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Article

Investigation of Thermoregulation Effect of Stabilized Phase Change Gypsum Board with Different Structures in Buildings

by
Feng Gao
1,2,
Xin Xiao
1,3,*,
Zhao Shu
1,
Ke Zhong
1,
Yunfeng Wang
3 and
Ming Li
3
1
College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, China
2
Power China Kunming Survey, Design and Research Institute Co., Ltd., Kunming 650551, China
3
Yunnan Provincial Rural Energy Engineering Key Laboratory, Kunming 650550, China
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Sustainability 2024, 16(16), 6929; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16166929
Submission received: 8 April 2024 / Revised: 17 July 2024 / Accepted: 7 August 2024 / Published: 13 August 2024
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Development of Thermal Comfort and Energy-Savings and Storage of Green Buildings)
Browse Figures
Versions Notes

Abstract

:
The energy consumption in buildings is high currently, leading to the development of the building envelope with phase change material (PCM), while the application of PCMs to the building envelope has the potential to effectively regulate the temperature variations in the inner surfaces of walls. Eutectic PCM consists of lauric acid, myristic acid, and stearic acid (LA-MA-SA) and was synthesized first, while expanded graphite (EG) and diamote (DE) were used as additives. LA-MA-SA/10 wt.% EG/10 wt.% DE composite PCM was synthesized via the impregnation method; then, the phase change layer was compressed and formed under a pressure of 10 MPa. The sandwich phase change gypsum board was built with three layers, considering the phase change layer on the outside, middle and indoor sides of the board, respectively. The thermal responses of sandwich phase change gypsum boards were considered under various radiation conditions at controlled temperatures of 37 °C, 40 °C, 45 °C and 50 °C. The results indicated that the gypsum board with the addition of 16.7 wt.% composite PCMs showed a better relative time duration of thermal comfort in comparison with pure gypsum board. The indoor heating rate slowed down, and the environmental temperature fluctuation was within a smaller range, because of the latent heat of the phase change gypsum board. Comparing the phase change gypsum boards at different interlayer positions, we found that the phase change gypsum board with an interlayer on the indoor side shows better thermal performance and a relatively longer time duration of thermal comfort, e.g., when the setting temperatures were 37 °C, 40 °C, 45 °C and 50 °C, respectively, the relative time durations of the thermal comfort of the sandwich phase change gypsum board were 4825 s, 3160 s, 1980 s and 1710 s. This study provides insights into the thermoregulation performance of phase change walls, where the utilization of a PCM in a wall can increase thermal capacity and enhance the inner-zone thermal comfort. The findings can provide guidelines for phase change walls to ensure sustainable practices in the energy savings of buildings.

