An experimental study of concrete with phase change materials for cooling purposes.

Abstract

These days, with dramatic increases of the energy consumption in industrial and residential sector around the world, the deficiency of energy sources has become significantly important and a major issue. The buildings sector is responsible from the consumption of almost 40% of the entire available energy worldwide. Thermal energy storage by means of latent heat is an efficient way to reduce the temperature fluctuations inside buildings, leading to the improved thermal comfort of occupants. Phase Change Materials (PCMs) with high density for thermal energy storage can be efficiently employed for this purpose. This research proposes using Phase Change Materials (PCMs) in the building’s roof. Two types of PCMs with different melting point were utilized, the first one was Calcium Chloride Hexahydrate and the second type is Polyethylene Glycol (PEG) 600. Two rooms with identical dimensions were constructed using concrete blocks, one with PCM and the other without PCM in the roof. The thermal performances of small-scale test rooms were measured. The temperature inside the PCM integrated room was demonstrated to be considerably lower than the room without PCM. For Calcium Chloride Hexahydrate the reduction was between 1-3℃ and the average was 2℃ , for Polyethylene Glycol (PEG) 600 the reduction was between 1-5℃ and the average was 2℃ . A fan was used to enhance indoor thermal comfort in the second type of PCM integrated room and the reduction was between 2-5 ℃ and the average was 3.5℃