REFRACTORY MATERIAL IMPREGNATED WITH PHASE CHANGE MATERIAL, METHOD FOR MAKING THE SAME, AND TEMPERATURE CONTROLLED CHAMBER FORMED BY THE SAME

The present invention is directed to methods for forming heat absorbing bodies (and the resulting heat absorbing bodies and enclosures formed thereby) that utilize capillary action to draw a fluidic composition comprising a molten phase change material (PCM) into the interstitial spaces of a porous body of a refractory material. In one embodiment, the fluidic composition saturates substantially all of the interstitial spaces of a porous body of a fibrous ceramic refractory material.