This invention regards the domain of the electrocaloric energy conversion and is related to improvements of systems and methods, which apply the electrocaloric materials as the source of the temperature change in electrocaloric refrigeration devices. The invention presents applications of electrocaloric materials in a combination with the working fluid, which is in contact with the heat source and heat sink. With the help of this invention we protect ideas, which have enormous potential for the future development and market applications of electrocaloric devices, such are refrigerators, heat pumps, or even power generators. Such solutions cannot be found in present intellectual property or publications. Therefore the IP protection will enable also more efficient way of establishment of the collaboration with the industry and the concrete research and development toward market applications. These regard the market, which is larger than 100 billion USD.
F.32 International patent
COBISS.SI-ID: 13102363Predicted climate changes and the increased intensity of urban heat islands as well as population aging will increase the energy demands for the cooling of buildings in the future. However, the energy demand for cooling can be efficiently reduced by low-exergy free-cooling systems. These are systems that use natural processes, like evaporative cooling or, as is very popular nowadays, the environmental cold of ambient air during night-time ventilation, to cool the building. Unlike mechanical cooling systems, the energy for the operation of free-cooling systems is needed only for the transport of the cold from the environment into the buildings. Because natural cold sources are time dependent, the efficiency of free-cooling systems could be improved by introducing a weather-forecast component into the algorithms used for the control. In the article, a numerical algorithm for the optimization of the operation of free-cooling systems with night-time ventilation is presented and verified on a test building with different thermal storage capacities and in different ambient conditions. The results show an important potential for the weather-predicted optimization of free-cooling systems in terms of the improved COP of the systems, better indoor comfort conditions and a decrease in the energy demands for cooling.
B.03 Paper at an international scientific conference
COBISS.SI-ID: 13052443The subject of the invention is a thermal mass flow meter comprising at least two thermal flow sensors with different constructional and/or operational parameters, and a gas-identification method. The thermal mass flow meter is used to measure the mass flow rate of different types of gases and to perform the gas-identification method. If the measurement characteristics for the proper gas are employed, the mass flow readings of the thermal flow sensors will be equal. In contrast, if the measurement characteristics for an improper gas are employed, the mass flow readings will differ. The thermal mass flow meter can be used together with control valve and control electronics to form a thermal mass flow controller.
F.33 Slovenian patent
COBISS.SI-ID: 13382683The article presents two novel technologies for the energy conversion, the magnetocaloric and the electrocaloric energy conversion respectively. Both technologies represent promising, environmentally friendly alternatives in domains of refrigeration, heat pumping and the power generation. This article shows analogy between the two represented technologies and describes their basic features. For a particular case it shows a comparison between the two technologies and their operating characteristics as well as the efficiency. Different technical issues are discussed as well as different possibilities for design of such devices. The most important limits are discussed and supported by description of potential solutions. Perspectives of the technology are presented and the guidelines for the future research and developments are given.
B.03 Paper at an international scientific conference
COBISS.SI-ID: 13032475Energy storage technologies are a strategic and necessary component for the efficient utilization of renewable energy sources and energy conservation. There is a great technical potential to substitute burning of fossil fuels by using stored heat. Phase change material (PCM) is ideal for energy storage purposes since it can store energy at relatively constant temperature and within small temperature range. The article presents different technologies for storing cold in PCMs, where special attention is dedicated to free cooling principle. A room heat exchanger that can store heat or cold is analysed. It consists of plates that are filled with PCM and air is used as a heat transfer fluid. Heat transfer from and into PCM is simulated with Ansys Fluent code. Different air inlet velocities, inlet air temperatures, melting temperatures and initial conditions are simulated in order to determine the performance of such a unit.
B.03 Paper at an international scientific conference
COBISS.SI-ID: 12966683