Review on Phase Change Materials for Building Applications

Abstract:

Buildings are large consumers of energy in all countries. According to the statistic, more than 40% of final energy is used in buildings. A reduction of the energy consumed in buildings is, for that reason, one of the priorities of the world. To achieve this goal it is necessary to reduce the heat loss by the selection of the building thermal insulation materials. Phase change materials could absorb or release a large amount of heat before melting or solidifying. And this unique property could help PCM in building applications to maintain the thermal comfort without using mechanical heating and air-conditioning. The paper is focus on a review of different types of phase change material for building applications. And it provides more information in this aspect.

• Periodical: Applied Mechanics and Materials (Volumes 71-78)
• Pages: 1958-1962
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMM.71-78.1958
• Online since: July 2011
• Authors: Yan Qi Cui, Saffa Riffat
• Keywords: PCM, Phase Change, Phase Change Materials (PCM)

References

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[7] 2. Phase change material for building applications l Phase change material filled glass windows and pcm shutter The uinque propoties of phase change material make them widely use in building applications. The phase change material filled glass windows are formed of double glass window separated by a gap of certain width filled with a PCM of certain fusion terperature as shown in Fig. 2. The external glass receives the solar radiation, where part of it is absorbed, another part is reflected and the rest, about 80%, is transmitted to the PCM (initially in the solid phase), which absorbs part of the energy received and reflects the rest while the internal temperature remains unchanged. At the interface between the external glass sheet and PCM, the radiation absorbed by the PCM and the heat conducted by the glass surface raise the PCM temperature until reaching its fusion temperature and converts a layer of the PCM to a liquid. Any additional increase on energy transferred will lead corresponding increase in the liquid temperature and consequently increase the internal room temperature. A well designed project will ensure that the external temperature will start to decline before the total fusion of the enclosed PCM.

[8] Fig. 2: PCM glass system Besides, shutter-containing PCM is the other way it used in windows. They are placed outside of window areas. During daytime they are opened to the outside the exterior side is exposed to solar radiation, heat is absorbed and PCM melts. At night we close the shutter, slide the windows and heat from the PCM radiates into the rooms.

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[9] studied the thermal performance of a test cell (1 m×1 m×1 m) with and without phase change material. CG lauric acid (melting point, 49 °C) was used as a latent heat storage material. He found that the heat storing capacity of the cell due to the presence of PCM increases up to 4 °C for 4–5 h, which was used during nighttime. l Phase change material wallboard and Microencapsulated PCM Phase change material wallboards are new generation of thermal energy storage boards in which PCMs are bound within a secondary supporting structure (a natural wood fiber board or gypsum board or high-density polyethylene). Fig. 3 Shows two types of supporting structures—Capillary structure and cross-linked structure. A decisive factor for the heat storage capacity of the bound PCM is the porosity of the supporting material, which in turn determines the amount of PCM that can be bound within the capillary structure. Fig. 3: Supporting structures in bound PCM boards (www. rubitherm. com) In the surfaces of the above mentioned PCM wallboard, some paraffin waxes are exposed to the environment, and the oxidation of organic compounds may occur and produce toxic compounds [10-12], such as ketones and aldehydes, so that it requires completely sealed storage system. Recent years, a new technique of utilizing microencapsulated PCM in energy storage system has been investigated. Microencapsulation is the packaging of micronized materials (both liquids and solids) in the form of capsules, which range in size from less than 1 µm to more than 300µm. The capsule wall material can be formulated by using a wide variety of materials including natural and synthetic polymers. The advantages of microencapsulated paraffin wax are (1) reduction of the paraffin wax reactivity towards the outside environment (2) increase in heat transfer area and (3) shielding the core material by coating to withstand frequent changes in the storage material volume as phase change occurs. Microencapsulation of PCM may be used in wallboards, ceilings and other applications of buildings, even be mixed with fluid, such as microencapsulation PCM slurry. l Phase change material floor system and PCM ceiling system Heating and cooling are main tasks for built environment specialty. Floorboard air-conditioning brings more comfortable temperature distribution. The different heating performance is shown in Fig. 4. Low temperature for head can keep brain fresh, high temperature for feet can keep human body warm. This is healthy heating for a room. The floorboard heating is better than the traditional bare radiator heating. In addition, the mould, rot and fungus don't appear. Dust mites in mattresses and carpets will disappear because the floor board (or carpet) is heated. Shape-stabilized PCMs or PCM slurries can be utilized in this system [13-15]. With regard to floorboard PCM electric heating, the hazard of combustion of PCMs must be highly concerned to meet building codes. Prof Zhang applied an appliance to automatically switch off electricity when the temperature exceeds a design value.

[15] Ideal Heating PCM floor Normal radiation Mode System Heating Fig. 4: Heating Performance Ceiling boards are the important part of the roof, which are utilized for the heating and cooling in buildings. A. Pasupathy. Et al.

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[16] developed a system which stored coolness in phase change material in off peak time and released this energy in peak time. A stainless steel panel filled with PCM is placed between the roof top slab and the bottom concrete slab, which form the roof of the building, as shown in Fig. 5. Fig. 5: Sketch of the building roof 4. Conclusions Phase change materials are effective to maintain the comfortable temperature of buildings by melting or solidifying. Using phase change materials in building application not only saves energy but also is environmental friendly, reducing CO2 emission. It is believed, phase change materials will be widely used in the future. Reference.

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