Solar Energy Materials & Solar Cells 101 (2012) 114–122

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Solar Energy Materials & Solar Cells

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Thermal energy storage properties and thermal reliability of some fatty acid
esters/building material composites as novel form-stable PCMs
Ahmet Sarı n, Alper Bic- er
Gaziosmanpas- a University, Department of Chemistry, 60240 Tokat, Turkey

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

Article history: In this study, thermal energy storage properties and thermal reliability some fatty acid esters/building
Received 16 August 2011 material composites as novel form-stable phase change materials (PCMs) were investigated. The form-
Received in revised form stable composite PCMs were prepared by absorbing galactitol hexa myristate (GHM) and galactitol
11 January 2012
hexa laurate (GHL) esters into porous networks of diatomite, perlite and vermiculite. In composite
Accepted 21 February 2012
Available online 19 March 2012
PCMs, fatty acid esters were used as energy storage materials while diatomite, perlite and vermiculite
were used as building materials. The prepared composite PCMs were characterized using scanning
Keywords: electron microscope (SEM) and Fourier transformation infrared (FT-IR) analysis techniques. The SEM
Fatty acid ester results proved that the esters were well confined into the building materials. The maximum mass
Building material
percentages of GHM adsorbed by perlite, diatomite and vermiculite were determined as 67, 55 and
Composite PCM
52 wt%, respectively as they were found for GHL to be 70, 51 and 39 wt%, respectively. Thermal
Thermal properties
Thermal energy storage properties and thermal stabilities of the form-stable composite PCMs were determined using
differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis. The DSC results showed that the melting temperatures
and latent heat values of the PCMs are in range of about 39–46 1C and 61–121 J/g. The thermal cycling
test revealed that the composite PCMs have good thermal reliability and chemical stability. TG analysis
revealed that the composite PCMs had high thermal durability property above their working
temperature ranges. Moreover, the thermal conductivities of the PCMs were increased by adding the
expanded graphite (EG) in mass fraction of 5%. Based on all results, it was also concluded that the
prepared six composite PCMs had important potential for thermal energy storage applications such as
solar space heating and cooling applications in buildings.
& 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction time-dependent and intermittent solar energy that does not

Thermal energy storage (TES) is considered as one of most
important energy technologies. TES can be used for the utilization
of renewable energy sources and waste heat. An increasing
attention has been paid to use of this essential technique for
thermal applications ranging from heating to cooling, particularly
in buildings [1,2]. Latent heat storage using phase change mate-
rial (PCM) is the most attractive choice for TES applications
because of its advantages of storing and releasing large amounts
of energy at a fixed temperature point (or within a small
temperature range) during phase change process of PCM from
solid to liquid or vice versa [3–5].
When PCM is used in buildings, the heat indoors is stored by
PCM above its melting point and then, the stored heat is released
at a lower temperature than its melting point at night [6,7].
PCMs are used for two purposes in buildings. One is to store the
n
Corresponding author. Tel.: þ90 356 2521616; fax: þ90 356 2521585.
E-mail addresses: ahmet.sari@gop.edu.tr, asari061@hotmail.com (A. Sarı).
necessarily match the energy need for building space heating at
all times. The other is to shift heating or cooling load of building
from peak to off peak electricity periods. Therefore, the power
generation management is improved and significant economic
benefit can be achieved.
The thermal comfort of a building can increase by decreasing
the frequency of internal air temperature swings so that indoor
air temperature is closer to the desired temperature for a longer
period of time [8–13]. The idea regarded with the improvement of
the thermal comfort in building using PCMs directed the
researchers to develop new kinds of composite materials and
apply them for TES in building envelopes. Over the past two
decades, the incorporation of PCMs with construction materials
has been investigated as potential technology for minimizing
energy consumptions in buildings. The several PCMs have been
implemented in gypsum board, plaster, concrete or other wall
covering material for TES purpose. Feldman et al. [14–16] carried
out an extensive research on the stability of some organic
compounds and their compatibility with common construction
materials. Hawes et al. [17] prepared a form-stable composite