1. Introduction

With its continuous development, urbanization is inevitably accompanied by an increase in the demand for urbanized buildings. However, the energy consumption in the building industry has become a major social issue, which restricts society’s sustainability [1,2]. Building energy consumption mainly refers to the indoor energy consumption caused by heat conduction, convection and radiation from the use of buildings, which mainly includes the consumption of heating, ventilation, lighting, hot water supply and household appliances. Reducing energy consumption in the building industry can not only alleviate the energy shortage but be a necessary way to reduce national carbon emissions and achieve “carbon peak” and “carbon neutrality” [3,4].
Currently, there are three main ways to achieve building energy efficiency, that is, the reasonable design of the building enclosure structure, energy-saving technology for HVAC systems and latent heat energy storage. It was found that it is difficult to achieve a significant reduction in building energy consumption through the reasonable design of enclosure structures and improvements in energy-saving devices in air conditioning systems. But research has found that latent heat thermal storage in energy storage systems is an effective solution to the energy problem [5,6,7,8], where the indoor temperature is adjusted through the absorption/release of heat during the charging and discharging processes of phase change materials (PCMs).
Generally, energy storage has received growing attention, as it is a good solution to store the thermal energy regarding the time dependent of solar energy [9]. Latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES) is a proven technology with small temperature variation, which prominently improves the stability and efficiency of energy systems [10,11]. The application of phase change walls to building enclosures has great prospects to effectively improve the indoor thermal environment and reduce the energy consumption generated during heating and cooling, thus providing better thermal comfort conditions for human beings [8]. Various studies have been conducted to investigate the performances of PCMs in buildings, from materials synthesis to systematic performances [12,13,14,15].
Wen et al. [16] used the vacuum adsorption method to synthesize a CA-LA/DE (diamote) composite. A leakage test was carried out subsequently, and it was found that the stabilized PCMs had an addition of 10 wt.% DE. Li et al. [17] prepared the LA-SA/DE composite through the vacuum impregnation method, while 48.3 wt.% DE and 2.5 wt.% EG (expanded graphite) was added to retrieve the leakage of PCMs. Fu et al. [18] mixed CaCl2·6H2O and SrCl2·6H2O; then, EP was added through the vacuum impregnation method. The results indicated that 55 wt.% PCM was effectively adsorbed into EP. Ren and Liu [19] combined a microcapsule-wrapped composite PCM with concrete. It was found that if the lightweight aggregate was completely replaced with CPCM, the compressive strength of phase change concrete could still exceed 5 MPa. Hamdaoui et al. [20] investigated the effects of a mass of PCMs, internal and external heat transfer coefficients and external temperature amplitude on the thermal behaviors of the PCM board. It was found that with an increase in the amount of paraffin, the effects on the increase in time duration are not obvious. An increase in the internal heat transfer coefficient could effectively reduce the temperature fluctuation inside the chamber. However, an increase in the external heat transfer coefficient induced an adverse effect on time lag and heat attenuation. Lagou et al. [21] numerically studied the influence of PCMs on the indoor temperature change in different locations of an enclosure structure in different climatic regions of Europe. The results provided guidelines for the application of PCM-enhanced buildings in vernacular and historic buildings. Yang et al. [22] studied the thermal performance of concrete-based CPCM, which was embedded with 15 wt.% LA-SA/Al2O3/ceramsite. It was found that the indoor temperature fluctuation was reduced, indicating a 9 °C decrease in peak temperature and 18 min of time delay. Hatten et al. [23] made up phase change mortar on the surface of a building envelope, the peak temperature of which was found to be decreased by 3 °C and appeared with a delay of 2 h.
Gypsum board is a kind of material with light weight and good thermal insulation, which is always used as interior and partition walls in buildings [24,25]. Abden et al. [26] prepared phase change gypsum board via the direct mixing method and built a test system for the gypsum ceiling. The results showed that the indoor air peak temperature of the ceiling with phase change gypsum decreased by an average of 3.5 °C in three days. Jeong et al. [27] studied the thermal response of n-octadecane gypsum board and evaluated the performance of n-octadecane gypsum board with regard to the delay time. The heating film at 40 °C was used to provide external heat during heat storage, and it was found that the temperature of n-octadecane gypsum board increased by 30 min in the heating stage, but there was no obvious delay time effect in the free cooling stage. Mghari et al. [28] integrated PCMs and fibers to prepare phase change board. It was found from the measurement of mechanical properties that the bending resistance of the board was enhanced when only fiber was added into the gypsum board. Compared with the gypsum board with CPCM, the existence of microcapsules further improved the ductilities and mechanical properties of the gypsum board. Kheradmand et al. [29] experimentally and numerically investigated the transient thermal behavior of plastering mortars containing hybrid PCM blends, which showed good thermal comfort and energy-saving effects in summer. Wijesuriya et al. [30] analyzed the influence of natural and forced convections on load reduction when PCM is applied to walls in dry and hot climates. It was found that the maximum cost savings of forced convection based on fans was about 29.4%, which is better than that of natural convection at 25%.
The PCMs were usually incorporated into the building walls in the form of panels or direct mixing with the building materials. It can be seen from the aforementioned research that leakage prevention is a requirement for applying PCMs into the building envelope. Meanwhile, the thermal conductivity of the gypsum board is low, which cannot quickly meet the standards of indoor thermal comfort for the human body. Therefore, diatomite is selected to coat the PCM, and expanded graphite (EG) is used to enhance the thermal conductivity of pure PCM. The prevention of leakage can maintain the latent heat of the PCM. However, the majority of studies on the phase change gypsum board only investigated the temperature variation on the indoor side, with a lack of investigations on the performance of stabilized CPCM under various conditions. The sandwich structures composed of gypsum and PCMs have not been fully studied yet. Furthermore, the thermal responses of the phase change gypsum board in radiant conditions are seldom investigated experimentally. In the present study, LA-MA-SA/10 wt.% EG/10 wt.% DE composite PCMs were synthesized, and the phase change layer was compressed and formed under pressure of 10 MPa. The sandwich phase change gypsum board was built with three layers, considering the phase change layer in the exterior, middle and interior sides of the board. The thermal responses of three sandwich phase change gypsum boards were examined under various radiant conditions at controlled temperatures of 37 °C, 40 °C, 45 °C and 50 °C. Therefore, the present research can provide preliminary guidelines for the application of phase change gypsum boards in real situations, especially for improving building energy efficiency, leading the way to more sustainable practices in the field.

