Development and thermal performance of nanoencapsulated PCM/ plaster wallboard for thermal energy storage in buildings

Abstract The Phase Change Material (PCM) integrated in building envelope can decrease the energy requirement for maintaining thermal comfort by enhancing the thermal energy storage of the wall and the roof. This work deals with experimental study of the thermal behavior of new plaster composite containing a nanoencapsulated PCM. Nanocapsules containing phase change material (NPCM) n-dodecanol as core and polymethyl me*thacrylate (PMMA) and CuO nanoparticles as shell were synthesized by miniemulsion polymerization and characterized by using FTIR, SEM, TEM, DSC, TGA and laser particle diameter analyzer. The average diameter of PCP was 195 nm, and the latent heat of phase change and encapsulation efficiency were 148.88 J/g and 72.28%, respectively. The Plaster - NPCM composites were produced in this project using compression molding and their effective thermal conductivity, latent heat and apparent specific heat were investigated. The addition of the PCM to the wall can enhance the heat storage in the wall. CuO consisted nanocapsules exhibited better thermal stability and conductivity and reliability determined by thermal cycling analysis. Reduce-scale test cells, (including room 1 without PCM wallboard and room 2 PCM wallboard) were compared to study the thermal performance of the PCM contained wallboard in passive systems. The results indicate that the PCM system can narrow indoor air temperature fluctuations and maintain indoor thermal comfort at most of the time of the year. The results demonstrate the suitability of incorporating nanoencapsulated PCM into plaster.