0927-0248/$ - see front matter & 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.solmat.2012.02.026
 A. Sarı, A. Bic- er / Solar Energy Materials & Solar Cells 101 (2012) 114–122
PCM that consists of sodium thiosulphate pentahydrate and
porous concrete. They investigated heat storage capacity and
structural stability of the composite after a large number of
thermal cycling. Some building composite PCMs were prepared
and investigated their TES properties: fatty acid ester/cement and
fatty acid ester/gypsum [18], PEG/diatomite [19], capric–myristic
acid/vermiculite [20], some eutectic mixtures of fatty acids/
expanded vermiculite [21], capric–palmitic acid/gypsum [22],
lauric acid/expanded perlite [23], paraffin/expanded perlite [24],
capric–stearic acid/gypsum [25] capric acid/expanded perlite
[26], and capric–myristic acid/gypsum [27], capric-lauric acid/
gypsum [28–30], fatty acids/diatomite [31], capric–palmitic acid/
attapulgite [32], n-nonadecane/cement [33], paraffin and fatty
acids/clay [34–37].
Considering the chemical compatibility with building materi-
als, most of the researches preferred organic PCMs. Among these
group, fatty acids esters are promising PCMs in the preparation of
energy storing composite PCMs because of their good thermo-
physical properties, thermal reliability and the advantage of
directly incorporation into conventional building products. How-
ever, only few esters have been used for this purpose so far
[18,38,39].
Galactitol hexa myristate (GHM) and galactitol hexa laurate
(GHL) are favorable organic PCMs for TES applications in terms of
suitable their melting temperatures of 45.98 and 40.21 1C and
latent heats of 172.80 and 157.62 kJ/kg, respectively. Thus, they
are appropriate PCMs for fabrication of building composite
materials. Perlite has high porosity, low sound transmission, high
fire resistance, a large surface area, low moisture retention, a very
low density. Vermiculite is porous, non-toxic, light, and readily
available natural mineral. Therefore, it is used in many commer-
cial applications such as construction, thermal acoustic insulation,
agricultural, and horticultural. Diatomite has light weight, high
porosity, high purity, multi-shape, rigidity, and inert property.
These clay minerals are also environmentally safe, ultra-light-
weight building material and abundantly available in Turkish
markets. Therefore, perlite, diatomite and vermiculite clays are
suitable and economical building materials for the preparation
form-stable composite PCMs.
In this study, six novel composite PCMs, GHM/perlite, GHM/
diatomite, GHM/vermiculite, GHL/perlite, GHL/diatomite and
GHL/vermiculite were prepared and characterized in terms of
chemical compatibility using SEM and FT-IR techniques. Thermal
energy storage properties, thermal reliability and thermal dur-
ability of the composite PCMs were determined using DSC and TG
analysis techniques. Moreover, the thermal conductivities of the
composite PCMs were increased by adding expanded graphite in
mass fraction of 5%.
2. Experimental
2.1. Materials
Galactitol hexa myristate (GHM) and galactitol hexa laurate
(GHL) were synthesized by esterification reaction of galactitol
with myristic and lauric acids. These esters were synthesized
Table 1
Chemical compositions (wt%) of the building materials used in this study.
Building material SiO2 Al2O3
Diatomite 92.8 4.2
Perlite 71.0–75.0 12.5–18.0
Vermiculite 38.0–46.0 10.0–16.0
115
using the Fischer esterification method reported in previous study
[40]. Diatomite, perlite and vermiculite were supplied by BEG-
TUG Industrial Minerals & Mines Company (Istanbul, Turkey),
Izper Company (Izmir–Turkey) and Agrekal Company (Antalya,
Turkey), respectively. Table 1 shows the chemical compositions of
these materials. The samples were sieved by 150 mm-mesh sieve
and dried at 105 1C for 24 h before use.
2.2. Preparation of form-stable composite PCMs
GHM/perlite, GHM/diatomite, GHM/vermiculite, GHL/perlite,
GHL/diatomite and GHL/vermiculite composites were prepared
using the vacuum impregnation method [19,36]. The process was
to be continued for 90 min at 65 kPa. Air was allowed to enter the
flask again to force the liquid ester compounds to penetrate onto the
pores of the clay materials. A series of composite including PCM at
different mass fractions (10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80 wt%) were
prepared. In order to observe the PCM leakage from the composites,
