Multi-scale analysis on thermal properties of cement-based materials containing micro-encapsulated phase change materials

Abstract

The incorporation of phase change materials (PCMs) in building envelopes for passive thermal storage can enhance the thermal mass effect and thereby reduce energy consumption. In this investigation, multi-scale analysis of cementitious mortar and concrete containing microencapsulated PCM (MPCM) was performed experimentally and using numerical simulations. A three-dimensional two phase random composite model, which can be integrated with finite element method, was developed to predict the effective thermal properties of cementitious mortar and concrete with MPCM. MPCM was considered as inclusions in a continuous mortar matrix and the latent heat of PCM was incorporated into the simulations. T..