TCCbuilder: An open-source tool for the analysis of thermal switches, thermal diodes, thermal regulators, and thermal control circuits.

In the area of thermal management, thermal control elements (TCEs) and thermal control circuits (TCCs) are proving to be innovative solutions to the challenges of temperature control and heat dissipation in various applications, ranging from electronic cooling to energy conversion and temperature control in buildings. Their integration promises to improve power density, energy efficiency, system reliability and system life expectancy. With the aim of connecting researchers in the field of thermal management and accelerating the development of TCEs and TCCs, we have developed an open-source TCC simulation tool called TCCbuilder that enables a quick and easy time-dependent 1D numerical analysis of the behavior of TCEs and TCCs.

The numerical study on performance evaluation of a thermal switch capacitor in a magnetocaloric cooling device.

Compact, solid thermal control devices offer a new way to control the intensity and direction of heat flow between the components of a system, which is crucial for both optimized performance and safety. In this work we study a thin, silicon thermal switch capacitor (TSC) used for heat transport in a magnetocaloric cooling system. A numerical model was developed to quantify the effects of various operating conditions and design parameters on the performance of a magnetocaloric device with an embedded TSC.

Protocol to evaluate a (magneto)caloric device with static thermal switches using a 1D numerical model.

This protocol describes the use of a simple 1D numerical model to evaluate a single-stage (magneto)caloric refrigerating device with static thermal switches. The model can be used to find appropriate values of parameters that lead to a significant refrigerating effect and COP of the device. The modeled device can comprise any type of static thermal switch in combination with any kind of magnetocaloric or electrocaloric material.

Towards powerful magnetocaloric devices with static electro-permanent magnets.

Introduction: Magnetocaloric energy conversion represents an alternative to existing refrigeration, heat pump and energy harvesting technologies. A crucial part of a magnetocaloric device concerns the magnetic field source. It uses mainly rare-earth materials and consists of moving parts and a drive system while displaying a limited energy efficiency and unavailability of fast and variable control of the magnetic field.

Ferrofluidic thermal switch in a magnetocaloric device.

Thermal switches are advanced heat-management devices that represent a new opportunity to improve the energy efficiency and power density of caloric devices. In this study we have developed a numerical model to analyze the operation and the performance of static thermal switches in caloric refrigeration. The investigation comprises a parametric analysis of a realistic ferrofluidic thermal switch in terms of the maximum temperature span, cooling power, and coefficient of performance.

Condensation of water vapor from humid air inside vertical channels formed by flat plates.

Condensation of humid air is an important process in thermal and process engineering and a subject of many currently research-intensive scientific domains, such as atmospheric water harvesting and seawater desalination. The nature of (water) vapor condensation in the presence of non-condensable gas (NCG) such as air differs significantly from the case with the pure, quiescent vapor condensation. In the literature, simple models that describe the forced flow condensation of water vapor in the presence of air on a series of vertical flat plates are hard to find.

Thermal rectification in multilayer phase change material structures for energy storage applications.

Solid-state thermal control devices that present an asymmetric heat flow depending on thermal bias directionality, referred to as thermal diodes, have recently received increased attention for energy management. The use of materials that can change phase is a common approach to design thermal diodes, but typical sizes, moderate rectification ratios, and narrow thermal tunability limit their potential applications. In this work, we propose a multilayer thermal diode made of a combination of phase change and invariant materials.

Exergy Analyses of Low-Temperature District Heating Systems With Different Sanitary Hot-Water Boosters.

This paper presents an exergy-efficiency analysis of low-temperature district heating systems (DHSs) with different sanitary hot-water (SHW) boosters. The required temperature of the sanitary hot water (SHW) was set to 50 °C. The main objective of this study was to compare the exergy efficiencies of a DHS without a booster to DHSs with three different types of boosters, i.