the composite PCMs were simultaneously heated during the
impregnation process above the melting temperatures of the PCM.
The maximum absorption ratios of the clay samples for the esters
were determined. The composites with the maximum composition
ratios were then sealed as form-stable composite PCMs.
2.3. Characterization of the form-stable composite PCMs
The morphology of the form-stable composite PCMs was
investigated using a LEO 440 model SEM instrument. The com-
posite PCMs were characterized chemically using a JASCO 430
model FT-IR spectrophotometer. The spectral data were obtained
using KBr pellets at wavenumber range of 400–4000 cm  1.
Thermal properties of the composite PCMs were measured using
a Perkin Elmer JADE model DSC instrument at 5 1C min  1 heating
rate and under nitrogen atmosphere. The accuracy level in the
measurement of enthalpy and temperature was determined to be
75% and 70.01 1C, respectively. The thermal durability of the
composite PCMs was also determined using Perkin–Elmer TGA7
thermal analyzer. The TG analyses were performed at a heating
rate of 10 1C/min and under nitrogen atmosphere.
The thermal cycling test was performed to evaluate thermal
reliability of form-stable composite PCMs with respect to the
change in phase change temperatures and latent heat capacity
after the accelerated melting-freezing cycles repeated for 1000
times. This process was carried out using a thermal cycler (BIOER
TC-25/H model). DSC and FT-IR analysis were also repeated to
prove the thermal and chemical stability of the composite PCMs
after thermal cycling.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Microstructures of form-stable composite PCMs
Fig. 1 shows the SEM images of diatomite, perlite, vermiculite
and composite PCMs. As seen in Fig. 1, diatomite, perlite, and
vermiculite have rough and accidental microstructures. The SEM
images of the composite PCMs also show that GHM and GHL were
Fe2O3 CaO MgO K2O Other
1.5 0.6 0.3 0.67 0.5
0.1–1.5 0.5–0.2 0 0.03–0.5 4.0–5.0 –
6.0–13.0 1.0–5.0 16.0–35.0 1.0–6.0 0.2–1.2
116 A. Sarı, A. Bic- er / Solar Energy Materials & Solar Cells 101 (2012) 114–122
Fig. 1. SEM images of the (a) Perlite, (b) GHM/perlite, (c) GHL/perlite, (d) Diatomite, (e) GHM/diatomite, (f) GHL/diatomite, (g)Vermiculite, (h) GHM/vermiculite and
(i) GHL/vermiculite.
dispersed into the porous networks of diatomite, perlite and
vermiculite used as supporting materials. The results indicated that
these multiple porous structures into the clay samples provided
good mechanical strength to the composites and also the leakage
behavior of PCM melted in the composite during heating process
was prevented by the capillary and surface tension forces. The
maximum mass percentages of GHM confined into perlite, diatomite
and vermiculite were determined as 67, 55 and 52 wt%, respectively
as they were found for GHL to be 70, 51 and 39 wt%, respectively.
The PCM leakage in melted state was not observed until these mass
percentages even when the composites were heated over the
melting points of the ester compounds. Therefore, final products
were defined as form-stable composite PCMs.
3.2. FT-IR analysis of the composite PCMs
The chemical interactions between the fatty acid esters and
the building materials were characterized by FT-IR spectroscopy
analysis. Fig. 2(a) and (b) shows FT-IR spectra of the perlite,
diatomite, and vermiculite, GHM, GHL and the composite PCMs.
As shown from Fig. 2(a), GHM and GHL esters have two main
characteristic peaks regarding to C¼O and C–O groups observed
at 1702–1706 cm  1 and 1465–1471 cm  1, respectively. The
peaks at 2850–2919 cm  1 range represent the stretching vibra-
tion of –CH3 and –CH2 groups of the esters, respectively. The
peaks observed at 3300–3500 cm  1 range and 1550–1639 cm  1
range correspond to the stretching vibration and bending vibra-
tion of OH groups of water molecules in perlite, diatomite and
vermiculite. In addition, the peaks at 950–1100 cm  1 range show
the stretching vibration of Si–O group of the building materials.
On the other hand, when compared the FT-IR spectra of the
composite PCMs (Fig. 2b) with that of the building materials
(Fig. 2a), some new absorption peaks attracted the attention. So
these characteristics peaks are regarding with the ester com-
pounds confined into building materials. Moreover, there were
little shifts in some characteristic FT-IR bands. For example, the
 A. Sarı, A. Bic- er / Solar Energy Materials & Solar Cells 101 (2012) 114–122 117

