Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Numerical thermal evaluation of laminated binary microencapsulated phase change material drywall systems

  • Research Article
  • Published:
Building Simulation Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Microencapsulated phase change materials (MEPCMs) have the potential for energy storage applications in buildings. However, current MEPCMs are limited by their singular phase change transitional temperatures and are therefore unable to satisfy all year seasonal energy storage applications. This study was focused on numerically assessing the energy saving potential of a binary MEPCM drywall system which is capable of operating within two different phase change transitional temperature ranges. In this study, Ansys Fluent and the ESP-r simulation tools were employed because Fluent could offer a detailed quantification of the temperature changes within the composite drywall system and ESP-r has the capability of thermal modelling of phase change materials at whole building scale by using annual weather data as boundary conditions. The Fluent simulation results demonstrated that the thermal energy charge time and thermal energy charge/discharge amount of the binary MEPCM drywall were significantly increased when the MEPCM thickness increased from 1 mm to 5 mm, and the 5 mm thick layer had adequate capacity to balance the thermal energy during day and night. The ESP-r results showed that for the hot period in Hangzhou (China), the 5 mm thick binary MEPCM drywall was able to achieve a maximum peak air temperature reduction of about 6.7 °C and to increase the number of hours the indoor air temperatures were within the 21–28 °C range by about 12% in comparison with other drywalls. Experimental evaluation is therefore being recommended to verify the full practical potential of MEPCMs with two phase change temperature ranges.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Alam M, Jamil H, Sanjayan J, Wilson J (2014). Energy saving potential of phase change materials in major Australian cities. Energy and Buildings, 78: 192–201.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Almeida F, Zhang D, Fung AS, Leong WH (2010). Investigation of multilayered phase-change-material modeling in ESP-r. In: Proceedings of the International High Performance Buildings Conference.

    Google Scholar 

  • Alva G, Lin Y, Liu L, Fang G (2017). Synthesis, characterization and applications of microencapsulated phase change materials in thermal energy storage: A review. Energy and Buildings, 144: 276–294.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ansys (2015a). Fluent User’s Guide 7.7.2. Specific Heat Capacity as a Function of Temperature.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ansys (2015b). Theory Guide-5.2.1.1. Energy Equation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ansys (2015c). Theory Guide-18.4. Energy Equation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berardi U (2017). A cross-country comparison of the building energy consumptions and their trends. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 123: 230–241.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berthou Y, Biwole PH, Achard P, Sallée H, Tantot-Neirac M, Jay F (2015). Full scale experimentation on a new translucent passive solar wall combining silica aerogels and phase change materials. Solar Energy, 115: 733–742.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Darkwa J, Su O, Zhou T (2012). Development of non-deform microencapsulated phase change energy storage tablets. Applied Energy, 98: 441–447.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Darkwa J, Su W (2017). Multiphase-change materials for energy storage application in buildings. Journal of Thermophysics and Heat Transfer, 31: 791–795.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Darkwa K, Kim JS (2004). Heat transfer in neuron composite laminated phase-change drywall. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part A: Journal of Power and Energy, 218: 83–87.

