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 Construction and Building Materials 46 (2013) 55–62

Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect

Construction and Building Materials

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/conbuildmat

Review

Use of phase change materials for thermal energy storage in concrete:

An overview
Tung-Chai Ling a,b, Chi-Sun Poon a,⇑
a
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong
b
School of Civil Engineering, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, United Kingdom

h i g h l i g h t s

 This paper reviews the feasibility of using PCM in concrete.

 There are generally three probable means of PCM incorporation in concrete.
 The three predominant are immersion, impregnation and direct mixing.
 Method of PCM incorporation has a great influence on the properties of concrete.
 The influence on the fresh, mechanical and thermal properties is reviewed.

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The possible incorporation of phase change materials (PCMs) in building materials has attracted a lot of
Received 14 February 2013 research interest worldwide due to the concern on global warming and the ability of PCMs to reduce
Received in revised form 17 April 2013 energy consumption in building because of their thermal energy storage abilities. As a substance with
Accepted 18 April 2013
a high heat of fusion, PCM is capable of storing and releasing large amounts of energy in the form of heat
Available online 17 May 2013
during its melting and solidifying processes at the specific transition temperature. For the past 20 years,
significant research has been undertaken on the potential use of PCMs in concrete. The results showed
Keywords:
that PCM-concrete has some useful characteristics such as better latent heat storage and thermal perfor-
Phase change materials
Thermal energy storage
mance. On the other hand, PCMs have some negative impacts on the properties of concrete. However, the
Concrete negative impacts can be minimized if an appropriate PCM and a suitable means of incorporation are
Mechanical properties employed during the production of the PCM-concrete. In this paper, a general review of different types
Thermal properties of PCMs, means of their incorporation and the influence of PCMs on the properties of concrete at the fresh
and hardened stages are reviewed. The stability of the PCMs, the problems in relation to using them in
concrete, as well as their thermal performance in concrete are also presented.
Ó 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Contents

1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
2. Classification of phase change materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
2.1. Inorganic PCM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
2.2. Organic PCM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
3. Means of PCM incorporation in concrete . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
3.1. Immersion technique . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
3.2. Impregnation technique . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
3.3. Direct mixing technique . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
4. Fresh properties of PCM-concrete . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
5. Heat of hydration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

⇑ Corresponding author. Tel.: +852 2766 6024; fax: +852 2334 6389.
E-mail addresses: [email protected], [email protected] (T.-C. Ling),
[email protected] (C.-S. Poon).

0950-0618/$ - see front matter Ó 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2013.04.031
56 T.-C. Ling, C.-S. Poon / Construction and Building Materials 46 (2013) 55–62

6. Mechanical properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
6.1. Compressive strength . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
6.2. Concrete porosity and intrinsic concrete density . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
7. Thermal properties. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
7.1. Thermal energy storage capacity/thermal mass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
7.2. Thermal conductivity of PCM-concrete . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
7.3. Field investigation of PCM-concrete cubicles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
8. Stability of PCM in concrete . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
8.1. Alkalinity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
8.2. Freeze/thaw cycling. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
8.3. Fire resistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
9. Conclusions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Acknowledgement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