Fig. 2. FT-IR spectra of GHM and GHL and the form-stable composite PCMs.

Fig. 3. DSC curves obtained for the melting and freezing of GHM and GHL.

stretching vibration band of C¼O group of the esters at 1702–
1706 cm  1 range shifted to 1737–1739 cm  1 range in case of the
composites. The stretching band of C–O groups of the esters cm  1
shifted from 1465–1471 cm  1 range to 1380–1388 cm  1 range
after the impregnation process. The stretching vibration band of
Si–O groups of the building materials at 950–1100 range shifted
to 1000–1150 cm  1 range in case of composite PCMs. Moreover,
any new peak was not seen at FT-IR spectra of the composites
besides the characteristic peaks of the esters and the building
materials. These results confirm that there is no chemical inter-
action between the esters and the building materials and the
interactions between the components of the composites are
physical in nature [21,34,36].
3.3. Thermal properties of the esters and the form-stable
composite PCMs
The DSC curves of GHM, GHL and the form-stable composite
PCMs are presented in Figs. 3 and 4 respectively. Thermal energy
storage data obtained from the DSC curves were given also in
Table 2. The melting temperatures of GHM and GHL esters were
measured to be 45.98 1C and 40.21 1C, respectively as the freezing
temperatures were measured to be 44.28 1C and 36.42 1C,
respectively. These results indicated that GHM and GHL ester
compounds were suitable for solar space heating and cooling
applications in buildings with respect to the climate conditions.
As also seen from Table 2, the melting temperatures of GHM/perlite,
GHM/diatomite and GHM/vermiculite were determined as 43.83 1C,
45.86 1C and 44.90 1C, respectively while the freezing temperatures
were determined as 43.27 1C, 44.63 1C and 44.26 1C, respectively.
On the other hand, the melting temperatures of GHM/perlite, GHM/
diatomite and GHM/vermiculite were measured as 39.53 1C,
39.03 1C and 39.48 1C whereas their freezing temperatures were
measured as 35.55 1C, 37.85 1C and 35.19 1C, respectively. There are
small differences in phase change temperatures of the composite
PCMs when compared with that of the pure GHL and GHM esters.
However, the phase change temperatures of the composite PCMs
are very close to that of pure esters. The little changes are probably
due to the physical interactions (capillary forces between the wall
of pores into the building material and ester molecules) character-
ized by FT-IR analysis. Based on the melting temperatures of the
composite PCMs it can be also concluded that the prepared six
composite PCMs can be used as thermal energy storage material for
solar space heating and cooling applications.
The latent heats of melting and freezing were found to be
121.13 J/g and 118.67 J/g for GHM/perlite, 96.21 J/g and 92.46 J/g
118 A. Sarı, A. Bic- er / Solar Energy Materials & Solar Cells 101 (2012) 114–122

Fig. 4. DSC curves for the melting and freezing of form-stable composite PCMs.

Table 2
The measured DSC data of the esters and the prepared form-stable composite PCMs.

Material Melting temperature (1C) Latent heat of melting (J/g) Freezing temperature (1C) Latent heat of freezing (J/g)

GHM 45.98 172.80 44.28 168.75

GHL 40.21 157.62 36.42 154.13
GHM/perlite 43.83 121.13 43.27 118.67
GHM/diatomite 45.86 96.21 44.63 92.46
GHM/vermiculite 44.90 83.75 44.26 81.13
GHL/perlite 39.53 119.45 35.55 114.36
GHL/diatomite 39.03 63.08 37.85 61.14
GHL/vermiculite 39.48 61.38 35.19 59.22

Table 3
Comparison of measured latent heats with calculated ones for the prepared composite PCMs.

