Experimental and Numerical Study on the Thermal Response of the Lightweight Aggregate Concrete Panels Integrated with MPCM

This paper determines the best design parameters and uses conditions of lightweight aggregate concrete panels containing microencapsulated phase change materials (MPCM-LWAC panels). The main work of this paper includes the followings: (1) The fundamental properties (dry density, thermal conductivity, and specific heat capacity) of MPCM-LWAC were researched to reveal the effect of MPCM dosage on these properties. (2) A model test was carried out to quantify the effect of MPCM dosage on the thermal response of the MPCM-LWAC panel exposed to realistic climate conditions. (3) The numerical simulation was conducted to investigate the effect of MPCM dosage, panel thickness, and outdoor temperature conditions on the thermal response of the MPCM-LWAC panel, which helps to determine its optimum design parameters and use condition. The results showed that the incorporation of MPCM results in lower dry density and thermal conductivity of MPCM-LWAC but higher specific heat capacity. The more MPCM dosage in the MPCM-LWAC panel with a thickness of 35 mm, the lower the energy demand to keep a comfortable interior temperature. Most notably, when the panel thickness exceeds 105 mm, the MPCM-LWAC panel with 5% MPCM only delays the peak temperature. Moreover, the optimal use condition for MPCM-LWAC panels is an average outdoor temperature of 25 °C, which makes the energy demand attain a minimum.

This creative work has been published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC-BY 4.0) license which allows copying, and redistribution as well as adaptation of the original work provided appropriate credit is given to the original author and the conditions of the license are met.