1. Introduction resistant properties. In order to prevent the risk of PCMs leakage

in concrete, the selection of an appropriate PCM and incorporation
Phase Change Materials (PCMs) are ‘‘latent’’ thermal storage technique in the concrete product is therefore important. This is
materials possessing a large amount of heat energy stored during because the organic PCMs can interfere with the cementitious
its phase change stage [1]. The energy required to change the phase materials if any leakage occurs, and thus can change the concrete
of a substance is known as latent heat. Two types of PCMs, organic properties. For instance, the leakage of inorganic PCMs can lead
and inorganic PCMs have been used for building applications and to corrosion of steel bars in a building structure.
the details of these materials are described in Section 2. Taking or- Fig. 1 shows the temperature differences between night and day
ganic paraffin wax as the thermal storage material, heat is ab- that ensure that the alternating sequence process of melting and
sorbed or released when the paraffin wax changes phase from solidifying of PCM functions as a heating and cooling system for
solid to liquid or liquid to solid at a temperature of about 26 °C. a building. This means that during the daytime, PCM absorbs sur-
Most of the PCMs retain its latent heat without any changes in plus heat by melting the PCM. If on the other hand in cooler nights,
physical or chemical properties even after thousands of cycles. PCM becomes solid and the heat is released back into the environ-
Before 1980, PCMs were integrated into building materials for ment. The same cycle repeats in the following days. As a result,
thermal energy storage applications, and much attention has been concrete materials incorporating PCMs can provide a more stable
given to works concerned with the achievement and assessment of temperature which ensures temperatures conducive to human
applying PCMs in gypsum wall boards, plasters, textured finishes, thermal comfort in the buildings’ internal space can be maintained.
etc. [2–9]. Gypsum plasterboards with a heat capacity of 840 J/ The aim of this paper is to provide information on different
(kg K) and an assumed density of 905 kg/m3 and a thickness of kinds of PCMs and their specific characteristics that are suitable
12.5 mm results in an overall thermal capacity of 10 kJ/(m2 K). It for incorporation into different types of concrete products. Previ-
is well-known that materials with a good thermal storage capacity ous works that have been conducted to study the influence of
are typically solid and dense (e.g., concrete). The relevant differ- PCMs on both fresh and hardened properties of concrete are re-
ences between gypsum and concrete are the specific heat capacity viewed. A more comprehensive review of the effect of PCMs on
as well as the thermal conductivity which will eventually affect the heat of hydration and thermal performance of PCM-concrete
their thermal performance. If it is assumed that concrete has a heat is also included.
capacity of 1000 J/(kg K), a density of 2300 kg/m3 and a thickness
of 24 cm, this results in an overall thermal capacity of 552 kJ/
(m2 K), which is 55 times the value of the gypsum plasterboard. 2. Classification of phase change materials
Therefore, if concrete is chosen as a medium for PCMs it can lead
to an increase in the overall energy storage capacity [10–14]. Also, Phase change materials (PCMs) commonly used in concrete can
concrete has excellent thermal insulation as well as good fire be generally divided into two principal types: inorganic and organic

Concrete wall
incorporated with
PCM

Heat is released

Stable and maintain

human thermal
comfort temperature
Heat is absorbed

Fig. 1. Heating and cooling function of concrete wall incorporated with PCM to maintain pleasant human comfort temperature in indoor room.
 T.-C. Ling, C.-S. Poon / Construction and Building Materials 46 (2013) 55–62 57