2. Preparation of Board and Experimental Setup

In order to avoid leakage and improve the thermo-physical properties of PCMs, LA-MA-SA/10 wt.% EG/10 wt.% DE composite PCM was used. Lauric acid (LA), myristic acid (MA), stearic acid (SA) were purchased from Sinopharm Reagent Group. The additive diatomite (DE) was from Fuchen Chemical Reagents Corporation, while EG was from Nantong Yifan Graphite Company. The synthesis of the composite PCMs is similar to a previous study [31], whereas pure eutectic acid was heated to 60 °C to ensure the liquid state, and then EG and DM with certain mass fractions were added to form the composites. Specific values of melting temperature, thermal conductivity and latent heat for pure LA-MA-SA and stabilized LA-MA-SA/10 wt.% EG/10 wt.% DE composite PCM are summarized in Table 1, with a suitable phase change temperature of 29.67 ℃, large latent heat of 117.06 kJ/kg and high thermal conductivity of 4.51 W/(m·K). In addition, the thermal conductivities of EG and DE are 160.2 W/(m·K) and 0.05 W/(m·K), respectively.

2.1. Preparation of Phase Change Gypsum Board

Gypsum powder was purchased from Hunan Hongda Gypsum Products Company. Figure 1 shows the synthesized process of pure gypsum board and phase change gypsum board. The starting gypsum is CaSO4, which can be verified from the XRD analysis. Considering pure gypsum board, the gypsum powder and water were mixed in the mold according to a mass ratio of 5:2, whereas CaSO4·2H2O was formed. When the mold was filled with the gypsum slurry, it was vibrated several times to eliminate bubbles. Meanwhile, PT100 platinum resistances were inserted into the gypsum without being initially fixed, which were arranged to clarify the temperature change inside the gypsum board.
The composite PCM was pressed into an 11 cm × 8.4 cm × 0.74 cm square with a pressure of 18 MPa, and the blocks were formed subsequently. The phase change gypsum board with the sandwich structure was made as follows: Firstly, a layer of gypsum powder in the mold was laid, and the gypsum layer was formed after water was added and stirred evenly. Then, the previous composite PCM was put in, and a layer of gypsum powder was added on the shaped composite PCM block. Finally, the phase change gypsum board had a thickness of 3 cm. The previous gypsum board was put into a blast drying oven at 70 °C, which was dried and polished until the mass variation of the board was within 1% of 24 h. Detailed processes are illustrated in Figure 2. Table 2 shows the masses used in the synthesis of pure gypsum board and phase change gypsum board.

2.2. Phase Change Gypsum Board

2.2.1. Test of Strength

Good mechanical performance is a prerequisite for the widespread application of building materials and an important indicator of practical application in construction engineering. Compressive strength refers to the ultimate strength under external pressure. In the present study, a 769YP-15A tablet press was used for the test of compressive strength. The length, width, and thickness dimensions of the gypsum board are 11 cm, 8.4 cm and 3 cm, respectively, and the testing pressure of the tablet press is around 1 MPa~10 MPa.
Figure 3 shows the compressive testing process of the entire gypsum board. It was found that the internal structure of the pure gypsum board was damaged under pressure higher than 9 MPa, while the compressive strength of the laminated phase change gypsum board slightly decreased, with a maximum bearing pressure of 5 MPa.