Sample name Melting Freezing

Experimental value (J/g) Calculated value (J/g) Difference(%) Experimental value (J/g) Calculated value (J/g) Difference(%)

GHM/perlite 121.13 115.08 4.99 118.67 113.06 4.72

GHM/diatomite 96.21 95.04 1.21 92.46 92.51 0.05
GHM/vermiculite 83.75 88.99 5.89 81.13 87.75 8.16
GHL/perlite 119.45 110.33 7.63 114.36 107.89 5.66
GHL/diatomite 63.08 89.84 24.04 61.14 78.60 28.56
GHL/vermiculite 61.38 72.50 18.12 59.22 60.11 1.50

for GHM/diatomite, 83.75 J/g and 81.13 J/g for GHM/vermiculite,
respectively. The latent heats of GHL/perlite, GHL/diatomite GHL/
vermiculite were measured as 119.45, 63.08 and 61.38 J/g for
melting process and 114.36, 61.14 and 59.22 J/g for freezing process,
respectively (Table 2). The latent heat values of the composites make
them suitable PCMs for thermal energy storage purposes in build-
ings. Especially, GHM/perlite and GHL/perlite composites are
considered as the best appropriate PCMs for TES applications due
to their higher latent heat values compared with that of the others.
On the other hand, Table 3 presents the comparison of the
measured latent heat values of the composite PCMs with the
theoretical values calculated using the following equation:
DHcomp ¼ ZDHPCM ð1Þ
 A. Sarı, A. Bic- er / Solar Energy Materials & Solar Cells 101 (2012) 114–122 119

In Eq. (1), DHcomp, Z and DHPCM represent the theoretical latent
heat values of the composite PCM, the mass percentage of GHM
and GHL in the composites and the latent heats of the GHM and
GHL measured by the DSC. As also seen from Table 3, the
measured latent heats measured for the melting and freezing
processes of the composite PCMs were close to the theoretical
values calculated by using Eq. (1). In addition, Table 4 shows the
comparison of energy storage properties of the prepared compo-
site PCMs with that of some composite PCMs in literature
[17–19,21–26,31–33,36]. By considering these data it is remark-
ably noted that the prepared composite PCMs in this study have
important TES potential for decreasing the load of heating,
ventilating, and air conditioning in buildings.
3.4. Thermal reliability of the form-stable composite PCMs
A composite PCM should maintain its TES properties even it is
subjected to a large number of thermal cycling. In this sense,
thermal cycling test was conducted to determine the changes in
TES properties of the composite PCMs. The DSC results obtained
after 1000 thermal cycles were given in Fig. 5 and Table 5. After
thermal cycling, the melting and freezing temperatures changed

Table 4
Comparison of thermal energy storage properties of the prepared composite PCMs with that of some composite PCMs in literature.

Composite PCM Melting point (1C) Freezing point (1C) Latent heat (J/g) Reference

Lauric–stearic acid (38 wt%)/gypsum 34.0 – 50.3 [17]

ETP/cement 21.96 14.50 37.20 [18]
ETS/cement 32.23 29.83 35.96 [18]
ETP/gypsum 21.62 14.49 42.29 [18]
ETS/gypsum 32.30 29.45 43.26 [18]
PEG1000/diatomite 27.7 32.2 87.09 [19]
Capric–palmitic acid/vermiculite 23.51 22.15 72.05 [21]
Capric–stearic acid/vermiculite 25.64 24.90 71.53 [21]
Capric–palmitic acid (25 wt%)/gypsum 22.9 21.7 42.5 [22]
Lauric acid/expanded perlite 41.8 – 91.7 [23]
Paraffin/expanded perlite 42.27 40.79 87.40 [24]
Capric–stearic acid (25 wt%)/gypsum 23.8 23.9 49.0 [25]
Capric acid/expanded perlite 31.8 31.6 98.1 [26]
Decanoic–dodecanoic acid/diatomite 16.74 – 66.8 [31]
Capric–palmitic acid/attapulgite 21.71 – 48.2 [32]
n-nonadecane(50 wt%)/cement 31.9 31.8 69.1 [33]
Lauric acid (60 wt%)/expanded perlite 44.1 40.9 93.4 [36]
Lauric acid/expanded fly ash 41.3 – 38.7 [36]
Lauric acid/expanded clay 41.7 – 46.7 [36]
GHM/perlite 43.83 43.87 121.13 Present study
GHM/diatomite 45.86 45.97 96.21 Present study
GHM/vermiculite 44.90 44.90 83.75 Present study
GHL/perlite 39.53 34.55 119.45 Present study
GHL/diatomite 39.03 36.85 63.08 Present study
GHL/vermiculite 39.48 33.49 58.38 Present study

