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Influence of experimental conditions on measured thermal properties used to model phase change materials

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  • Building Thermal, Lighting and Acoustics Modeling
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Abstract

experimental conditions, experimentations on a bio-based PCM are performed with varying heat transfer rates and different configurations (PCM samples and PCM-equipped walls). Enthalpy–temperature or specific heat–temperature curves are computed for each case using an inverse method. A comparison between the results obtained with different methods and different heat transfer rates shows significant differences. The phase change temperature range obtained with the inverse method applied to the PCM samples is larger than the range obtained with the DSC test. The tests on the PCM-equipped walls show that varying heat transfer rates has a significant impact on the phase change temperature range and the hysteresis between heating and cooling curves. Higher rates increase the hysteresis and shift the phase change temperature range towards colder temperatures. Given the observed differences between properties obtained from different experimental conditions, it is recommended to carefully select the method used to define PCM enthalpy–temperature curves, taking into account the modeling application (PCM configuration and expected heating / cooling rates).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, École Polytechnique de Montréal, 2500 Chemin de Polytechnique, Montréal, QC, H3T 1J4, Canada

    Benoit Delcroix & Michaël Kummert

  2. Laboratoire des Technologies de l’Énergie, Hydro-Québec Research Institute, 600 Avenue de la Montagne, Shawinigan, QC, G9N 7N5, Canada

    Ahmed Daoud & Jonathan Bouchard

Authors
  1. Benoit Delcroix
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  2. Michaël Kummert
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  3. Ahmed Daoud
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  4. Jonathan Bouchard
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Correspondence to Benoit Delcroix.

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Delcroix, B., Kummert, M., Daoud, A. et al. Influence of experimental conditions on measured thermal properties used to model phase change materials. Build. Simul. 8, 637–650 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12273-015-0241-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12273-015-0241-8

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