TY - JOUR
T1 - Experimental assessment of position of macro encapsulated phase change material in concrete walls on indoor temperatures and humidity levels
AU - Shi, Xian
AU - Memon, Shazim Ali
AU - Tang, Waiching
AU - Cui, Hongzhi
AU - Xing, Feng
N1 - Funding Information:
The work described in this paper was fully supported by grants from Natural Science Foundation of China ( 51372155 ), the Program for International Science & Technology Cooperation Projects of China ( 2011DFA60290 ), and Natural Science Foundation of China ( 51072120 ).
PY - 2014/3
Y1 - 2014/3
N2 - This paper presents the results of experimental investigation on macro encapsulated phase change material (PCM) incorporated in concrete walls of room models in real conditions. The focus of this study was to evaluate the effect of positions (externally bonded, laminated within and internally bonded) of macro encapsulated PCM in concrete walls on indoor temperatures and humidity levels of room models. Experimental results indicated that PCM models could adjust the indoor temperature and humility levels, however, its effectiveness was found to be greatly dependent on the position of PCM in concrete walls. The model with PCM laminated within the concrete walls showed the best temperature control and was effective in reducing the maximum temperature by up to 4 C. Whereas, the model with PCM placed on the inner side of concrete walls showed the best humidity control and reduced the relative humidity by 16% more than the control model. Therefore, it can be concluded that PCM models are thermally efficient and by reducing the relative humidity they provide comfortable and healthy indoor environment. Moreover, it is shown that the application of PCM in public housing flat of Hong Kong is economically visible with a recovery period of 11 years.
AB - This paper presents the results of experimental investigation on macro encapsulated phase change material (PCM) incorporated in concrete walls of room models in real conditions. The focus of this study was to evaluate the effect of positions (externally bonded, laminated within and internally bonded) of macro encapsulated PCM in concrete walls on indoor temperatures and humidity levels of room models. Experimental results indicated that PCM models could adjust the indoor temperature and humility levels, however, its effectiveness was found to be greatly dependent on the position of PCM in concrete walls. The model with PCM laminated within the concrete walls showed the best temperature control and was effective in reducing the maximum temperature by up to 4 C. Whereas, the model with PCM placed on the inner side of concrete walls showed the best humidity control and reduced the relative humidity by 16% more than the control model. Therefore, it can be concluded that PCM models are thermally efficient and by reducing the relative humidity they provide comfortable and healthy indoor environment. Moreover, it is shown that the application of PCM in public housing flat of Hong Kong is economically visible with a recovery period of 11 years.
KW - Macro encapsulation
KW - Phase change material
KW - Relative humidity
KW - Temperature
KW - Thermal performance
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U2 - 10.1016/j.enbuild.2013.12.001
DO - 10.1016/j.enbuild.2013.12.001
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84891773297
VL - 71
SP - 80
EP - 87
JO - Energy and Buildings
JF - Energy and Buildings
SN - 0378-7788
ER -