Latent heat storage material and method for manufacturing the same

Abstract

A latent heat storage material includes a latent heat storage member formed of an organic compound, and a metallic seamless capsule encapsulating the latent heat storage member. A method for manufacturing the latent heat storage material includes preparing a grain of the latent heat storage member, supporting a powder on the latent heat storage member, conducting an electroless plating to form a first plating layer of the metallic seamless capsule on a surface of the latent heat storage member, and conducting an electrolytic plating to form a second plating layer of the metallic seamless capsule on a surface of the first plating layer.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A latent heat storage material comprising:
 a latent heat storage member formed of an organic compound; and   a metallic seamless capsule encapsulating the latent heat storage member.   
     
     
         2 . The latent heat storage material according to  claim 1 , wherein
 the metallic seamless capsule has an external diameter from 1 millimeter to 10 millimeters.   
     
     
         3 . The latent heat storage material according to  claim 1 , wherein
 the organic compound has a melting point from 40 degrees Celsius to 90 degrees Celsius.   
     
     
         4 . The latent heat storage material according to  claim 1 , wherein
 the organic compound includes normal paraffin with  21  to  46  carbons.   
     
     
         5 . The latent heat storage material according to  claim 1 , wherein
 when the latent heat storage member is in a solid phase, the latent heat storage member occupies a part of an inner space of the metallic seamless capsule and defines a cavity in a remaining part of the inner space.   
     
     
         6 . The latent heat storage material according to  claim 5 , wherein
 the cavity has a volume equal to or greater than a difference between a volume of the latent heat storage member in a liquid phase and a volume of the latent heat storage member in the solid phase.   
     
     
         7 . The latent heat storage material according to  claim 1 , wherein
 the metallic seamless capsule is made of copper.   
     
     
         8 . The latent heat storage material according to  claim 7 , wherein
 the metallic seamless capsule has an average thickness from 0.7 percent to 10 percent of an external diameter of the metallic seamless capsule.   
     
     
         9 . The latent heat storage material according to  claim 8 , wherein
 the metallic seamless capsule has a variation in a thickness from minus 30 percent to plus 30 percent of the average thickness of the metallic seamless capsule.   
     
     
         10 . A method for manufacturing a latent heat storage material, the method comprising:
 preparing a grain of a latent heat storage member formed of an organic compound;   supporting a powder on the latent heat storage member by pressing the powder to a surface of the latent heat storage member prepared, the powder including at least one of a metal powder formed of a metal and a metal oxide powder formed of an oxide of the metal;   conducting an electroless plating to form a first plating layer on the surface of the latent heat storage member by disposing a plating catalyst on the surface of the latent heat storage member and depositing the first plating layer from the powder and the plating catalyst as deposition starting points; and   conducting an electrolytic plating to form a second plating layer on a surface of the first plating layer, after the conducting the electroless plating, wherein   the latent heat storage member is encapsulated in a metallic seamless capsule including the first plating layer and the second plating layer.   
     
     
         11 . The method for manufacturing the latent heat storage material according to  claim 10 , wherein
 in the supporting the powder, the powder includes at least one of a metal powder formed of a same metal as the first plating layer and a metal oxide powder formed of an oxide of the same metal as the first plating layer.   
     
     
         12 . The method for manufacturing the latent heat storage material according to  claim 11 , wherein
 in the supporting the powder, the powder has a diameter from 1 micrometer to 100 micrometers.   
     
     
         13 . The method for manufacturing the latent heat storage material according to  claim 10 , wherein
 in the conducting the electroless plating, the latent heat storage member is held down so that an entirety of the latent heat storage member is positioned below a liquid surface of a plating liquid.   
     
     
         14 . The method for manufacturing the latent heat storage material according to  claim 13 , wherein
 in the conducting the electrolytic plating, the latent heat storage member having the first plating layer on the surface is held down so that an entirety of the first plating layer is positioned below a liquid surface of a plating liquid.   
     
     
         15 . The method for manufacturing the latent heat storage material according to  claim 10 , wherein
 in the preparing the grain of the latent heat storage member, the grain of the latent heat storage member is formed by supplying a droplet of the latent heat storage member in a cooling liquid and solidifying the droplet from outside.