Active TES With PCM for Refrigeration Applications

Active thermal energy storage (TES) is the storage types whose heat transfer fluid (HTF) is actively driven by forced convection using a fluid machinery such as a pump or a compressor. Therefore, the power of the TES can be regulated by alternating the flow rate of the HTF. Phase change material (PCM) is a kind of TES material that stores and releases thermal energy through the phase transition, mainly between solid and liquid. Refrigeration refers to the means to artificially decrease the temperature of a subject or an environment to be lower than the ambient. In this chapter, active TES technologies using PCMs for refrigeration applications are introduced.