[14,15]. From a concrete design point of view, it is important to (iii) Direct mixing [15]: direct mixing of an encapsulated PCM in
identify what kinds of PCM are suitable for use in concrete, because the concrete mix during concrete mixing stage.
different kinds of PCM have different chemical natures and melting/
transition temperatures. The general characteristics of inorganic Previous studies have demonstrated that the means of incorpo-
and organic PCM are discussed in the following sections. ration of PCM in concrete has a marked effect on the overall ther-
mal and mechanical properties of the PCM-concrete.
2.1. Inorganic PCM
3.1. Immersion technique
The most common inorganic PCMs are hydrated salts (MnH2O)
[16]. Inorganic PCM may have potential applications in some types The immersion technique was first introduced by Hawes [17]
of building materials, because of their high volumetric heat storage which involves the soaking of the porous concrete products in a
capacity and good thermal conductivity [17]. The added advanta- melted (liquid) PCM (named immersion PCM-concrete). This tech-
ges are their low cost, ready availability and non-flammable nat- nique is conducted by immersing porous concrete products in a
ure. However, their unsuitable characteristics, such as very high container which is filled with the liquid PCM. The effectiveness
volume change and supercooling during solid–liquid transition, and the time required (immersion time) for the liquid PCM to be
have led to the hydrated salts not being considered as an appropri- fully soaked into the porous concrete are mainly based on three
ate material to be incorporated into concrete. Supercooling is a criteria: the absorption capacity of the concrete, the temperature
problematic issue of inorganic PCMs because the liquid state can and the types of PCM being employed. The process of immersion
be cooled to below its freezing point whilst remaining a liquid normally takes several hours.
which makes the associated phase change ineffective. Another con- Hawes and Feldman [10] investigated the effect of different
cern of the inorganic PCMs is their degradation and inoperative types of porous concrete on the absorptivity of PCM in concrete.
characteristic after repeated phase change cycles. Their results showed that at 80 °C ± 5, the immersion time must
be adequate to allow the liquid PCM to soak into the voids of the
2.2. Organic PCM concrete blocks. Two types of concrete products, autoclaved con-
crete blocks and regular concrete blocks, were compared. The time
Organic PCMs can be further described as paraffin and non-par- required for the autoclaved concrete blocks to be fully soaked with
affin types [16]. Most of the organic PCMs are chemically stable, BS and PAR varied from 40 min to 1 h, whereas the regular con-
safe and non-reactive. Also, they have an ability to melt congru- crete blocks with PAR required about 6 h. This indicates that the
ently without segregation and have self-nucleating properties that autoclaved concrete blocks is a better choice for immersion due
are compatible with traditional construction materials without to its higher porosity and higher degree of absorption compared
posing any significant problems of supercooling. to the regular concrete blocks. The higher the temperature of the
Paraffin wax (PAR) is a hydrocarbon that has the chemical struc- liquid PCM employed, the faster the speed of the immersion
ture CnH2n+2. Commercial PAR generally has a melting point rang- process.
ing from 20 °C up to 70 °C, depending on the number of carbon (C) Using visual and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analy-
atoms. The more C atoms present in the chain, the higher the melt- sis, Lee et al. [23] observed that good distribution of BS and PAR
ing point of the PAR. Extensive use of organic PAR with a phase when immersed in both autoclaved and regular concrete blocks.
change temperature of 26 °C in concrete has been successfully Nevertheless, some of the PAR leaked out during the heating cycles
demonstrated by previous studies [18–22]. PAR is regarded as resulting in a very thin film of PAR remaining on the exterior sur-
one of the most popular PCMs used in concrete, because it is inac- face of the regular concrete blocks. However, this situation did not
tive in an alkaline medium, chemically stable and inexpensive. adversely affect the chemical reaction in the concrete products due
However, PAR does have unsuitable properties such as being flam- to its strong chemical stability. For actual application, special treat-
mable and having a low thermal conductivity in its solid state. ments during the immersion of PCM-concrete products are neces-
The majority of organic non-paraffin PCMs are acids sary in order to prevent any melted PCM from flowing out the
(CH3(CH2)2nCOOH). Their melting point is similar to those of par- concrete that may otherwise contaminate the environment. Salyer
affin PCM and they have excellent melting and freezing proper- [24] suggested that silica particles could be added to prevent the
ties. However, they are much more expensive (about three leakage of PCM from the concrete.
times) than paraffin PCM. Different kinds of non-paraffin PCM
have been studied to assess their suitability for use in concrete 3.2. Impregnation technique
[14]. They are butyl stearate (BS), 1-dodecanol (DD), polyethylene
glycol (PEG), 1-tetradecanol (TD) and dimethyl sulfoxide. Among The impregnation technique involves three simple steps [15].
these non-paraffin PCMs, BS seems to be the most appropriate First, air and water are evacuated from the porous or lightweight
material because of its relatively low cost, suitable melting point aggregates with a vacuum pump. Then, the porous aggregates are
at human comfort temperature, high latent heat storage, low vol- soaked in the liquid PCM within a controlled environment (under
ume change during phase change transition, and inflammable and vacuum). Finally, the pre-soaked PCM porous aggregate function-
stable nature. ing as a ‘‘carrier for the PCM’’ is mixed into the concrete.
Zhang et al. [14] studied the influence of porous aggregate types
on the capability to absorb PCM. Three types of porous aggregates
3. Means of PCM incorporation in concrete were examined: expanded clay aggregate (C1), normal clay aggre-
gate (C2) and expanded shale aggregate (S) as the ‘‘carrier’’ for butyl
There are generally a few probable means of PCM incorporation stearate (BS) PCM. Table 1 gives the basic properties and the results
in concrete. The three predominant methods are: of PCM-absorption capacity for these porous aggregates. It can be
seen that there is a general trend of increasing PCM-absorption
(i) Immersion [10–12]: simple immersion of the porous con- capacity when the density of the porous aggregate is decreased
crete in the melted (liquid) PCM. (higher porosity). When compared to the absorption capacity for
(ii) Impregnation [13,14]: vacuum impregnation of the PCM in water, the vacuum impregnation method was much more effective
porous aggregates. than the simple immersion technique. The difference was more
58 T.-C. Ling, C.-S. Poon / Construction and Building Materials 46 (2013) 55–62

