Two figures of merit for hybrid Thermal Energy Storage (TES) units are developed: the volumetric figure of merit, $V˜,$ and the temperature control figure of merit, $ΔT˜.$ A dimensional analysis shows that these quantities are related to the performance specification of the storage unit and its physical design. A previously benchmarked semi-empirical finite volume model is used to study the characteristics of various plate-type TES-unit designs. A parametric study is used to create a database of optimal designs, which is then used to form simple correlations of $V˜$ and $ΔT˜$ in terms of design requirements and attributes. A preliminary design procedure utilizing these figures of merit is suggested. Sample calculations show that these correlations can be used to quickly determine the design attributes of a plate-type TES-unit, given design requirements.

1.
Leoni, N., and Amon, C., 1997, “Transient Thermal Design of Wearable Computers with Embedded Electronics Using Phase Change Materials,” ASME HTD-Vol. 343, pp. 49–56.
2.
Fossett
,
A. J.
,
Maguire
,
M. T.
,
Kudirka
,
A. A.
,
Mills
,
F. E.
, and
Brown
,
D. A.
,
1998
, “
Avionics Passive Cooling with Microencapsulated Phase Change Material
,”
ASME J. Electron. Packag.
,
120
, pp.
238
242
.
3.
Wirtz, R. A., Zheng, N., and Chandra, D., 1999, “Thermal Management Using Dry Phase Change Materials,” Proceedings IEEE Semiconductor Thermal Measurement and Management Symposium, pp. 74–82.
4.
Alawadhi, E. M., and Amon, C. H., 2000, “PCM Thermal Storage Unit for Time-Dependent Thermal Management of Electronic Devices,” Proceedings of 34th National Heat Transfer Conference, Pittsburgh, PA, August 20–22.
5.
Gurrum, S. P., Joshi, Y. K., and Kim, J., 2000, “Thermal Management of High Temperature Pulsed Electronics Using Phase Change Materials,” Proceedings of 34th National Heat Transfer Conference, Pittsburgh, PA, August 20–22.
6.
Hodes, M., Weinstein, R. D., Pence, S. J., Talieri, J. A., Manzione, L., and Chen, C., 2000, “Transient Thermal Management of Handsets Using Phase Change Materials,” Proceedings of 34th National Heat Transfer Conference, Pittsburgh, PA, August 20–22.
7.
Zheng, N., and Wirtz, R. A., 2000, “Methodology for Designing A Hybrid Thermal Energy Storage Heat Sink,” Proceedings of 2000 International Mechanical Engineering Congress & Exposition, Orlando, Florida November 5–10.
8.
Vanderplaats R&D, Inc., VisualDOC Reference Manual, 1999.
9.
Chandra, D., Personal contact, Metallurgical Engineering Department, University of Nevada, Reno.
10.
White, Frank M., 1994, Fluid Mechanics, 3rd ed., McGraw-Hill, Inc.