Fig. 5. DSC curves for the melting and freezing of form-stable composite PCMs after thermal cycling.
120 A. Sarı, A. Bic- er / Solar Energy Materials & Solar Cells 101 (2012) 114–122
Table 5
The measured DSC data of the prepared form-stable composite PCMs after 1000 thermal cycles.
Composite PCM Melting temperature (1C) Latent heat of melting (J/g)
GHM/perlite 45.71 116.48
GHM/diatomite 47.26 90.58
GHM/vermiculite 48.34 79.36
GHL/perlite 38.52 112.46
GHL/diatomite 38.37 60.55
GHL/vermiculite 38.03 57.48
Fig. 6. FT-IR spectra of the form-stable composite PCMs after thermal cycling.
as 1.88 1C and  2.15 1C for GHM/perlite, 1.40 1C and 0.92 1C for
GHM/diatomite, 3.44 1C and 1.75 1C for GHM/vermiculite,
1.01 1C and  0.81 1C for GHL/perlite, 0.66 1C and  1.14 1C for
GHL/diatomite, 1.45 1C and 1.06 1C for GHL/vermiculite. The
results showed that the changes in phase change temperatures of
the composite PCMs are in insignificant level for TES applications.
Therefore, it can be concluded that the composite PCMs have
good thermal reliability with respect to the changes in their phase
change temperatures.
On the other hand, after repeated 1000 thermal cycling the
latent heat values of melting changed as 3.8% for GHM/perlite,
5.8% for GHM/diatomite,  5.2% for GHM/vermiculite,  5.9%
for GHL/perlite,  4.0% for GHL/diatomite, 6.6% for GHL/vermi-
culite while the latent heat values of freezing changed as  5.5%
for GHM/perlite,  1.7% for GHM/diatomite  5.8% for GHM/
vermiculite,  6.8% for GHL/perlite,  1.2% for GHL/diatomite,
2.4% for GHL/vermiculite. As can be seen from these results
the changes in the latent heats values of the composite PCMs after
repeated thermal cycling were in reasonable level for TES
applications.
The chemical stability of the composite PCMs after repeated
thermal cycling was also investigated by FT-IR analysis. When
compared the FT-IR results given in Fig. 6 with the FT-IR results
given in Fig. 2(b), it can be seen that the peak positions and
shapes regarding with the characteristics groups of the composite
PCMs are not changed before and after thermal cycling. These
results mean that any degradation in chemical structure of the
composite PCMs was not occurred after thermal cycling.
Freezing temperature (1C) Latent heat of freezing (J/g)
41.12 112.13
45.09 90.87
46.01 76.42
34.74 106.57
36.71 60.38
34.13 57.78
Fig. 7. TG curves of GHM/perlite, GHM/diatomite and GHM/vermiculite composites.
Fig. 8. TG curves of GHL/perlite, GHL/diatomite and GHL/vermiculite composites.
3.5. Thermal stability of the composite PCMs
The thermal stabilities of the GHM/perlite, GHM/diatomite,
GHM/vermiculite, GHL/perlite, GHL/diatomite and GHL/vermicu-
lite were evaluated by TG analysis. The TG curves were shown in
Figs. 7 and 8. As seen from the curves, the weight loss processes of
all composites consist of two steps. The first step was carried out
in the temperature range of 76–294 1C for the composites
including GHM ester as it varies in the range of 83–362 1C for
the composites including GHL ester. The weight loss percent
regarding with the first step of the TG curves were determined
as 65.6, 56.9 and 51.2 wt% for GHM/perlite, GHM/diatomite,
GHM/vermiculite and 71.6, 48.4 and 38.7 wt% for GHL/perlite,
GHL/diatomite and GHL/vermiculite. These results are approxi-
mately equal to the mass percent of the esters confined into the
building materials. Therefore, it can be concluded that the first
step of the curves corresponds to the evaporation of ester
compound in the composite and the other step is attributed to
 A. Sarı, A. Bic- er / Solar Energy Materials & Solar Cells 101 (2012) 114–122
Table 6
The measured thermal conductivity values (at 25 1C) and energy storage properties before and after EG addition.
Material Thermal conductivity (W m  1 K  1)
Before EG addition
