Study on the heat transfer of a concrete wall outfitted with phase change materials

Abstract

This paper tested and simulated the thermal performance of a concrete wall outfitted with Phase change materials (PCMs) under 5 climate conditions in China. The PCMs were encapsulated in high-density polyethylene spherical shells in the concrete to form a PCMs-concrete layer. The daily thermal load change rate through the wall when the PCMs-concrete layer was placed in different positions in five typical climate regions in China were studied. The results show that to make the best use of the PCMs in summer, the phase transition temperature is suggested to be between the outer and inner surface temperatures. For the cases when the outer and inner surface temperatures are higher than the phase transition temperature, the PCMs should be installed in the middle of the wall; To make the best use of the PCMs in winter, the location of PCM should be adjusted according to the range of ambient temperature, when the ambient air is warm enough, the PCMs layer should be installed near to the inner surface, when the ambient air is tepid, the PCMs layer should be installed near to the outer surface, when the ambient air is cold, results do not suggest using PCMs.

Keywords

• Phase change materials (PCMs)
• Daily thermal load change rate through the wall
• Climate region
• Phase transition temperature
• PCMs position