Development and thermal performance of an expanded perlite-based phase change material wallboard for passive cooling in building

Phase change material (PCM) used in buildings can enhance indoor thermal comfort and decrease building energy consumption. A kind of shape-stabilised PCM particle (PCMP) was prepared by liquid paraffin to be absorbed into the micropores of expanded perlite (EP) with a self-made vacuum heating rolling box. A novel composite phase change material wallboard (CPCMW) was fabricated by PCMP, styrene acrylic emulsion and glass fibers under a plate-shape mould. The properties including thermal property, internal microstructure and mechanical property have been characterized by differential scanning calorimeter(DSC), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and electronic universal testing machine. The cold storage performance of CPCMW was experimentally studied in two rooms with the same size, under the summer condition. CPCMW was incorporated with the inside surface of wall and ceiling in a room, which was called PCM room (PCMR); while the other one without PCM was addressed as reference room. Besides, three operation strategies, i.e. natural convection operation with time(NCTI), natural convection operation with temperature (NCTE), and cold storage in closed building were conducted in experiments. In DSC test, the melting point and latent heat of CPCMW were 25.22 degrees C and 85.63 J/g, respectively. From SEM and electronic universal testing machine analyses, it was found that CPCMW had a compact and firm microstructure, and good strength and toughness. Based on the comparison data of PCMR and reference room in the experiment of cold storage, CPCMW showed a satisfied thermal performance, especially with the operation strategy of NCTE. It can be concluded that the novel CPCMW has a significant opportunity for building application. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.