EG 4.26
Diatomite 0.07
Perlite 0.04
Vermiculite 0.06
GHM 0.11
GHL 0.10
GHM/perlite 0.15
GHM/diatomite 0.14
GHM/vermiculite 0.19
GHL/perlite 0.12
GHL/diatomite 0.17
GHL/vermiculite 0.16
the degradation or evaporation of the metal oxides and water
contents of the building material. In addition, the initial tempera-
tures regarding with the first step of the curves are much higher
than the phase change temperatures of the composites. This
result means that they have good thermal durability over their
working temperature range, 39–46 1C.
3.6. Thermal conductivity of the PCMs
The energy storing and releasing rates of a PCM used for TES is
substantially depending on its thermal conductivity [41,42]. For
this aim, thermal conductivity values of the composite PCMs were
increased by adding the expanded graphite (EG) to them at mass
fraction of 5%. As seen from Table 6, thermal conductivity values
were measured as 0.15, 0.14, 0.19, 0.12, 0.17, 0.16 Wm  1 K  1 for
GHM/perlite, GHM/diatomite, GHM/vermiculite, GHL/perlite,
GHL/diatomite, and GHL/vermiculite, respectively. After 5 wt%
EG addition, thermal conductivity values of the composite PCMs
were measured as 0.22, 0.20, 0.24, 0.20, 0.24, 0.22 Wm  1 K  1,
respectively. These results showed that thermal conductivity
values of GHM/perlite, GHM/diatomite, GHM/vermiculite, GHL/
perlite, GHL/diatomite, and GHL/vermiculite were increased as
about 47%, 43%, 26%, 67%, 41% and 38%, respectively. In addition,
DSC analysis was performed to investigate the effect of EG
additive on energy storage properties of the composite PCMs. As
seen from Table 6, after EG addition the changes in phase change
temperatures and latent heat values of the composite PCMs can
be considered as insignificant for TES applications.
4. Conclusions
In this study, some fatty acid esters/building material compo-
sites were prepared as novel form-stable PCMs for TES applica-
tions in buildings. The prepared composite PCMs were
characterized by using SEM, FT-IR, and DSC analysis techniques.
The maximum mass percentages of GHM confined into perlite,
diatomite and vermiculite were determined as 67, 55 and 52 wt%,
respectively while the maximum mass percentages of GHL in the
composites were determined as 70, 51 and 39 wt%, respectively.
The DSC results showed that the melting temperatures and latent
heat values of the composite PCMs with GHM and GHL contents
were in the range of about 39–46 1C and 61–121 J/g. Especially,
GHM/perlite and GHL/perlite composites can be considered as the
best suitable PCMs for TES applications due to their higher latent
heat values compared with that of the other composite PCMs. The
FTIR and DSC analysis performed after thermal cycling test
revealed that the composite PCMs have good thermal reliability
121
Thermal energy storage properties
After 5 wt% EG addition Melting point (1C) Latent heat of melting (J/g)
– – –
– – –
– – –
– – –
– – –
– – –
0.22 43.28 117.13
0.20 45.86 93.14
0.24 44.76 80.21
0.20 39.24 114.45
0.24 39.14 61.12
0.22 39.32 59.76
and chemical stability. The TG analysis results signified that the
composites have good thermal durability above their working
temperature range. Moreover, the thermal conductivity values of
the composite PCMs were increased with EG addition at mass
fraction of 5%. It was also concluded that the prepared GHM/
perlite, GHM/diatomite, GHM/vermiculite, GHL/perlite, GHL/dia-
tomite, and GHL/vermiculite composites can be taken into
account as promising PCMs for solar space heating and cooling
applications because of their good energy storage properties,
thermal reliability and improved thermal conductivity.
Acknowledgments
Authors thank Altınay BOYRAZ (Erciyes University, Technology
Research & Developing Center) for SEM and TG analysis.
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