2.2.2. Properties of Phase Change Gypsum Board

Figure 4a shows temperature curves of the thermal resistance measurement for the pure gypsum board and phase change gypsum board. The experimental apparatus was illustrated in a previous study [Shu]. The voltages of the heating block in the heat flow column of pure gypsum board and phase change gypsum were 3 V, 5 V, 7 V and 3 V, 4 V, 5 V, respectively. The thermal resistances were calculated by taking the average temperature during the stabilization stage at different voltages. The thermal conductivities of the materials were obtained through fitting, as shown in Figure 4b. The thermal conductivities of the pure gypsum board and phase change gypsum board were calculated to be 0.855 W/(m·K) and 1.062 W/(m·K), respectively. The thermal conductivity of the phase change gypsum board was enhanced by 24.2% compared to the pure gypsum board, improving the heat storage/release rate of the gypsum board and relatively accelerating the comfortable temperature indoors.

2.3. Radiant Thermal Response Apparatus

Figure 5 shows the experimental system for the thermal response tests, which simulated the thermal performance under the condition of solar radiation. The system consisted of an infrared radiation lamp, infrared controller, data acquisition instrument and computer. The horizontal distance between the infrared radiation lamp and the gypsum board was 30 cm, which ensured that the heat could cover the outer surface of the phase change gypsum board more evenly. The uncertainties of the platinum resistance and power of the infrared controller were ±0.1 °C and ±1 W, respectively.
Figure 6 shows the layout of PT100 platinum resistances inserted inside the phase change gypsum board, whereas PT100 was calibrated with uncertainties of 0.1 °C. The inner side of the phase change gypsum board room (Tindoor) and different positions inside the phase change gypsum board (T1-1~T3-3) were collected through data acquisition, with a time interval for collecting the temperatures of 5 s.
The detailed positions of T1-1~T3-3 are shown in Figure 6b. T1-1, T2-1 and T3-1 represent the positions of the same thickness but with different lengths and widths, whereas T1-1, T1-2 and T1-3 represent the positions of the same length and width but with different thicknesses.

2.4. Experimental Procedure

The radiant thermal response experiments for the pure gypsum board and phase change gypsum boards were conducted at room temperature, around 22~26 °C. The infrared controller was under four heating temperatures, 37 °C, 40 °C, 45 °C and 50 °C. During the heat storage process, when the internal and indoor temperatures of the gypsum board reached a stable temperature, it indicated that the charging experiment was completed. During the heat retrieval process, the infrared radiation lamp was turned off, and the whole gypsum board was cooled under natural conditions. In addition, the gypsum boards were measured without thermal insulation, under the external conditions of natural convection. Then, the heat storage/retrieval performances of the gypsum board were investigated, whereas the temperature variations inside and outside the room, and inside the gypsum board, were included. All the data were recorded every 5 s via data acquisition.

3. Results and Discussion

Various experiments were conducted under four radiant heating temperatures at two stages of heat storage and heat retrieval, and the obtained results are presented and analyzed as follows.

3.1. Thermal Response with Different Gypsum Boards

Figure 7 shows the temperature variation curves of the pure gypsum board and phase change gypsum board with the layer on the interior side, under a radiant temperature of 45 °C, and the relative temperature range of thermal comfort is 27~33 °C. Figure 7(aI,bI) show the entire heat storage and retrieval processes. Since there is a certain convective heat transfer between the interior/exterior measuring positions and surrounding environment, the fluctuation appears in the temperature curves.
As shown in Figure 7b, considering the heat storage process, the internal temperature curve of the phase change gypsum board shows an obvious plateau region within the phase change temperature range, which slows down the heat transfer to the room. Considering the heat retrieval process, because the phase change gypsum board only performs natural convection with indoor air at 22~26 °C, the cooling process of the phase change gypsum board is relatively slow. Further, the phase change gypsum board has a very obvious plateau region within the phase change temperature range. Figure 7(bII) shows part of the heat storage process under a radiation temperature of 45 °C. It can be seen that the indoor side of the phase change gypsum board roughly reaches the stability stage in about 6500 s. Due to the influence of natural convection between the inner side of the gypsum board room and room environment, the peak temperature of the indoor side has a temperature difference of about 3 °C in comparison with T3-1~T3-3.
With the addition PCMs and because of the latent heat, the temperature rise in the phase change gypsum board was slower than that of the pure gypsum board. Different schemes can be used in various climate zones for energy savings in buildings; in the case of hotter climate zones, more PCMs can be added to the upper part of the wall to ensure longer indoor thermal comfort. In colder climate zones, relatively more PCMs should be added to the lower part of the wall.

