Thermal energy buffering in marine systems using phase change materials: materials, heat transfer enhancement, and system-level integration strategies
摘要
Phase change materials (PCMs) offer substantial potential for thermal energy storage in marine environments, leveraging high latent heat capacity and near-isothermal operation to address persistent shipboard thermal management challenges. However, maritime deployment is constrained by continuous vessel motion, variable thermal loads, restricted installation space, and corrosive saline exposure, all of which exert a fundamental influence on PCM performance and long-term system reliability. This review critically evaluates PCM-based latent heat thermal energy storage systems across the full spectrum of marine thermal applications, including propulsion cooling, auxiliary power, refrigerated cargo, battery thermal management, electronics cooling, and waste heat recovery, with systematic examination of material selection, encapsulation techniques, and heat exchanger integration strategies. The analysis identifies several substantive findings: Thermal conductivity enhancement via metal foams, extended fins, and porous architectures yields effective conductivity improvements of one to two orders of magnitude over unmodified PCMs; organic PCMs (150–250 kJ kg⁻1) exhibit favorable cyclic stability and marine compatibility, whereas salt hydrates (200–280 kJ kg⁻1), despite higher storage density, remain limited by phase segregation and subcooling; and encapsulation constitutes the dominant economic barrier, typically exceeding 50% of total system cost. Expanded graphite composite paraffins are identified as offering the best overall combination of thermal conductivity, phase stability, and corrosion resistance for shipboard applications. Several challenges remain unresolved, including thermophysical property degradation under thermal cycling, containment corrosion in marine electrolytic environments, PCM leakage through encapsulant defects, and the poorly characterized effects of vessel motion on convective heat transfer and phase distribution. This review concludes that hybrid composite PCMs incorporating multifunctional encapsulation represent the most viable pathway for marine deployment. Future research should prioritize corrosion-resistant material development, motion-aware simulation frameworks, and cost-effective manufacturing processes to fully realize PCM-enabled efficiency gains in next-generation sustainable vessel platforms.