Phase Change Materials
The Silent Architects of Thermal Control
- 1st Edition - November 1, 2026
- Latest edition
- Editors: Atul Sharma, Karunesh Kant
- Language: English
Phase Change Materials: The Silent Architects of Thermal Control provides an in-depth examination of the pivotal role phase change materials (PCMs) play in advancing thermal energy… Read more
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Description
Description
Phase Change Materials: The Silent Architects of Thermal Control provides an in-depth examination of the pivotal role phase change materials (PCMs) play in advancing thermal energy storage and enabling more sustainable, efficient energy systems. As the demand for cleaner, smarter and efficient energy solutions grows, this reference bridges the gap between foundational PCM science and the latest innovations, including AI-driven design and diverse real-world applications. The book systematically covers PCM fundamentals such as thermodynamics, molecular design, and structure-property relationships, while also addressing the selection, classification, and performance enhancement of advanced materials like nano-enhanced, bio-based, and composite PCMs. Comprehensive in scope, the book explores practical aspects of PCM integration, including encapsulation techniques, temperature-adaptive materials, and system-level applications across sectors such as solar thermal energy, electronics cooling, building construction, food and pharmaceutical preservation, smart textiles, and biomedical devices. Special emphasis is placed on computational modeling, AI-based optimization, and sustainability, ensuring a well-rounded perspective for both theory and practice. By combining foundational knowledge with current advances and practical case studies, this resource equips researchers, engineers, and advanced students with the tools needed to develop innovative, efficient, and sustainable thermal management solutions across a range of industries.
Key features
Key features
- Introduces the application of artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques to predict thermal properties, optimize phase change material (PCM) formulations, and expedite material discovery
- Explores advanced and emerging industrial applications such as waste heat recovery, solar thermal energy storage, electronic device cooling, and smart infrastructure with real-world case studies
- Explains molecular and thermodynamic principles governing PCMs behavior, including phase transition mechanisms, structure-property relationships, entropy-enthalpy dynamics, and bonding interactions
- Integrates sustainability and environmental considerations in thermal energy storage
Readership
Readership
Engineers in the field of renewable energy / energy storage technologies, thermal management, and thermodynamics, researchers and designers of thermal energy storage systems
Table of contents
Table of contents
1. Introduction to Phase Change Materials (PCMs)
• Historical evolution and milestones in PCM research
• Definition, Principles included Basic Thermodynamics Concepts (Heat Transfer Basics, Enthalpy, Entropy, Heat Capacity vs. Latent Heat)
• Heat Transfer and phase transition mechanisms
• PCM Compatibility with Container/Matrix Materials
• Additive Chemistry (Role of surfactants, dispersants, Chemical function of nucleating and thickening agents)
2. Selection Criteria, Classification, and Performance Challenges of Phase Change Materials
• Selection criteria of phase change materials for a specific application
• Classification of Phase Change Materials
• Challenges with Conventional PCMs
• Supercooling and Phase Separation Solutions
• Life Cycle, Reusability, and Aging
• Environmental & Sustainability Considerations
3. Performance enhancement in conventional PCMs through Innovations
• Thermal Conductivity Enhancement
• Nanocomposites and Hybrid PCM
• Encapsulation techniques
• Shape-stabilized PCMs
4. Temperature Adaptive Phase Change Materials for Smart and Flexible Thermal Energy Storage
• Higher thermal utilization of the dynamically tunable PCM
• Modulate the melting temperature of the phase-change materials
5. Thermal Energy Storage with PCMs and Solar Thermal Applications
• Water Heating: PCM tanks for nighttime supply,
• Solar Cookers: Off-grid cooking with extended heat retention,
• Solar Drying and PCM-Integrated Greenhouses
• Solar Air Heating Systems
• Solar Steam Generation and Process Heat (desalination, sterilization, textile drying)
• Case Studies
6. Role of PCMs in Solar Electricity Generation Systems
• Concentrated Solar Power ( Basics of CSP, Molten salt systems/PCM hybrids)
• Photovoltaics (Temperature Effects on PV Panel Efficiency, Passive Cooling Using PCMs, Integration Methods and Packaging, Floating solar platforms with passive PCM-based cooling)
• Hybrid PV PCM battery configurations
• Case Studies
7. Electronics & Battery Thermal Management
• Consumer Electronics Cooling
• Smartphones and laptops (preventing throttling).
