Is there a common measurement term for joules/volume/°C?

[some bloke]

TL;DR Summary

I am looking to find the highest thermal energy density per volume, for a mass heater project.

I need to work out the maximum thermal energy which can be stored within an area, and to do this I need to convert the specific heat capacity (which measures by mass) to measure instead by volume. Is there a common measurement term I can search for (in the same way as I might search "specific heat capacity of _X_") that I can look for?

Currently I'm finding that hydrogen has the highest SHC, but I feel it might be difficult to make something out of it!

The goal is to be able to store as much energy as possible in a mass, and then for it to reduce as little as possible whilst it heats the water I run through it! I know that it will take longer to heat a mass with more SHC, but that's not an issue!

Also, Am I correct that I need the highest specific heat capacity to store the maximum energy for this project?

 

[hutchphd]

Can you use a phase change? There are eutectic salts that can be tuned to the transition temperature you want. They store a lot of energy.
Otherwise water has a very high heat capacity.

 

[pbuk]

What you are talking about is called a thermal store. Water is generally used because (i) it has a high specific heat capacity (ii) it is easy to get heat into the store (just pump in hot water) (iii) heat exchangers for getting heat out of the store work best with fluids (iii) it is cheap. Even if you find something that is better at a combination of (i), (ii) and (iii), water will almost always win hands down on (iii) (the exception being if you want a temperature out that is near boiling).

Also, Am I correct that I need the highest specific heat capacity to store the maximum energy for this project?

No, you can store the maximum energy with the highest heat capacity (i.e. specific heat capacity x mass). However what you need is the maximum usable energy: if you want a mug of boiling water, 1MJ of heat energy at 50°C is not a lot of use to you.

So design parameters for a thermal store are more than just 'store as much thermal energy as possible'.

 

[onatirec]

Is there a common measurement term I can search for

Sounds like you are defining volumetric heat capacity.

 

[gmax137]

Sounds like you are defining volumetric heat capacity.

@onatirec beat me to it.

$density~ \frac {lbm} {ft^3} * sp~ heat~ \frac{Btu} {lbm~-~F} = \frac {Btu} {ft^3 ~-~F}$

Sorry for the units, a lifetime habit