Table 1 PCM microcapsules. The flow diameters of all the PCM–SCC mix-
Basic properties and PCM-absorbing capacity in different porous aggregates (sourced tures were similar when compared to plain SCC mix by adjusting
from Zhang et al. [14]).
the water content and the dosage of superplasticizer. It was found
Notation Density Porosity Water- Water- PCM- that the SCC mixtures with 3% and 5% PCM microcapsules content
(g/cm3) (%) absorbing absorbing absorbing displayed slightly higher viscosity, which was attributed to the
(MIP) capacity by capacity by capacity
simple vacuum (ml) per 1 g
higher water content. It is hypothesised that the particle size of
immersion impregnation of porous PCM microcapsules used could affect the workability of the con-
(%) (%) aggregate crete mixture [29].
C1 0.76 75.6 11.0 72.5 0.876
C2 1.25 41.9 5.9 42.5 0.176
S 1.39 33.8 4.1 15.0 0.081
5. Heat of hydration

Bentz and Turpin [15] investigated the temperature rise and de-
pronounced in the clay aggregate than in the shale aggregate. A crease during the first few days of the hydration of cement mortars
rough estimation of PCM-absorption capacity for C1, C2 and S were at semi-adiabatic conditions. Three types of mortar were used.
0.876, 0.176 and 0.081 ml/g of the porous aggregate, respectively. They were (i) a control mortar with a cement-to-nonporous coarse
This indicates that PCM can occupy up to 75% of the total pore space sand and water-to-cement ratio of 3 and 0.40, respectively; (ii) a
of the C1 porous aggregate. mix containing 100% pre-impregnated lightweight aggregate with
Bentz and Turpin [15] conducted DSC experiments to test the PAR as PCM; and (iii) a mix containing 100% pure PAR particles as
heat flow of lightweight aggregate soaked in PEG and PAR PCM. total replacement of aggregate on a volumetric basis. It was ob-
From the DSC analysis results, it was found that the peak temper- served that the characteristic of heat evolution of PCM-mortar
ature of PAR at melting and solidification was slightly higher than was strongly influenced by the presence of PCM. The use of PCM
for PEG. Furthermore, soaking porous aggregates in PCM enhanced resulted in a reduction in the maximum temperature rise and the
the heat transfer between the PCM in the porous aggregate and the reduction was more pronounced when the PCM was directly added
bulk concrete. to the mixture. Also, using paraffin wax PCM in the cement mortar
caused an 1-h delay in reaching the peak temperature which was
3.3. Direct mixing technique an indication of retardation of cement hydration.
Sakulich and Bentz [30] incorporated expanded clay and porous
Another means of incorporation of PCM is the direct mixing Greek pumice aggregates with PAR, PEG, and vegetable oil-based
technique [16]. Before the PCM can be directly mixed into concrete PCM into cement mortars. They found that PAR had no effect on
constitutes during their mixing process, it must be first encapsu- the hydration reaction, while the PEG and vegetable oil-based
lated within a chemically and physically stable shell. This is essen- PCM had a significant effect in retarding (delay in reaching peak
tial to retain the PCM in its pure form and ensure no interference temperature) and suppressing (reduction in peak temperatures)
with the concrete constitutes. Also, when the PCM is in a liquid the hydration of the cement matrix. For all PEG mixtures, it was
form (during melting), the capsules ensure that none of the liquid found that not only the maximum heat flow decreased by about
PCM leaks out. The most common processes used to encapsulate 40%, but the heat evolution had been also delayed by several hours.
