Application Effects of Polyethylene Glycol 600 in Concrete Sandwich Panels

Due to the incremental energy demand and also the limitation of energy resources, the focus of a broad ranges of researchers in the building sector has been on energy efficient buildings. Application of Phase Change Materials (PCMs) in the fabrication of building elements is a brand-new strategy to accomplish energy efficient buildings. In this study, the thermal performance of concrete sandwich panels incorporating macro-encapsulated PEG600 as the phase change material is investigated by the means of an innovative experimental setup. Four different specimens were tested under 2 various weather conditions including hourly temperature of a summer day of Ardebil and Kashan cities. The simulation of ambient temperature applied on the specimens was conducted for two consecutive days and the reduction of hourly inner side temperature and time delay to reach to the maximum inner side temperature were calculated as the thermal performance criteria. The maximum reduction of 2.6 to 5.4°C in the inner side temperature of different specimens was observed. Moreover, the increase in thermal mass and thermal inertia of the specimens due to the application of macro-encapsulated layer of phase change material resulted in 3 to 4 hours’ delay to reach to the maximum inner side temperature.

Keywords:

Concrete sandwich panel , Phase change material (PCM) , Thermal performance , Energy efficiency