Phase change materials (PCMs) store large amounts of latent heat over small temperature ranges, so their application in the thermal regulation of buildings is becoming more popular. However, PCMs have low thermal conductivities, so micro-encapsulated PCMs (micro-PCMs) are being incorporated into PCMs to enhance their performance and improve thermal conductivity. In this study, micro-PCMs were mixed with thermally conductive, inorganic gypsum powder and glass fiber to produce gypsum boards. The ...
The low thermal conductivity of paraffin hinders its ability to be used as a PCM, and so in this article the authors created a composite made up of paraffin and micron-size graphite flakes (MSGFs) in order to hopefully increase thermal conductivity and energy storage capabilities. The results showed that increasing concentrations of MSGFs corresponded to 'enormous' increases in thermal conductivity. The addition of MSGFs to paraffin did not affect its ...
