PCM stands for Phase Change Material. It is a substance that can absorb and release large amounts of energy. This is the entire basis for our thermal regulating/management solutions at Microtek.
At Microtek we encapsulate PCM. The process of microencapsulation places a shell around the PCM that acts like a mini container to hold the material, prevent degradation and keep it free from contamination. The result is a PCM that can be incorporated into a wide array of materials and applications.
This is the process of a material moving through melting (liquid) and freezing (solid) stages, and then repeating. This can happen thousands of times without degradation for a PCM.
Tests have been performed where microencapsulated phase change materials have been cycled over 10,000 times and are shown to still be effective. This corresponds to an average product life cycle of approximately 30 years.
PCM is commonly used for thermal management to regulate temperature of products, facilities, and even people. Today, industries using PCM’s include textiles, construction, electronics, bedding, apparel, shipping, medical device, life sciences and many more.
The amount of PCM you will require depends on your desired results. Thermal Simulation is a process that we offer which models the change in temperature over time-based on mass and external factors.
Also referred to as latent heat. This is the amount of energy (heat) that can be absorbed during melting or released during freezing. The units that are used to measure this are J/g. (J – Joules / g – grams)
It is an instrument that measures the amount of enthalpy of the capsules as they melt (melt curve) and freeze (freezing curve). It also measures the melting point and freezing point of the PCM.
A test that measures melting point, degree of subcooling, thermal conductivity and specific heat of several PCM samples simultaneously. Often considered the best test for PCM analysis.
Our nextek capsules can typically be exposed to temperatures around ~250°C and our Micronal capsules, typically ~200°C. We determined these temperatures by measuring the amount of mass (weight) the capsule loses when it’s heated above that temperature.
The wet cake will disperse more readily into aqueous-based systems than the dry powder. Dry powder is preferred if your system is sensitive to water such as polyurethanes or electronics.