organic PCM are interfacial polymerization [25], emulsion poly- It suggested that the amounts of non-absorbed PCM adhering on
merization [26], in situ polymerization [27] as well as spray drying the aggregates surface were likely to be a problem during cement
and coacervation [28]. hydration. Similar results for heat evolution in the case of direct
For direct mixing, the surface (shell) hardness of the PCM mixing were also reported by Hunger et al. [16].
microcapsules needs to be indestructible and sustainable to avoid
any breakage (damage) during the concrete mixing and casting 6. Mechanical properties
process. To prevent any premature rupture in these stages, mem-
brane reinforcement products such as Zeolite or Zeocarbon (mostly 6.1. Compressive strength
derived from charcoal and volcanic rock) can be used for surface
reinforcement to withstand high friction or impact [28]. Recently, The compressive strength results of PCM-concrete have been
an attempt was made to assess the feasibility of using different reported by several studies. The results indicate that the PCM con-
amounts of Micronal DS 5008 X (micro-encapsulated paraffin tent as well as the means of PCM incorporation in concrete notice-
wax PCM) as the direct replacement for marble powder in the pro- ably affect the compressive strength of the PCM-concrete.
duction of self-compacting concrete. The results showed that the Investigations on using the immersion technique have found
porous micro-structures and spherical voids of the broken PCM that there is no significant difference in the strength between the
microcapsules could be observed by scanning electron microscopy control and immersion PCM-concrete. Hawes [17] reported that
(SEM). SEM micrographs (Fig. 2a) indicated that the flaked struc- when PAR is in the liquid state, the PCM-concrete exhibited a sim-
tures of the solidified wax covered the inner wall of the pore. Upon ilar strength with that of the control concrete. However, when
close examination of the pore wall, a large volume of cell walls, compared to the control concrete there was an approximately
which appeared to be smooth from the outside, could be observed. 50% increment in strength when PAR was in the solid state. Cabeza
Fig. 2b shows that the predominant size of PCM microcapsules is et al. [20] reported that the innovated PCM-concrete was found to
about 6 lm which densely occupied the cement matrix. achieve a compressive strength of over 25 MPa and a tensile split-
ting strength of over 6 MPa (after 28 days) which are appropriate
4. Fresh properties of PCM-concrete levels for some structural application purposes.
However, in the case of direct mixing, inclusion of PCM micro-
Hunger et al. [16] examined the effect of directly mixing micro- capsules in SCC significantly reduces the compressive strength
encapsulated phase change material (MCPCM) on the fresh proper- [16]. The compressive strength of PCM–SCC decreases by 13% for
ties of self-compacting concrete (SCC) by testing the slump flow, each additional percentage of MCPCM added by total concrete
V-funnel time and J-ring properties. The overall results showed weight. The two mechanisms responsible for this decrease in
that it is feasible to produce good self-compacting properties using strength are (i) significant disparity between the intrinsic strength
 T.-C. Ling, C.-S. Poon / Construction and Building Materials 46 (2013) 55–62 59

Fig. 2. SEM micrographs of (a) an open pore covered with solidified wax, and (b) a higher magnified (5500) part of the matrix with deformed and broken microcapsules,
partly pure leaked wax is visible (sourced from [16]).

