Application potential analysis of heat accumulator for mining mechanisms

The paper deals with the application potential analysis of heat accumulators for mining machines working in cold climatic conditions. The proposed concept works with the idea of accumulating waste heat generated by the operation of an internal combustion engine, with use of exhaust heat, heat from the radiator and heat from the drive of the hydraulic system. An important innovative element is the use of the heterogeneous structure of phase change material - sodium acetate as a storage substance and a metal foam matrix. The use of sodium acetate enable to store heat for a long period of time without heat loss and the metal foam matrix significantly increases the thermal conductivity. The presented paper deals with the analysis of the functionality of the heat accumulator prototype and with the description of the key phase of the working cycle - heat accumulation.