Selection of Phase Change Materials for Energy Storage Applications Using BHARAT Decision-Making Methodology

Abstract

Phase change materials have been studied for many applications aiming at enhancing energy efficiency and economy. Nevertheless, in order to select the right phase change material (PCM) to meet the required standards, a trade-off between competing quantitative and qualitative criteria (also referred to as attributes) is usually required. The PCM selection literature analysis reveals that researchers employed many multi-attribute decision-making (MADM) methods. However, these MADM methods have their merits as well as demerits. Hence, this study offers a simple and efficient MADM method named"Best Holistic Adaptable Ranking of Attributes Technique (BHARAT)" to select the optimal PCM for various energy storage applications. The BHARAT method is illustrated with three case studies. In the first case study, the best PCM for a thermal energy storage unit with a solar box cooker is chosen by considering 5 PCMs and 8 attributes; in the second case study, the best PCM for a ground source heat pump integrated with a phase change thermal storage system is chosen by considering 8 PCMs and 13 attributes; In the third case study, 20 PCMs and 5 attributes are considered in order to determine which PCM is optimal for energy storage and thermal comfort in a vehicle. Comparisons are made between the results of the BHARAT method and those of other popular MADM methods. The BHARAT method's potential has been thoroughly proved and validated by the results of the three PCM selection case studies. It has been demonstrated that the BHARAT methodis straightforward, simple to implement, free of fuzzy logic requirements, provides a logical method for assigning attributes' weights, and is adaptable to PCM selection problems in various scenarios. (c) 2024 Jordan Journal of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering.