A phase change material (PCM) is prepared for cold storage application of solar air-conditioning systems. On the basis of the self-developed PCM

the mathematical model of a spherical capsule storage ball is built to analyze the variation and influencing factors of the temperature distribution

cold storage capacity and cold storage rate during the charging and discharging process. Experiments on the charging and discharging characteristics of the storage ball are conducted in certain working conditions. The results show that the phase transition of the storage ball completes in 170min. The charging duration can be reduced by decreasing the chilled water temperature

sphere diameter and thickness of the sphere wall

and increasing the thermal conductivity of the sphere wall. In a steady state condition

the charging and discharging capacity are 17.30kJ and 16.46kJ

respectively. In a non-steady state condition

the phase transition completes in 165min with a charging capacity of 16.34kJ.