Application of phase change materials for thermal energy storage in football equipment

To address the difficulty football equipment faces in handling dynamic thermal environments, this study focused on the application of PCM in the thermal management of football equipment. A multi-dimensional coupled system of ?sports-thermal environment-materials? was constructed, and a dynamic heat load model based on the metabolic characteristics of football was established. An n-hexadecane-graphene composite PCM (with a phase transition temperature of 34.5?C and a latent heat of 238 kJ/kg) was designed. A 3-D transient thermal management model (with a total of 1.27 million elements) was constructed using COMSOL Multiphysics 6.1. Ten simulations were then conducted using orthogonal experimental design (covering -5?C, 25?C, and 38?C environments and exercise intensities ranging from 150 to 450 W/m?). The results showed that under the operating conditions of 38?C and 450 W/m?, the PCM equipment had a steady-state temperature difference of 6.8?C, a phase change completion time of 15 minutes, and a peak heat flux density that was 28% lower than the control group. In a -5?C environment, the skin temperature of the 50% volume fraction group was 4.2?C higher than that of the 30% group. At wind speeds of 1-6 m/s, the phase change completion time was shortened by 56.25%. This study demonstrates that PCM can effectively regulate equipment temperature, providing a quantitative basis for the thermal management design of football equipment.