3.2. Comparisons of Different Positions of Layers

Figure 8 shows the relative time duration of thermal comfort in sandwich phase change gypsum boards at different positions. Basically, we found that the phase change gypsum board shows better thermal performance and the longest time duration of thermal comfort. Table 3 shows the detailed time duration of thermal comfort. Compared to the pure gypsum board, the phase change gypsum board with an interlayer in the interior side has the optimal thermoregulation, where the time duration of thermal comfort is extended by about 61.1~205.4% under different heating conditions.
It can be seen that when the radiant temperature on the outdoor side is 37 °C, the position of the phase change gypsum board has no obvious effect on the relative time duration of thermal comfort at the inner side. The main reason is that the radiant temperature at the outdoor side is close to the phase change temperature of the composite PCMs, and the indoor air conducts convective heat transfer with the inner side of the phase change gypsum board. Therefore, the phase change gypsum board is within the phase change temperature range for a long period, and the absorption behavior of latent heat appears continuously.
However, considering an increase in the outdoor radiant temperature, the phase change gypsum board of the interlayer in the interior side shows better thermoregulation, e.g., the relative time durations of thermal comfort for the phase change gypsum board are 1085 s, 1510 s and 1710 s, when the phase change layers are put in the exterior, middle and interior sides, respectively. The reason is as follows: When the temperature outside the room rises, the phase change layer is placed close to the outer surface of the phase change gypsum board. As a result, the temperature of the phase change gypsum board is greatly affected by the outdoor temperature, and the gypsum board reaches the phase change temperature range in a short period. Nevertheless, when the phase change layer is placed close to the inner surface of the gypsum board, the temperature of the gypsum board can be in the phase change range for a long period, which is due to the thermal insulation effect of the gypsum board itself. Therefore, the temperature fluctuation in the phase change gypsum board is small, which has a long relative time duration of thermal comfort. The thermal performances of sandwich phase change gypsum boards vary depending on their intermediate position, and the detailed mechanism of this phenomenon will be studied in the following research.

3.3. Comparisons of Different Temperatures

Figure 9 shows the temperature evolution of the indoor position of the phase change gypsum boards with interlayers at different positions, which are under different radiant temperatures of 37 ℃, 40 ℃, 45 ℃ and 50 ℃, respectively. No matter which structure, it is found that with an increase in the radiant temperature, the plateau regions of the phase change gypsum boards at different interlayer positions become shorter and steeper.
In addition, it should be noted that the final stable temperature would be lower than the radiant temperature set by the apparatus, which is due to the convective heat transfer between the indoor surface of the gypsum board and the indoor ambient environment. In summer, when the sunlight radiation temperature is only 37 ℃, the indoor temperature of the phase change gypsum board with the interlayer on the interior side is almost stable within the relative temperature range of thermal comfort, indicating good thermal performance.
Various radiation temperatures indicate different outdoor environments, which can be regarded as a significant factor influencing indoor thermal conditions. The time durations of thermal comfort under different radiation temperatures can be applied to different climate zones. The combinations of different positions of layers and different radiation temperatures induce variations in the time duration of thermal comfort, which might be a good selection for various climate zones.

3.4. Economic and Practice Analysis

In the case of a room with a height of 3 m, a comparison between the air conditioner and phase change gypsum wall was made. It was found that there will be certain economic benefits and a reduction of 379.36 kg in carbon dioxide emissions after 2371 days. Therefore, in the long run, the phase change gypsum wall has certain economic value and environmental benefits.
Similar phenomena were found in Ref [33,34]. Although all structures with PCMs show good thermal regulation, different structures should be suitable for various climate zones. However, the present study is very preliminary for buildings with energy storage, where the behavior of boards might be changed in real conditions. Further, we are still conducting studies of whole buildings with phase change gypsum board, both experimentally and numerically.

