Experimental and numerical studies of novel thermal energy storage materials for applications in concrete and energy storage systems

In this work, several types of novel thermal energy storage (TES) materials and composites are explored, and a series of numerical simulation models and experimental protocols are developed to evaluate the potentials of these materials to be applied in concrete, pavement, and thermal energy storage systems.

The first two types of novel TES materials/composites are at the micro-scale, which use micro diatomite (DE) and cenosphere (Ceno) as carriers of phase change material (PCM), respectively. The third type of novel TES material is at the macro-scale, utilizing lightweight sand (LWS) and lightweight coarse aggregate as carriers to load PCM. The last two types of novel TES materials are solid-solid PCM (SSPCM, i.e., PEG-PMDI-Graphite composite) and thermochemical material (TCM, i.e., struvite-K).

The above multi-scale TES materials and composites can be used independently or in combination, according to application scenarios. To evaluate performance of TES materials in various scenarios, numerical simulation frameworks and experimental protocols have been developed and implemented. Three representative scenarios (i.e., thermal cracking control for concrete, thermal curling mitigation for pavement, and TES enhancement for geothermal systems) have been selected for study in this work.

The studies presented in this work show that PCMs and TCMs are technically feasible in mitigating thermal degradations of concrete and enhancing efficiencies of TES systems. They have promising marketability upon they can be economically available”--Abstract, page iii.