Pcm module heat exchanger assembly with concurrent charging and discharging of different pcm sections

Abstract

A phase change material (PCM) module heat exchanger assembly includes a multi-section PCM container rotatingly supported about a center long axis of the multi-section PCM container, or a multi-section PCM container where one or more sections are slidingly mounted to the multi-section PCM container. Each section of a plurality of rotatably or slidingly selected PCM sections is selectably insertable into an air flow. A method of placing one of a group of two or more PCM sections into a building's heating, ventilation, or air conditioning (HVAC) ductwork and a method to harvest heating or cooling capacity for later use are also described.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A phase change material (PCM) module heat exchanger assembly comprising:
 a multi-section PCM container rotatingly supported about a center long axis of said multi-section PCM container, or a multi-section PCM container where one or more sections are slidingly mounted to said multi-section PCM container; and   a plurality of rotatably or slidingly selected PCM sections disposed within said multi-section PCM container, each section of said plurality of rotatably or slidingly selected PCM sections selectably insertable into an air flow, at least one section of said plurality of rotatably or slidingly selected PCM sections comprising:
 at least one or more tubes filled with a PCM and adapted for an airflow over said at least one or more tubes filled with a PCM, or 
 at least one or more tubes defining a volume between outer surfaces of said tubes, said volume filled with a PCM and adapted for an airflow through each of said at least one or more tubes. 
   
     
     
         2 . The PCM module heat exchanger assembly of  claim 1 , wherein at least one section of said multi-section PCM container comprises a heating PCM having a first PCM melting temperature, and another section comprises a cooling PCM having a second PCM melting temperature. 
     
     
         3 . The PCM module heat exchanger assembly of  claim 1 , wherein said multi-section PCM container comprises a shape selected from the group consisting of cylindrical, triangular, square, rectangular, elliptical, and polygonal. 
     
     
         4 . The PCM module heat exchanger assembly of  claim 1 , wherein said multi-section PCM container comprises at least a heating section and an air conditioning section. 
     
     
         5 . The PCM module heat exchanger assembly of  claim 1 , wherein said at least one or more tubes is disposed lengthwise substantially parallel to said center long axis. 
     
     
         6 . The PCM module heat exchanger assembly of  claim 1 , wherein each tube of said at least one or more tubes in a tube sheet at about either end of said multi-section PCM container. 
     
     
         7 . The PCM module heat exchanger assembly of  claim 1 , wherein each tube of said at least one or more tubes terminates in a header at about either end of said multi-section PCM container. 
     
     
         8 . The PCM module heat exchanger assembly of  claim 7 , wherein said header comprises in interior void fillable with a PCM in a liquid state, and each tube is fluidly coupled to said header. 
     
     
         9 . The PCM module heat exchanger assembly of  claim 1 , wherein at least one tube comprises a tube of a cross section selected from the group consisting of triangular, square, rectangular, elliptical, and polygonal. 
     
     
         10 . The PCM module heat exchanger assembly of  claim 1 , wherein at least one tube comprises a flat rectangular tube. 
     
     
         11 . The PCM module heat exchanger assembly of  claim 1 , wherein each tube of said at least one or more tubes extends radially from a center portion of said multi-section PCM container and about perpendicular to said center long axis and extends to about an inner wall surface of an outer cylindrical wall of said multi-section PCM container, or to a cylindrical tube sheet disposed about at an inner surface of said outer cylindrical wall. 
     
     
         12 . The PCM module heat exchanger assembly of  claim 1 , wherein each tube of said at least one or more tubes comprises a bend radius and each tube terminates in a tube header or tube sheet bar which extends from a center of said multi-section PCM container perpendicular to said center long axis. 
     
     
         13 . The PCM module heat exchanger assembly of  claim 12 , wherein at least two nested tubes comprise different bend radii. 
     
     
         14 . The PCM module heat exchanger assembly of  claim 1 , wherein at least one stack of tubes is disposed in at least one tube rack which is disposed a section of said multi-section PCM container. 
     
     
         15 . The PCM module heat exchanger assembly of  claim 1 , wherein said PCM module heat exchanger assembly is a component of a building heating, ventilation, or air conditioning (HVAC) system. 
     
     
         16 . The PCM module heat exchanger assembly of  claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of ductwork couplings, wherein a first set of ductwork fluidly couples air flow to and from a building heating, ventilation, or air conditioning (HVAC) ductwork, a second set of ductwork fluidly coupled to a different ductwork of a building wherein said different ductwork of a building fluidly couples air flow to and from an outside air exterior to the building, and wherein when a first section of said multi-section PCM container is fluidly coupled to said building HVAC ductwork, a second section of said multi-section PCM container is fluidly coupled to said outside air. 
     
     
         17 . The PCM module heat exchanger assembly of  claim 1 , wherein said multi-section PCM container comprises a plurality of wedge shaped sections disposed in a disk. 
     
     
         18 . The PCM module heat exchanger assembly of  claim 1 , wherein said multi-section PCM container comprises:
 a heating PCM section having a first melting point temperature and a different cooling PCM section having a second melting point temperature; and   wherein during a daytime, said different cooling PCM section is discharged by a phase change from solid to liquid, and said heating PCM section is concurrently charged by a phase transition from solid to liquid; and   wherein during a nighttime, said heating PCM section is discharged by a phase change from liquid to solid, and said different cooling PCM section is concurrently charged by a phase transition from liquid to solid.   
     
     
         19 . A method of placing one of a group of two or more PCM sections into a building's heating, ventilation, or air conditioning (HVAC) ductwork comprising the steps of:
 providing a phase change material (PCM) module heat exchanger assembly comprising a multi-section PCM container having at least one heating PCM section and at least one cooling PCM section, said PCM module heat exchanger assembly supported adjacent to a HVAC ductwork;   selecting a section of said multi-section PCM container based on a HVAC system mode of operation as a selected section; and   rotating or sliding said selected section of said multi-section PCM container into an airflow of the HVAC ductwork to move an interior temperature towards a set point temperature at least in part by an exchange of heat energy between an airflow in said HVAC ductwork and a PCM disposed within said selected section of said multi-section PCM container.   
     
     
         20 . A method to harvest heating or cooling capacity for later use comprising:
 providing a multi-section PCM container comprising a heating PCM section having a first melting point temperature and a different cooling PCM section having a second melting point temperature;   during a daytime, discharging said different cooling PCM section by a phase change from solid to liquid to cool a building air, and concurrently charging said heating PCM section by a phase transition from solid to liquid by use of a warm outside air; and   during a nighttime, discharging said heating PCM section by a phase change from liquid to solid to warm a building air, and concurrently charging said different cooling PCM section by a phase transition from liquid to solid by use of a cool outside air.