• Data centers (PCM-based server cooling).
• Electric Vehicles & Batteries
• EV battery packs (preventing overheating).
• Fast-charging temperature stabilization.
• Case Studies
8. Building & Construction, PCM-infused glasses for smart windows
• PCM-enhanced walls, ceilings, and floors, concrete, and insulation
• Passive solar buildings (Trombe walls, green roofs)
• HVAC Optimization
• Peak Load Shifting with PCM Thermal Storage
• Case Studies
9. Food & Pharmaceutical Preservation
• Cold Chain Logistics
• Vaccine transport (PCM vs. dry ice).
• Perishable food packaging (e.g., seafood, dairy).
• Household & Retail
• Smart refrigerators/freezers.
• Bio-medical Applications
• Case Studies
10. Smart Textiles & Wearables
• Temperature-Regulating Clothing,
• Sportswear (moisture-wicking + PCM cooling),
• Medical garments (fever-control blankets).
• Military/firefighter suits for extreme environments
• Self-warming/cooling insoles.
• PCM-infused gloves and helmets
• Case Studies
11. Thermal modelling and computational techniques for analysis of phase change materials
• Advanced tool for performance analysis of PCM
• Mathematical models for Phase change materials and system analysis
12. AI-driven PCM design optimization and thermal management systems
• Use of machine learning techniques for the design of latent heat storage and the system
• Optimization of thermal energy storage process
• Historical evolution and milestones in PCM research
• Definition, Principles included Basic Thermodynamics Concepts (Heat Transfer Basics, Enthalpy, Entropy, Heat Capacity vs. Latent Heat)
• Heat Transfer and phase transition mechanisms
• PCM Compatibility with Container/Matrix Materials
• Additive Chemistry (Role of surfactants, dispersants, Chemical function of nucleating and thickening agents)
2. Selection Criteria, Classification, and Performance Challenges of Phase Change Materials
• Selection criteria of phase change materials for a specific application
• Classification of Phase Change Materials
• Challenges with Conventional PCMs
• Supercooling and Phase Separation Solutions
• Life Cycle, Reusability, and Aging
• Environmental & Sustainability Considerations
3. Performance enhancement in conventional PCMs through Innovations
• Thermal Conductivity Enhancement
• Nanocomposites and Hybrid PCM
• Encapsulation techniques
• Shape-stabilized PCMs
4. Temperature Adaptive Phase Change Materials for Smart and Flexible Thermal Energy Storage
• Higher thermal utilization of the dynamically tunable PCM
• Modulate the melting temperature of the phase-change materials
5. Thermal Energy Storage with PCMs and Solar Thermal Applications
• Water Heating: PCM tanks for nighttime supply,
• Solar Cookers: Off-grid cooking with extended heat retention,
• Solar Drying and PCM-Integrated Greenhouses
• Solar Air Heating Systems
• Solar Steam Generation and Process Heat (desalination, sterilization, textile drying)
• Case Studies
6. Role of PCMs in Solar Electricity Generation Systems
• Concentrated Solar Power ( Basics of CSP, Molten salt systems/PCM hybrids)
• Photovoltaics (Temperature Effects on PV Panel Efficiency, Passive Cooling Using PCMs, Integration Methods and Packaging, Floating solar platforms with passive PCM-based cooling)
• Hybrid PV PCM battery configurations
• Case Studies
7. Electronics & Battery Thermal Management
• Consumer Electronics Cooling
• Smartphones and laptops (preventing throttling).
• Data centers (PCM-based server cooling).
• Electric Vehicles & Batteries
• EV battery packs (preventing overheating).
