valuable insights for improving the performance of high-speed refrigerant pumps in relevant applications. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Intelligent Phase Change Control and Thermal Management for Energy Applications)

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