of the microcapsules and other concrete constituents such as ce- and 5% of MCPCM by mass of concrete are shown in Fig. 3. It is evi-
ment paste, and (ii) damage of MCPCM resulting in paraffin wax dent from this figure that (i) the specific heat capacity of the sam-
leaking from the broken microcapsules and mixing with other ples increased by up to 1.7, 3.0 and 3.5 times with the increase in
concrete constituents. PCM replacement level by 1%, 3% and 5%, and (ii) the melting tem-
perature of all the samples with PCM ranged from 23 to 26 °C.
6.2. Concrete porosity and intrinsic concrete density
7.2. Thermal conductivity of PCM-concrete
Hunger et al. [16] investigated the concrete porosity (as part of
the void fraction which is open to the surface) of a control SCC and Hunges et al. [16] examined the effect of PCM additions on the
PCM-SCC mixtures prepared with 1%, 3% and 5% of MCPCM by total thermal conductivity of concrete. Four mixes were designed con-
weight of concrete. They reported that the PCM–SCC containing taining 0%, 1%, 3% and 5% of MCPCM. MCPCM was used to replace
MCPCM had higher porosity values than the control SCC. This marble powder on a volumetric basis (similar particle size distribu-
might be due to the structural change of the concrete packing den- tion). For every mix design, two samples of 100  100  50 mm
sity. The intrinsic concrete density of the PCM-SCC decreased with were prepared for the measurement. It was found that the inclu-
an increase in the MCPCM content, probably due to the relatively sion of MCPCM in concrete resulted in a lower thermal conductiv-
low specific gravity of the MCPCM (0.915 kg/m3) when compared ity of concrete by linear function. The reduction is generally
to other constitutes in the concrete. attributed to the enhanced air content and the lower thermal
conductivity of PAR.
7. Thermal properties Hawes [17] measured the thermal conductivity of immersion
autoclaved and regular concrete blocks without PCM, with BS, with
The impacts of applying PCM in concrete products on their ther- DD and with PAR. The specimens with BS and DD were tested
mal properties are well documented [10–18]. Across a number of when the PCM was in the liquid state whereas the specimens with
previous studies, all the reported data showed that the heat stor- PAR were tested in the solid state. The differences of conductivity
age capacity of concrete is significantly increased when PCM is of PCM in liquid and solid states appear to be insignificant. For a
applied. Of course, the effectiveness is dependent upon the PCM given PCM type, the thermal conductivity of the regular concrete
type and means of incorporation adopted during the production blocks was higher than that of the autoclaved concrete blocks
of the PCM-concrete. due to their relatively higher density. In comparison, the PCM-con-
crete showed a steady decrease in air voids and offers a better ther-
7.1. Thermal energy storage capacity/thermal mass mal conducting path than the plain concrete without PCM.

Zhang et al. [14] investigated the thermal energy storage capac- 7.3. Field investigation of PCM-concrete cubicles
ity of normal concrete materials, and concrete prepared with por-
ous aggregates with and without BS PCM. According to the results Laboratory results show that the use of PCM in concrete did en-
from the DSC test, it was found that all the concrete containing hance its thermal energy storage. Extensive studies have been car-
pre-soaked BS porous aggregates had endotherm peaks ranging ried out to investigate the thermal performance in real buildings
from 10 to 30 °C. The peak and ending temperatures of the phase under the EU project MOPCON with partners from Spain, the Neth-
change increased linearly with the PCM-absorption capacity of erlands, Greece and France [20,31]. Prototype buildings with
the porous aggregates used in the concrete. dimensions of 2  2  3 m were constructed by shaping cubicles
Hunges et al. [16] studied the specific heat capacity of SCC made of PCM-concrete fully instrumented with temperature sensors in
with various percentages of MCPCM by means of direct mixing. the internal surface of each panel wall. The micro-encapsulated
The prepared PCM–SCC specimens with dimensions of PAR PCM content in the concrete panels was 5% by total concrete
200  200  30 mm were introduced in a samples holder and the mix weight with a melting temperature of 26 °C and a phase
temperature was maintained at 32 °C during the heating process. change enthalpy of 110 kJ/kg. The measured ‘‘outside temperature’’
The specific heat capacity and thermal mass of the samples were and ‘‘internal temperature’’ in the west wall with and without PCM
calculated based on the temperature of the samples and the in the cubicle building is presented in Fig. 4.
amount of heat flux from the device. The results of the specific heat It is evident from this figure that with up to 24 h of testing dur-
capacity versus temperature of the samples containing 0%, 1%, 3% ing a summer day, the cubicle walls with PCM always obtained a
60 T.-C. Ling, C.-S. Poon / Construction and Building Materials 46 (2013) 55–62

