A phase change material (PCM) module for a heat exchanger apparatus for temperature regulation in a building
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing PCM heat exchangers are bulky, inefficient, and face challenges in maintaining laminar airflow with minimal pressure loss, leading to uneven phase change across modules.
Innovation Solution
A Phase Changing Material module design featuring undulated wave surfaces on plate shells made of polymer material, allowing for laminar airflow and even heat exchange, with sinusoidal air channels and a compact, modular structure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If PCM units are arranged in conventional configurations, then heat exchange capacity is provided, but airflow pressure loss increases and laminar flow is difficult to maintain
Solution Approach 1:
The plate shells are designed with undulated wave surfaces featuring smooth sinusoidal oscillations instead of flat surfaces. This curvature creates serpentine air channels that guide airflow in a laminar pattern, reducing turbulence and pressure loss while maintaining effective heat exchange between the air and PCM modules.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention transforms the conventional two-dimensional heat exchange surface into a three-dimensional undulated structure. The wave surfaces create multiple peaks and valleys that increase the effective heat exchange area while organizing airflow into structured serpentine paths, improving both heat transfer efficiency and flow characteristics simultaneously.
2Productivity
If PCM modules are designed with large surface area for heat exchange, then heat transfer efficiency improves, but device bulkiness increases
Solution Approach 1:
The undulated wave surfaces on the plate shells create a compact three-dimensional structure that packs large heat exchange surface area into a smaller overall volume. The sinusoidal oscillations generate multiple heat exchange zones within each module without requiring proportional increases in module dimensions, thus improving heat transfer efficiency while maintaining compactness.
3Stability of the object's composition
If conventional PCM unit arrangements are used, then system simplicity is maintained, but phase change uniformity across modules deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The sinusoidal wave surfaces create uniformly distributed serpentine air channels that guide airflow evenly across all PCM modules. This structured curvature ensures consistent airflow velocity and contact time throughout the heat exchanger, promoting uniform phase change conditions across all modules while maintaining a relatively simple stacked plate structure.
4Ease of manufacture
If plate shells have smooth surfaces, then manufacturing is easier, but heat exchange surface area is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The undulated wave surfaces with sinusoidal oscillations are manufactured as integral features of the plate shells using standard fabrication processes. The smooth curved surfaces are actually easier to manufacture than sharp-edged geometries, while simultaneously providing significantly increased heat exchange surface area through the three-dimensional wave structure compared to flat plates of the same footprint.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Ensures uniform phase change across all modules with low pressure drop, reducing energy consumption and enabling efficient temperature regulation with a compact, easy-to-maintain design.
Implementation Method 1
A phase change material (PCM) is a substance which releases/absorbs sufficient energy at phase transition to provide useful heat/cooling
Implementation Method 2
By melting and solidifying at the phase change temperature (PCT), a PCM is capable of storing and releasing large amounts of energy
Implementation Method 3
with a laminar airflow passing the PCM modules to ensure that the phase change occurs as simultaneous as possible for all PCM modules
Implementation Method 4
a heat exchanger apparatus for temperature regulation in a building
Data Source
AI summary
A Phase Changing Material module for a heat exchanger apparatus has a first plate shell and a second plate shell, both shells having an undulated wave surface with a smooth, periodic oscillation. Both plates have a rectangular peripheral edge portion. The first and second plate shells are joined together along their peripheral edges to form an internal volume which is filled with a phase changing material.