Development of Concrete Façade Sandwich Panels Incorporating Phase Change Materials

Dervilla Niall () and Roger West
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Dervilla Niall: School of Transport and Civil Engineering, Technological University Dublin, D01 K822 Dublin, Ireland
Roger West: Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering, Trinity College Dublin, D02 PN40 Dublin, Ireland

Energies, 2024, vol. 17, issue 12, 1-28

Abstract: Using the mass of a building to store or dissipate heat can reduce the demand on auxiliary heating and/or cooling systems. There is a scarcity of full-scale and full-year studies in the literature, which this study seeks to address, as it is critical to assess the performance of real phase change material (PCM) composites throughout all seasons. This study involved the design and manufacture of precast cladding sandwich panels with a PCM–concrete inner leaf used in three full-scale huts which were instrumented to record thermal data over 18 months. Analysis of these data showed that when the internal air temperature fluctuated through the phase change temperature, the PCM–concrete composite was effective at reducing the internal air temperatures by up to 16% if overnight ventilation was provided and 12% without overnight ventilation in a temperate climate. Furthermore, the PCM located deeper than 60 mm from the internal surface of the wall is ineffective at reducing internal air temperatures. The data also highlighted that the thermal conditions required to activate the PCM only occurred during 30% of the year. The thermal data were used to validate a simulation model which can be used to derive bespoke solutions for this form of technology in real scenarios in any geographical location.

Keywords: thermal energy storage; phase change material (PCM); COMSOL multiphysics; PCM–concrete composite (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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