smaller temperature value (2–3 °C) than the cubicle walls without for a total of 50 cycles. No significant difference was observed in
PCM. When the ‘‘outdoor temperature’’ reached the maximum of the freeze–thaw performance of the autoclaved blocks (ABL) con-
31 °C, the west wall of the cubicles with PCM reached only 36 °C, taining different kinds of PCM (BS, PAR and PEG). It was noted that
which is 3 °C lower than that of the cubicles without PCM. It was the immersion PCM-concrete had better resistance to freeze–thaw
also noted that the cubicles with PCM reached the same tempera- cycles than that of the control specimens without PCM due to the
ture of the cubicles without PCM about 2 h later. This indicates an reduced water absorbency and lower permeability.
improved performance in thermal inertia as well as lower internal Regarding the effect of concrete types, Lee [12] found that the
temperatures of the cubicles incorporated with PCM. loss of weight of the autoclaved concrete blocks with PAR after
20 heating and cooling cycles was much lower than that of the reg-
ular concrete blocks with PAR. For the autoclaved concrete blocks,
8. Stability of PCM in concrete
the PCM loss was about 5% while for the regular concrete blocks it
was about 31%. This is because the regular concrete block had a
8.1. Alkalinity
denser structure and most of the PAR absorbed remained in the
outer part of the block. Thus, during the heating and cooling cycles,
One of the parameters that need to be taken into consideration
PCM leakage occurring in the regular concrete blocks was much
when incorporating PCM in concrete is the alkalinity level of con-
higher than that for the autoclaved concrete blocks.
crete. It is known that not all PCM is suitable for use in high-alkali
Bentz and Turpin [15] used a computer model to simulate the
level concrete because the alkali can degrade some PCMs. Hawes
number of expected freeze/thaw cycles to failure of a control con-
[17] investigated the alkalinity of various concrete types by deter-
crete and PCM-concrete. The results demonstrated that the pres-
mining the pH values of the water in which the concrete specimens
ence of PCM in concrete reduced the number of cycles by about
were immersed for 28 days. The preliminary results found that
30% on average when compared to the control concrete without
autoclaved concrete blocks had the least alkali content, followed
PCM.
by regular concrete blocks, pumice concrete and lightweight con-
crete prepared with expanded shale aggregate (EXSL). He also re-
8.3. Fire resistance
ported that BS, DD and TD were more suitable for use in concrete
with lower alkalinities. In the case of PRA, it was quite stable in
PCM has been proven to be the most suitable and effective la-
all the concrete types since it is chemically inactive in the alkaline
tent heat storage material for use in concrete. However, one of
media. This was measured by the DSC method and confirmed by
the drawbacks of PCM is that it may be flammable (e.g. paraffin).
chemical analysis. The worst case was the use of polyethylene gly-
Hawes [17] investigated the fire resistance of immersion PCM-
col (PEG) PCM which tended to deteriorate in most concrete types.
concrete. For this purpose, different types of PCM-concrete prod-
Since some concrete types, like pumice concrete block, appear
ucts of size 200  200  30 mm were tested under a directly
to have a high absorption capacity which is ideal for PCM incorpo-
impinging 700 °C flame for 10 min. Based on the observations un-
ration, there is a strong need to reduce the alkali content in these
der the fire tests, it was found that there was a reduction of PCM
concrete types. Hawes [17] proposed to use pozzolans to reduce
mass and increase of the risk of fume discharge for the PCM-con-
the alkalinity of concrete. However, the amount of pozzolans used
crete. The colour of the PCM-concrete surface was also affected
must be controlled at an appropriate level to ensure that the con-
by the flame. In comparison, the percentage mass loss of PCM of
crete retains sufficient porosity to absorb the required amount of
the regular concrete blocks was relatively lower than that of the
PCM.
autoclaved concrete blocks. This was due to the regular concrete
blocks had a greater surface tension within the smaller diameter
8.2. Freeze/thaw cycling of the pore structure than that of the autoclaved concrete blocks.
The amount of visible fume discharged ranged from negligible to
Hawes [17] compared the freeze–thaw durability of immersion moderate depending on the type of PCM used in the concrete.
PCM-concrete through the use of different types of concrete blocks Concrete products can become flammable if the PCM used is
and PCMs. The test was conducted with a frequency of 6 h per cycle flammable, is not encapsulated and is directly mixed in concrete in
and the temperatures were alternated between 33 °C and 25 °C high concentrations. Macro-encapsulation or micro-encapsulation

