Abstract

Nowadays, possible applications of nanoencapsulated phase change materials (nePCM) focuses on thermal energy storage facilities such as concentrated solar power (CSP) plants. From a practical point of view, one of the problems encountered is that the shell, which confines the PCM in the core-shell nanoparticle, fails due to the thermal stresses developed during the heating/cooling cycles. On this ground, the aim of the present work is to develop a numerical tool by combining a finite element (FE) code –previously developed by the authors- and Monte Carlo (MC) techniques in order to perform a sensitivity analysis (SA). In particular, the SA provides those variables that should be controlled in the design and synthetization of PCM given that SA quantifies the material properties and/or geometrical dimensions that have the most direct impact on the failure of the nanoparticle shell. Finally, a mechanical reliability study is carried out to ensure the resistance of the shell by using standard procedures based on MC techniques. In conclusion, the results of the present work could be used by the experimental community for designing reliable PCM.