4. Conclusions

In the present study, LA-MA-SA/10 wt.% EG/10 wt.% DE composite PCM was synthesized, and sandwich phase change gypsum boards were made with different structures. The thermal responses of those phase change gypsum boards under various radiant conditions were studied comparatively and extensively. The conclusions are as follows:
  • Pure gypsum board was found to have a strength larger than 9 MPa, and the strengths of sandwich phase change gypsum boards slightly decreased, with a maximum pressure of 5 MPa, which could match with strength requirements in buildings.
  • Experimental investigations indicated that sandwich phase change gypsum board at different positions shows good thermal performance, e.g., the indoor heating rate is slowed down and the environmental temperature fluctuation is within a smaller range, because of the latent heat of the phase change gypsum board.
  • Comparing the phase change gypsum boards at different interlayer positions, we found that the phase change gypsum board with the interlayer in the indoor side shows better thermal performance and relatively longer time durations of thermal comfort; e.g., when the setting temperatures are 37 °C, 40 °C, 45 °C and 50 °C, respectively, the relative time durations of thermal comfort with the sandwich phase change gypsum boards are 4825 s, 3160 s, 1980 s and 1710 s.
  • Various climate zones require different structures of phase change gypsum boards; the present research could provide information and guidance on the advantages and potential of phase change gypsum board when applied to the building envelope.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, X.X. and Z.S.; methodology, X.X. and Z.S.; software, Z.S.; validation, Z.S.; formal analysis, Z.S. and F.G.; investigation, Z.S.; resources, X.X.; data curation, X.X. and K.Z.; writing—original draft preparation, F.G. and X.X.; writing—review and editing, X.X.; visualization, X.X. and Z.S.; supervision, X.X. and K.Z.; project administration, X.X.; funding acquisition, F.G., X.X., Y.W. and M.L. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Funding

This research was funded by Shanghai Pujiang Program, grant number 20PJ1400200; Yunnan Provincial Rural Energy Engineering Key Laboratory, grant number 2022KF001; China Postdoctoral Science Foundation, grant number 2023MD744263; Yunnan Fundamental Research Projects, grant number 202301AT070457.

Institutional Review Board Statement

Not applicable.

Informed Consent Statement

Not applicable.

Data Availability Statement

Data are contained within the article.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the Thermal Energy Storage and Management Laboratory of Donghua University for the validated experiments.

Conflicts of Interest

Author Feng Gao was employed by the company Power China Kunming Survey, Design and Research Institute Co., Ltd. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

