The thermocapillary effects in phase change materials in microgravity experiment

By their nature, Phase Change Materials (PCMs) store and release a large amount of energy during phase change, feature that may be put in good use to maintain a system temperature within admissible limits. Such large storage capacity, combined with the thermal stability shown around the melting point, has motivated many industrial applications on ground (Memon, 2014). Space systems, whose operating environment generally results in thermal cycles, have also used PCMs for thermal regulation. Examples of both low and high temperature control systems range from complex engineering applications to daily needs in manned mission (Kim et al. 2013).