The low thermal conductivity of Phase Change Materials (PCMs) hinders their practical application in LHTES systems

The gap

Evidence profile

Sourced from the future work and stated research gap of the source papers, classified as general, drawn from work published between 2025 and 2026, spanning 3 journals. Those papers have been cited 34 times in total.

Supporting evidence — 3 representative gaps

• Advanced composite phase change materials: a critical review of heat transfer enhancement, thermal reliability, and sustainable energy applications (2026) · Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry · doi

  Advanced composite phase change materials: a critical review of heat transfer enhancement,…of phase change, typically melting and solidification [16]. The functional materials of LHTES are PCM. This near-iso- thermal storage characteristic is particularly well suited for applications demanding control of the storage temperature, including building thermal control, solar thermal storage, battery thermal management, electronics cooling, cold-chain logistics, and industrial waste heat recovery [17]. The heat stored in a PCM-based system includes sensible heat and latent heat. In most practical applications of TES, the latent heat portion is typically the most important as it offers high storage density in a small temperature range. There are sev- eral thermophysical, chemical, mechanical, economic, and environmental properties that an ideal PCM should have. Thermophysically, it should possess the melting temperature which should compare with the required operating tempera- ture of the application, high latent heat of fusion, high spe- cific heat capacity, high thermal conductivity, high density, small volume change in phase transition, and stable melting and solidification behavior [18]. Under this scenario, PCM can be categorized based on the type of the phase transi- tion, chemical composition, operation temperature range, and structural configuration. Although solid–solid PCM do not suffer from liquid leakage, many of these materials do not exhibit the same latent heat as solid–liquid PCM [19]. Generally, PCM are divided into three categories accord- ing to their chemical composition, that is, organic, inor- ganic, and eutectic. But there are some drawbacks to the use of organic PCM, which are low thermal conductivity, low density, flammability, and leakage during melting. The inorganic PCM are salt hydrates, molten salts, metals, and metallic alloys. While the thermal conductivity and volumet- ric storage density of the metallic PCM are high, their high density and high cost and reactivity may hinder practical use. Eutectic PCM are a mixture of two or more components which, at a definite composition and temperature, melt, and solidify. But there are also issues of phase compatibility, sta- bility, and cost of eutectic PCM. The working mechanism of LHTES is based on the absorption and release of the latent heat involved in the phase change process, at the operational level. After the melting process starts, the majority of the input heat is used to absorb latent heat of the solid PCM so that the solid PCM turns into liquid, and its temperature remains almost unchanged [20]. Ideally, the PCM will melt at a certain temperature and solidify at that same temperature. Thus, it is necessary to measure the apparent melting/solidification temperature, latent heat, and thermal cycling characteristics for the mix- ture (PCM). In the heat transfer process of a PCM system, heat is transferred through conduction, co

  generalfuture workevidence 5/5
  Keywords: heat temperature thermal high latent phase melting storage density solid change materials solidification based there
• Thermal performance and economic viability of a finned, inclined latent heat thermal energy storage unit: a numerical study (2026) · Scientific Reports · doi

  The low thermal conductivity of Phase Change Materials (PCMs) hinders their practical application in LHTES systems. The impact of fin height and inclination angle on melting dynamics and heat transfer in LHTES systems is not well understood. There is a need for a comprehensive numerical study to investigate these effects and optimize LHTES system design.

  generalstated research gapevidence 5/5
  Keywords: low thermal conductivity phase change materials pcms hinders
• Review of Selected PCMs and Their Applications in the Industry and Energy Sector (2025) · Energies · cited 34× · doi

  The paper identifies the need for efficient energy storage technologies due to the growing global energy demand and environmental concerns. The current limitations of PCMs, such as low thermal conductivity, phase separation, and supercooling, need to be overcome. The paper highlights the gap in the development of PCMs for high-temperature heat storage and their potential applications in various sectors.

  generalstated research gapevidence 5/5
  Keywords: paper identifies need efficient energy storage technologies due

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