eNeRGy storage in cementitious systems Doped with Electrically Activated nano-graphenes and phase-change materiaL

Objective

Thermal insulation of construction and building elements has become the most important measure to enhance energy savings in new and existing building stock. Stricter regulations (such as 2019/2021 EU Buildings Directive) have led to the use of huge thicknesses of standard insulation, almost always EPS and XPS. An efficient use of a porous cementitious system as a thermal insulation material depends mainly on its air content. Lightweight concretes have a better thermal insulation capacity than regular-weight ones; however, their use is not efficient enough due to their still too high density. The problem with these insulations is that they store heat/cold sensibly (variation of the body temperature). An innovative solution would be the employment of a latent heat based Thermal Energy Storage, using the phase transition occurring in part of the insulation. During the phase transition, the insulation material will absorb/release energy at constant temperature, increasing the system efficiency. A maximization of the synergetic interplay between thermal conductivity and the potential to store/release energy into components of the building envelope can be achieved by an effective use of Phase Change Materials. A disadvantage of using commercially available Microencapsulated PCMs in building applications is their very low thermal conductivity. To counteract it, graphene can be blended in both the cementitious matrix and the MPCMs in order to achieve a targeted increase in thermal conductivity. Graphene addition also allows voluntary resets of the MPCM by means of an external intentional potential difference, due to the enhanced composite’s electrical conductivity and magnetic permeability. The proposed project deals with the improvement of cementitious lamellae of concrete foams for buildings insulations. MPCMs addition and graphene doping of both cement paste and MPCMs will enhance thermo-electrical properties of this cutting-edge eNeRGy material.