Selection of Low‐Temperature Phase‐Change Materials for Thermal Energy Storage Based on the VIKOR Method

Abstract

Abstract Phase‐change materials (PCMs) play an important role in thermal energy management in response to the demand for energy conservation with increasing concerns about environmental pollution. The selection of an optimal PCM is a difficult and critical task because of the immense number of different materials available that have different characteristics. To weigh the influencing factors for a PCM and provide a feasible method to select the best PCM, the VIKOR method was introduced in the field of PCM selection. On the basis of the characteristics of PCMs, an evaluation system of three levels and six different attributes was constructed and a pairwise comparison matrix was established after analysis of the attribute relationships. The relative weights determined by the matrix and the VIKOR method were used to sort out the attributes of alternative PCMs comprehensively. The results show that the method is effective and practical to select PCMs, and stearic acid was determined to be the optimal PCM among the candidates for low‐temperature thermal energy storage.