Determination of enthalpy–temperature curves of phase change materials with the temperature-history method: improvement to temperature dependent properties

The temperature-history method, proposed by Yinping et al, is a simple and economic way to determine the main thermophysical properties of materials used in thermal energy storage based on solid–liquid phase change. It is based on comparing the temperature history of a phase-change material sample and a sample of a well known material upon cooling down. In this paper we describe a further developed evaluation procedure to determine c_p and h as temperature dependent values which was not the case in Yinping's method, based on the same experimental procedure. Given the suitability of these properties to calculate thermal energy storage using these materials, the method is proposed to present the results obtained in the form of enthalpy–temperature curves. A discussion about the errors produced by this method and an experimental improvement are proposed too.