Extract

Research has shown that building materials impregnated with phase change materials (PCM) will
store and release heat more efficiently than conventional building materials. This paper investigates
the thermal performance of a novel concrete in which the sand component of a standard mix was
replaced by a paraffin wax (PCM) absorbed into white diatomaceous earth (WDE). Comparisons are
made between a control sample of standard 20Mpa concrete and various samples of the new
concrete material. Thermal performance tests were carried out using a small test cell placed inside a
chiller. Surface temperatures were collected from the test samples along with air temperatures inside
and outside of the test cell. This data was used to calculate the heat capacity of the test samples. The
results show that the introduction of PCM / WDE into concrete has increased the heat storage of the
resulting concrete by up to 230% compared to standard 20Mpa concrete.

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