Fabrication and performance testing of phase change material integrated building block for efficient passive indoor thermal conditioning
Student name: Mr Rohit Ranjan
Guide: Dr Som Mondal
Year of completion: 2017
Host Organisation: TERI University
Abstract: Fabrication of a thermally responsive building element was done. This was
achieved by incorporating phase change materials in macro-capsules of steel
tubes and embedding them in different quantities in concrete bricks. Different
amount of capsules was used to vary the amount of PCM in the bricks. Thus, in
one set of PCM bricks 2 capsules were embedded and in another set 3 PCM
capsules were embedded. The capsules were embedded in the centreline
equidistant from all the surface. One set of reference bricks was made. Walls
were erected using the bricks. The outer and inner surface temperatures of the
wall was recorded from 6 th June 2017 to mid-day of 12 th June 2017. Its
performance in reducing the heat influx during the day was analysed against the
reference bricks. It was observed that the PCM walls reduce the temperature
peaks in the day as well as the night. A maximum of 2.7 °C was reduced in one
of the days. The maximum temperature difference between the outer and inner
surface of PCM walls -6.8 °C. The diurnal temperature difference was reduced
by as much as 4-5 °C on certain days. The results confirm proof of concept.
Keywords:
PCM in bricks, PCM in buildings, Macro-encapsulation, Heat influx reduction in
buildings, latent heat thermal energy storage, passive latent thermal storage, heat
storage in buildings.