• Fast-charging temperature stabilization.
• Case Studies
8. Building & Construction, PCM-infused glasses for smart windows
• PCM-enhanced walls, ceilings, and floors, concrete, and insulation
• Passive solar buildings (Trombe walls, green roofs)
• HVAC Optimization
• Peak Load Shifting with PCM Thermal Storage
• Case Studies
9. Food & Pharmaceutical Preservation
• Cold Chain Logistics
• Vaccine transport (PCM vs. dry ice).
• Perishable food packaging (e.g., seafood, dairy).
• Household & Retail
• Smart refrigerators/freezers.
• Bio-medical Applications
• Case Studies
10. Smart Textiles & Wearables
• Temperature-Regulating Clothing,
• Sportswear (moisture-wicking + PCM cooling),
• Medical garments (fever-control blankets).
• Military/firefighter suits for extreme environments
• Self-warming/cooling insoles.
• PCM-infused gloves and helmets
• Case Studies
11. Thermal modelling and computational techniques for analysis of phase change materials
• Advanced tool for performance analysis of PCM
• Mathematical models for Phase change materials and system analysis
12. AI-driven PCM design optimization and thermal management systems
• Use of machine learning techniques for the design of latent heat storage and the system
• Optimization of thermal energy storage process
Product details
Product details
- Edition: 1
- Latest edition
- Published: November 1, 2026
- Language: English
About the editors
About the editors
AS
Atul Sharma
Atul Sharma is currently a Professor in Physics at the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology (set up through an Act of Parliament by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas as an Institute of National Importance on the lines of Indian Institutes of Technology). He has worked as a Scientific Officer at Devi Ahilya University, India; as a Research Assistant at the Korea Institute of Energy Research, Daejon, South Korea; and as a Visiting Professor at the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Kun Shan University, Tainan, Taiwan, Republic of China. Dr. Sharma completed his MPhil and Ph.D. from the School of Energy and Environmental Studies, Devi Ahilya University, Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India. Dr. Sharma has published several edited books from various well-known international publishers and research papers in various international journals and conferences. Prof. Sharma completed several projects as principal investigator with funding from agencies, including the Department of Science and Technology, New Delhi, and the Council of Science and Technology, Uttar Pradesh, India. Prof. Sharma is working on the development and applications of phase change materials, green buildings, solar water heating systems, solar air heating systems, and solar drying systems. Further, Prof. Sharma served as a reviewer for many national and international journals, project reports, and book chapters. Prof. Sharma also secured a place in the list of the world's top 2% of scientists during 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021 and 2020, a study conducted by world-renowned Stanford University.
Affiliations and expertise
Professor in Physics, Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology, Amethi, IndiaKK
Karunesh Kant
Karunesh Kant is a mechanical engineer and research scientist at the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Virginia Tech, USA, with expertise spanning thermal and fluid sciences, thermal energy storage, materials characterization, solar energy systems, and particle erosion dynamics. He earned his Ph.D. in Energy from the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology (India) and has held different research positions in Europe, including postdoctoral fellowships at Eindhoven University of Technology (Netherlands), Université Clermont Auvergne, and INSA Lyon (France). During his doctoral studies, he was a Bhaskara Advanced Solar Energy Fellow at Virginia Tech. Dr. Kant has played a pivotal role in several U.S. Department of Energy–funded projects targeting erosion mitigation and wear testing, as well as the development of solar-selective coatings for next-generation concentrating solar power (CSP) systems. His work has also advanced fields like superhydrophobic coatings, lithium-ion battery thermal management, thermochemical, and phase change thermal energy storage. With more than 60 peer-reviewed publications, over 3,500 citations, he is consistently ranked among the top 2% of most-cited researchers globally (2021–2024) by Elsevier and Stanford University. Dr. Kant is a co-editor of the CRC Press book "Thermal Energy: Storage, Applications, and Future Directions" and continues to shape the field through impactful research and international collaboration.
Affiliations and expertise
Research Scientist, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Virginia Tech, USA