Patent ID: 11920871
Assignee: ROLLS-ROYCE NORTH AMERICAN TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
Field: Thermal processes and apparatus (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC F  G | IPC F  G

Claim 0:
1. A method of determining a capacity of a thermal battery, comprising:
transferring heat to and/or from a phase change material in a vessel via a heat exchanger;
detecting an indication of a plurality of temperatures corresponding to a plurality of volumes of the phase change material with a plurality of temperature sensors; and
determining a real-time heat duty of the phase change material from the indication of the temperatures corresponding to the volumes of the phase change material with temperature sensors,
wherein the vessel further comprises a gas that is adjacent to the phase change material, the method further comprising:
detecting an indication of a temperature of the gas with a temperature sensor;
detecting an indication of a pressure of the gas with a pressure sensor; and
determining a state of charge of the phase change material from the indication of the pressure of the gas and the indication of the temperature of the gas, wherein the state of charge of the phase change material is determined from the indication of the pressure of the gas and the indication of the temperature of the gas by determining a total volume of the gas from the indication of the pressure and the indication of the temperature of the gas and determining a total volume of the phase change material by subtracting the total volume of the gas from the volume of the vessel.