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Figure 1. Flow chart for the preparation of gypsum board and interlayer phase change gypsum board.
Figure 1. Flow chart for the preparation of gypsum board and interlayer phase change gypsum board.
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Figure 2. Schematic diagram of the preparation of laminated phase change gypsum board.
Figure 2. Schematic diagram of the preparation of laminated phase change gypsum board.
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Figure 3. Samples and compressive strength test of gypsum boards: (a) pure gypsum board; (b) phase change gypsum board.
Figure 3. Samples and compressive strength test of gypsum boards: (a) pure gypsum board; (b) phase change gypsum board.
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Figure 4. Thermal resistance measurement of two different boards: (a) temperature curves; (b) fittings of thermal resistance (I: pure gypsum board; II: phase change gypsum board).
Figure 4. Thermal resistance measurement of two different boards: (a) temperature curves; (b) fittings of thermal resistance (I: pure gypsum board; II: phase change gypsum board).
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Figure 5. Experimental set-ups for the thermal response tests of gypsum boards based on radiation: (a) schematic diagram; (b) apparatus picture.
Figure 5. Experimental set-ups for the thermal response tests of gypsum boards based on radiation: (a) schematic diagram; (b) apparatus picture.
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Figure 6. Layout of the measurement positions inside gypsum board: (a) overall view; (b) gypsum board view (unit: cm). T1-1 (17, 5, 0.5); T1-2 (17, 5, 1.5); T1-3 (17, 5, 2.5); T2-1 (11, 18, 0.5); T2-2 (11, 18, 1.5); T2-3 (11, 18, 2.5); T3-1 (23, 18, 0.5); T3-2 (23, 18, 1.5); T3-3 (23, 18, 2.5).
Figure 6. Layout of the measurement positions inside gypsum board: (a) overall view; (b) gypsum board view (unit: cm). T1-1 (17, 5, 0.5); T1-2 (17, 5, 1.5); T1-3 (17, 5, 2.5); T2-1 (11, 18, 0.5); T2-2 (11, 18, 1.5); T2-3 (11, 18, 2.5); T3-1 (23, 18, 0.5); T3-2 (23, 18, 1.5); T3-3 (23, 18, 2.5).
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Figure 7. Comparisons of thermal response of different gypsum boards with radiant temperature of 45 ℃: (aⅠ) entire heat storage/retrieval process of the pure gypsum board; (aⅡ) part of heat storage process of the pure gypsum board; (bⅠ) entire heat storage/retrieval process of phase change gypsum board; (bⅡ) part of heat storage process of phase change gypsum board.
Figure 7. Comparisons of thermal response of different gypsum boards with radiant temperature of 45 ℃: (aⅠ) entire heat storage/retrieval process of the pure gypsum board; (aⅡ) part of heat storage process of the pure gypsum board; (bⅠ) entire heat storage/retrieval process of phase change gypsum board; (bⅡ) part of heat storage process of phase change gypsum board.
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Figure 8. Relative time duration of thermal comfort of phase change gypsum board with interlayer at different positions.
Figure 8. Relative time duration of thermal comfort of phase change gypsum board with interlayer at different positions.
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Figure 9. Temperature evolutions of phase change gypsum boards on the interior side at different radiant temperatures: (a) pure gypsum board; (b) phase change gypsum board with interlayer in the exterior side; (c) phase change gypsum board with interlayer in the middle side; (d) phase change gypsum board with interlayer in the interior side.
Figure 9. Temperature evolutions of phase change gypsum boards on the interior side at different radiant temperatures: (a) pure gypsum board; (b) phase change gypsum board with interlayer in the exterior side; (c) phase change gypsum board with interlayer in the middle side; (d) phase change gypsum board with interlayer in the interior side.
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Table 1. Thermo-physical properties of pure eutectic acid, EG, DE and composite PCMs.
Table 1. Thermo-physical properties of pure eutectic acid, EG, DE and composite PCMs.
PCMsMelting Temperature (℃)Thermal Conductivity (W/(m·K))Latent Heat (kJ/kg)
LA-MA-SA29.740.56151.64
EG block [32]-160.2-
DE-0.05-
LA-MA-SA/10 wt.% EG/10 wt.% DE29.674.51117.06
Table 2. Mass of pure gypsum board and phase change gypsum board.
Table 2. Mass of pure gypsum board and phase change gypsum board.
Types of BoardMass (g)
Gypsum PowderComposite PCMWater
Pure gypsum board300001160
Phase change layer in the exterior/interior side28005581120
Phase change layer in the middle side28005591120
Table 3. Relative time duration of thermal comfort for gypsum boards.
Table 3. Relative time duration of thermal comfort for gypsum boards.
Types of Gypsum BoardTemperature (℃)
37404550
Pure gypsum board29951160815560
Interlayer in the exterior side4630184511951085
Interlayer in the middle side5065301517851510
Interlayer in the interior side4825316019801710
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Gao, F.; Xiao, X.; Shu, Z.; Zhong, K.; Wang, Y.; Li, M. Investigation of Thermoregulation Effect of Stabilized Phase Change Gypsum Board with Different Structures in Buildings. Sustainability 2024, 16, 6929. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16166929

AMA Style

Gao F, Xiao X, Shu Z, Zhong K, Wang Y, Li M. Investigation of Thermoregulation Effect of Stabilized Phase Change Gypsum Board with Different Structures in Buildings. Sustainability. 2024; 16(16):6929. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16166929

Chicago/Turabian Style

Gao, Feng, Xin Xiao, Zhao Shu, Ke Zhong, Yunfeng Wang, and Ming Li. 2024. "Investigation of Thermoregulation Effect of Stabilized Phase Change Gypsum Board with Different Structures in Buildings" Sustainability 16, no. 16: 6929. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16166929

APA Style

Gao, F., Xiao, X., Shu, Z., Zhong, K., Wang, Y., & Li, M. (2024). Investigation of Thermoregulation Effect of Stabilized Phase Change Gypsum Board with Different Structures in Buildings. Sustainability, 16(16), 6929. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16166929

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