Search

US-12618346-B2 - Thermal storage materials and applications thereof

US12618346B2US 12618346 B2US12618346 B2US 12618346B2US-12618346-B2

Abstract

The present invention relates to automotive products, as well as uses thereof, which can facilitate warming of engine oil in an energy efficient and, therefore, more environmentally friendly manner. More specifically, a fluid reservoir is disclosed that includes a double walled vessel that defines a fluid containing compartment and has a self-contained region that shares a wall with the fluid containing compartment. A composition in the self-contained region at least partially covers the shared wall surface, and one or more light sources are positioned in the self-contained region to induce a phase change in the composition. The composition includes a phase-change material (PCM) and a molecular switch material. This fluid reservoir can be used to heat oil in an engine or oil pan.

Inventors

  • Ggoch Ddeul Han
  • Michael A. GERKMAN

Assignees

  • BRANDEIS UNIVERSITY

Dates

Publication Date
20260505
Application Date
20200504

Claims (8)

  1. 1 . A compound of formula (I) wherein R 1 and R 2 are independently H, a halogen, saturated or unsaturated C 1 -C 20 alkyl, —OR 3 , —OC(O)R 3 ; and R 3 is a H, or a saturated or unsaturated C 1 -C 20 alkyl; and at least one of R 1 , R 2 , and R 3 is a saturated or unsaturated C 10 -C 20 alkyl.
  2. 2 . A composition comprising: a molecular switch material according to claim 1 ; and a phase change material selected from the group of fatty acids, fatty acid esters, fatty alcohols, and combinations thereof.
  3. 3 . The compound according to claim 1 , wherein R 3 is C 10 -C 20 alkyl.
  4. 4 . The compound according to claim 1 , wherein the compound is 4-(phenyldiazenyl)phenyl tridecanoate.
  5. 5 . A compound according to formula (II) wherein R 1 is saturated or unsaturated C 1 -C 20 alkyl, —(CH 2 ) n —OR 2 , or (CH 2 ) n —OC(O)R 2 where n is 1 to 10 and R 2 is saturated or unsaturated C 1 -C 20 alkyl; where where R 1 or R 2 is a saturated or unsaturated C 10 -C 20 alkyl.
  6. 6 . A composition comprising: a molecular switch material according to claim 5 ; and a phase change material selected from the group of fatty acids, fatty acid esters, fatty alcohols, and combinations thereof.
  7. 7 . The compound according to claim 5 , where R 2 is a saturated or unsaturated C 10 -C 20 alkyl.
  8. 8 . The compound according to claim 5 , where the compound is (R)-2-(3′,3′-dimethyl-6-nitrospiro[chromene-2,2′-indolin]-1′-yl)ethyl tridecanoate.

Description

This application is a national stage application under 35 U.S.C. § 371 of PCT Application No. PCT/US2020/031344, filed May 4, 2020, which claims the priority benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/843,136, filed May 3, 2019, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to compositions and automotive products, as well as uses thereof, which can facilitate warming of engine oil in an energy efficient and, therefore, more environmentally friendly manner. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In areas where temperatures often drop below −20° C. (−4° F.), such as the northern US and Canada, cars have trouble starting up. When a car starts, the engine pumps oil through the engine block lubricating the moving parts. At temperatures below 0° C., the oil is thicker and denser than usual (density of oil is 0.9393 g/cm3 at 20° C. and rises to 0.9582 g/cm3 at −10° C.) (Griffin, H. K. “Density of a Lubricating Oil at Temperatures from −40 to +20° C.” Ind. Eng. Chem. 17:1157-1158 (1925)) and increases friction wearing down the engine parts. In fact, the majority of damage in engine components occurs during a cold start (Nautiyal et al., “Cold Start Wear Performance in Methanol and Gasoline Engines,” SAE Technical Paper, 850215 (1985)). The desire to avoid engine damage and improve longevity of a vehicle created the market for oil heating devices that warm up the oil pan in an engine using electricity. These devices take commonly two forms: dipstick heaters, which are put in place of the drain plug in the oil pan, and heating pads which are glued directly to the bottom of the oil pan. Despite the widespread use, these devices have several drawbacks. Users plug their car in for hours to fully heat the oil pan, making the immediate use of engine difficult. A standard 300 W oil pan heater is usually left on overnight and consumes 2.7 kWh of electricity. Over a typical winter, this translates to ˜300 kWh (or more) per winter per car. Currently, there is no commercial device that can quickly heat up engine oil, and there is no energy-efficient option to do so. The present invention is directed to overcoming these and other deficiencies in the art. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The first aspect of the present application relates to a fluid reservoir including a double walled vessel that defines a fluid containing compartment. The double walled vessel has a self-contained region that shares a wall with the fluid containing compartment, and a composition that at least partially covers the wall surface in the self-contained region, as well as one or more light sources positioned in the self-contained region. The composition comprises an optically-inducible heat storage composition. A second aspect of the present application relates to a method for warming oil in an oil pan reservoir including providing an oil pan with fluid reservoir according to the first aspect of the application, that contains warm oil. Then allowing the warm oil to transfer heat through the shared wall to the composition in the self-contained region, whereby the composition undergoes a phase transition and stores energy. Then illuminating the composition using the one or more light sources to induce a second phase transition of the composition, whereby energy is transferred through the shared wall from the composition to oil in the oil pan to warm the oil. A third aspect of the present application relates to a method of starting a vehicle engine in extreme cold environments, the method includes providing a vehicle with an oil pan including fluid reservoir according the first aspect of the present application, where the composition is in a phase transition state that has retained stored energy. Then, illuminating the composition using the one or more light sources to induce a phase transition of the composition, whereby energy is transferred through the shared wall from the composition to oil in the oil pan to warm the oil; and starting the engine. A fourth aspect of the present application relates to light-responsive, photo-switching molecules and optically-inducible heat storage compositions. The present invention affords an energy-efficient alternative to the energy-inefficient block heaters currently in use. This is achieved using optically-inducible heat storage compositions, which can be either (i) a light-responsive, photo-switching molecule; or (ii) a composite containing a phase-change material (PCM) and a light-responsive, photo-switching molecule. These optically-inducible heat storage compositions absorb waste heat generated from a running engine, store the heat (e.g., overnight), and release the heat on demand to warm up the engine oil once triggered by an light source, preferably LEDs, whose output wavelength is sufficient to induce the photo-switching molecule. In a double-walled oil-pan of the present invention, the product is expected to provide an instant source of heat (˜