Fig. 3. Specific heat capacity of the PCM–SCC mixes versus temperature (sourced from [16]).
 T.-C. Ling, C.-S. Poon / Construction and Building Materials 46 (2013) 55–62 61

Fig. 4. Outside temperature and temperature of the west wall with and without PCM with closed windows tested in July 2005 (sourced from [31]).

could be possible solutions to increase the PCM-concrete resistance (4) Past studies showed that it is feasible to produce self-com-
to fire. BASF has demonstrated that PAR PCM incorporated with a pacting concrete prepared with PCM microcapsules as a
magnesium oxide-based matrix can improve its resistance to flames direct replacement of marble powder.
and fire. This material has passed the Euro-class B fire rating. (5) The heat evolution characteristic of the concrete is strongly
influenced by the presence of PCM. Generally, the inclusion
9. Conclusions of PCM retards cement hydration.
(6) The results of the various studies indicate that PCM-concrete
Based on the above overview of the development of the use of achieves compressive strength values within the range
phase change materials in concrete, the following conclusions appropriate for most construction purposes. In the case of
can be drawn. direct mixing, the strength and density are noticeably
decreased as the content of PCM in the concrete increases.
(1) The possible use of phase change materials for thermal heat PCM-concrete prepared by means of immersion showed
storage in concrete is promising. The improvement of the similar strength to those of the normal control mix.
thermal heat storage of PCM-concrete may make it more (7) The inclusion of PCM in concrete yields a significant
widely used in construction and building applications; but improvement in the thermal performance of the concrete.
PCM-concrete also has some undesirable properties such This is due to the enhancement of both the thermal insula-
as lower strength, uncertain long-term stability and low fire tion (lower thermal conductivity) and thermal mass. Field
resistance. These undesirable properties, however, can be investigations also showed that the cubicle walls with PCM
minimized if appropriate PCM types and means of incorpo- had a smaller temperature range and hence improved ther-
ration are employed. mal inertia.
(2) Among the PCM types, organic PCM and particularly paraffin (8) Alkali in concrete can attack some PCM such as organic non-
wax PCM, seems to be one of the most suitable latent heat paraffin butyl stearate (BS) and tetradecanol (TD). The use of
storage materials that can be used in concrete. The main rea- modified (low alkalinity) concrete was able to increase the
sons are the chemical stability, inactivity in the alkaline stability of PCM. Also, adding pozzolans such as fly ash or sil-
environment of concrete, an appropriate transition temper- ica fume can be very effective to reduce the alkali level in
ature of about 26 °C (human thermal comfort) and low concrete.
degree of supercooling; they are also relatively inexpensive (9) Immersion PCM-concrete with BS, PAR and PEG had better
and have desirable thermal stability. resistance to freeze–thaw cycles due to their lower water
(3) The test results of different means of PCM incorporation in absorbency and lower permeability.
concrete showed that: (10) Fire resistance of PCM-concrete can be enhanced if the PCM
 Immersion: suitable for concrete with a relatively high used is inflammable and is encapsulated. However, only lim-
porosity. The time required for immersion is mainly con- ited data are available in this area. Therefore, further studies
trolled by (i) the absorption capacity of the porous con- are needed on the fire resistance of concrete incorporating
crete, and (ii) the temperature of the container in which PCM.
the melted (liquid) PCM is filled. Basically the immersion
process takes several hours. Acknowledgement
 Impregnation: vacuum impregnation seems to be more
effective compared to the simple immersion technique.
The authors would like to thank The Hong Kong Polytechnic
By comparing the results of absorption behaviour of University for funding support.
PCM in different types of porous aggregates, expanded
clay or shale aggregates are the more suitable porous
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