Abstracts Book - IMRC 2018

• SC2-O025
SUITABILITY OF ALUMINIUM-COPPER-SILICON AS METALLIC
PHASE CHANGE MATERIAL FOR VEHICLE APPLICATION
Veronika Jilg 1 , Mirko Klein Altstedde 1 , Tina Gläsel 2
1 German Aerospace Center (DLR), Institute of Vehicle Concepts, Germany. 2 German Aerospace
Center (DLR), Institute of Materials Physics in Space, Germany.
Thermal energy storage systems offer energetic potentials concerning the usage in
electric vehicles. These potentials include the storage and usage of waste heat from
the charging process of the traction battery as well as a thermal preconditioning of
the storage. Thus the electric driving range can be extended and the driving comfort
is increased.
Well known thermal energy storage systems for the usage in vehicles are mainly
based on sensible water storages, on latent heat storages by using salts or paraffins
or on thermochemical storages. Despite the specific unique advantages each
storage technology shows the vehicle specific requirements on thermal
performance, specific energy density and cost-value ratios are usually not achieved
until now.
Against this backdrop, the DLR Institute of Vehicle Concepts is focusing on the use
of new energy materials for the use in vehicle specific thermal storage systems, so
called metallic Phase Change Materials (mPCM). By using these new materials, the
main requirements on thermal storage systems for vehicle application, like a high
specific energy density and a high thermal in- and output can be achieved.
One promising candidate for a suitable mPCM is the ternary alloy Aluminium-
Copper-Silicon. The suitability of this alloy as mPCM for vehicle application is
discussed. Therefore, the requirements and boundary conditions for vehicle
specific thermal energy storage materials are given. Subsequently, the
characteristic properties of mPCM are introduced and the determination of the
relevant thermophysical quantities of Aluminium-Copper-Silicon will be focused.
The relevant quantities include specific heat capacity, heat of fusion and
temperature of fusion determined by calorimetric methods as well as the thermal
diffusivity determined by Laser-Flash-Analysis. Finally, the fulfillment of the before
introduced requirements and the performance of the alloy as mPCM for vehicle
application are reviewed.
Keywords: Thermal energy storage, metallic Phase Change Materials (mPCM),
Presenting authors email: veronika.jilg@dlr.de