    Google Scholar 

  • Diaconu BM, Cruceru M (2010). Novel concept of composite phase change material wall system for year-round thermal energy savings. Energy and Buildings, 42: 1759–1772.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Du K, Calautit J, Wang Z, Wu Y, Liu H (2018). A review of the applications of phase change materials in cooling, heating and power generation in different temperature ranges. Applied Energy, 220: 242–273.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • ESP-r (2015). Open source building simulation program.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fateh A, Borelli D, Devia F, Weinläder H (2018). Summer thermal performances of PCM-integrated insulation layers for light-weight building walls: Effect of orientation and melting point temperature. Thermal Science and Engineering Progress, 6: 361–369.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heim D, Clarke JA (2004). Numerical modelling and thermal simulation of PCM-gypsum composites with ESP-r. Energy and Buildings, 36: 795–805.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jamekhorshid A, Sadrameli SM, Barzin R, Farid MM (2017). Composite of wood-plastic and micro-encapsulated phase change material (MEPCM) used for thermal energy storage. Applied Thermal Engineering, 112: 82–88.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jin X, Zhang X (2011). Thermal analysis of a double layer phase change material floor. Applied Thermal Engineering, 31: 1576–1581.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Judkoff R, Neymark J (1995). International Energy Agency Building Energy Simulation Test (BESTEST) and Diagnostic Method. National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Konuklu Y, Ostry M, Paksoy HO, Charvat P (2015). Review on using microencapsulated phase change materials (PCM) in building applications. Energy and Buildings, 106: 134–155.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kuznik F, Virgone J (2009). Experimental assessment of a phase change material for wall building use. Applied Energy, 86: 2038–2046.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee KO, Medina MA, Sun XQ, Jin X (2018). Thermal performance of phase change materials (PCM)-enhanced cellulose insulation in passive solar residential building walls. Solar Energy, 163: 113–121.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Memarian S, Kari BM, Fayaz R, Asadi S (2018). Single and combined phase change materials: Their effect on seasonal transition period. Energy and Buildings, 169: 453–472.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mi X, Liu R, Cui H, Memon S, Xing F, Lo Y (2016). Energy and economic analysis of building integrated with PCM in different cities of China. Applied Energy, 175: 324–336.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Su W, Darkwa J, Kokogiannakis G (2015). Review of solid-liquid phase change materials and their encapsulation technologies. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 48: 373–391.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Su W, Darkwa J, Kokogiannakis G (2017a). Development of microencapsulated phase change material for solar thermal energy storage. Applied Thermal Engineering, 112: 1205–1212.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Su W, Darkwa J, Kokogiannakis G, Zhou T, Li Y (2017b). Preparation of microencapsulated phase change materials (MEPCM) for thermal energy storage. Energy Procedia, 121: 95–101.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Su W, Darkwa J, Kokogiannakis G (2018). Nanosilicon dioxide hydrosol as surfactant for preparation of microencapsulated phase change materials for thermal energy storage in buildings. International Journal of Low-Carbon Technologies, 13: 301–310.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Su W, Zhou T, Li Y, Lv Y (2019). Development of microencapsulated phase change material with poly (methyl methacrylate) shell for thermal energy storage. Energy Procedia, 158: 4483–4488.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thiele AM, Jamet A, Sant G, Pilon L (2015). Annual energy analysis of concrete containing phase change materials for building envelopes. Energy Conversion and Management, 103: 374–386.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tokuç A, Başaran T, Yesügey SC (2015). An experimental and numerical investigation on the use of phase change materials in building elements: The case of a flat roof in Istanbul. Energy and Buildings, 102: 91–104.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • National Meteorological Information Center of China, Tsinghua University (2005). Meteorological Data Set for Building Thermal Environment Analysis of China. Beijing: China Architecture & Building Press. (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Young BA, Falzone G, Wei Z, Sant G, Pilon L (2018). Reduced-scale experiments to evaluate performance of composite building envelopes containing phase change materials. Construction and Building Materials, 162: 584–595.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhou T, Darkwa J, Kokogiannakis G (2015). Thermal evaluation of laminated composite phase change material gypsum board under dynamic conditions. Renewable Energy, 78: 448–456.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhu N, Liu P, Hu P, Liu F, Jiang Z (2015). Modeling and simulation on the performance of a novel double shape-stabilized phase change materials wallboard. Energy and Buildings, 107: 181–190.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhu N, Liu F, Liu P, Hu P, Wu M (2016). Energy saving potential of a novel phase change material wallboard in typical climate regions of China. Energy and Buildings, 128: 360–369.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors are thankful to the Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province (No. ZR2017LEE017) and the Youth Doctoral Cooperation Project of Qilu University of Technology (No. 2018BSHZ0023).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Mechanical & Automotive Engineering, Qilu University of Technology (Shandong Academy of Sciences), No. 3501 Daxue Road, Changqing District, 250353, Jinan, China

    Weiguang Su

  2. Faculty of Engineering, University of Nottingham, Room B20 Lenton Firs, University Park, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK

    Jo Darkwa

  3. Sustainable Buildings Research Centre, University of Wollongong, Building 237, Innovation Campus, Squires Way, Fairy Meadow, NSW, 2519, Australia

    Georgios Kokogiannakis

Authors
  1. Weiguang Su
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jo Darkwa
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Georgios Kokogiannakis
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Weiguang Su.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Su, W., Darkwa, J. & Kokogiannakis, G. Numerical thermal evaluation of laminated binary microencapsulated phase change material drywall systems. Build. Simul. 13, 89–98 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12273-019-0563-z

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12273-019-0563-z

Keywords

Search

Navigation