The most significant threat that mankind faces in the 21th century is global warming. Buildings, which account for 40% of global energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, play a pivotal role in global warming. Estimates show that their destructive impact will grow by 1.8% per year through 2050, which indicates that future consumption and emissions will be worse than today. Therefore, the impact of cooling systems cannot be ignored, as they, along with ventilation and heating systems, account for 60% of the energy consumed in buildings. Passive cooling techniques are a promising alternative to conventional cooling systems. Of the various passive cooling strategies, thermal energy storage by means of latent heat is an efficient way to increase the thermal inertia of building envelopes, which would reduce temperature fluctuations, leading to the improved thermal comfort of occupants. Phase change materials (PCMs) with high density for thermal energy storage can be efficiently employed to this purpose. This paper reviews recent studies of the application of PCMs for passive cooling in buildings. From the literature, a comprehensive list of different organic, inorganic and eutectic PCMs appropriate for passive cooling in buildings are reviewed. Full-scale testing and numerical modeling were found to be the most popular investigative methods used for experimental and theoretical analysis of PCMs. The combination of these two methods can provide a detailed and valid technique for PCM investigations. Finally, incorporating PCMs into building walls with macro encapsulation was also a dominant interest in previous studies.

A review on phase change material (PCM) for sustainable passive cooling in building envelopes

Recent advances in understanding the role of supplementary cementitious materials in concrete

Developments in organic solid–liquid phase change materials and their applications in thermal energy storage

Phase change materials (PCM) for cooling applications in buildings: A review

The building sector is the dominant energy consumer with a total 30% share of the overall energy consumption and accounts for one-third of the greenhouse gas emissions around the world. Moreover, in recent years the energy demands for buildings have increased very rapidly due to increase in the growth rate of population and improvement in living standards of people. Furthermore, fossil fuels will continue to dominate the world's primary energy by 2030. Thus, the increase in energy demand, shortage of fossil fuels and environmental concerns has provided impetus to the development of sustainable building and renewable energy resources. Thermal energy storage is an efficient method for applying to building envelopes to improve the energy efficiency of buildings. This, in turn, reduces the environmental impact related to energy usage. The combination of construction materials and PCM is an efficient way to increase the thermal energy storage capacity of construction elements. Therefore, an extensive review on the incorporation of PCM into construction materials and elements by direct incorporation, immersion, encapsulation, shape-stabilization and form-stable composite PCMs is presented. For the first time, the differentiation between shape-stabilized and form-stable composite PCM has been made. Moreover, various construction materials such as diatomite, expanded perlite and graphite, etc. which are used as supports for form-stable composite PCM along with their worldwide availability are extensively discussed. One of the main aims of this review paper is to focus on the test methods which are used to determine the chemical compatibility, thermal properties, thermal stability and thermal conductivity of the PCM. Hence, the details related to calibration, sample preparation, test cell and analysis of test results are comprehensively covered. Finally, because of the renewed interest in integration of PCM in wallboards and concrete, an up-to-date review with focus on PCM enhanced wallboard and concrete for building applications is added.

Shazim Ali Memon

Papers

Phase change materials integrated in building walls: A state of the art review

Nondestructive test methods for concrete bridges: A review

Utilization of Rice Husk Ash as viscosity modifying agent in Self Compacting Concrete

Energy and economic analysis of building integrated with PCM in different cities of China

Production of low cost self compacting concrete using bagasse ash