Experimental and numerical study on a new floor heating system using carbon fiber tape embedded in cement mortar

Abstract

A new design for a floor electrical heating system manufactured with commercially available carbon fiber tape (CFT) as heating source embedded in cement mortar is proposed in this study. The characterization on thermal performance of the system was then performed to analyze the heating efficiency, temperature change with spatial and temporal variations, and energy consumption. The experimental results showed that the temperature of the CFT surface could increase at a rate of 1.83 °C/min through the heating system, and the heating flux is 16.31W/m2. Numerical analysis was also conducted on the heating panel and its associated heating system. The temperature gradient in the vertical direction is much greater than that in the horizontal direction. The heating power of the CFT is stable at a constant voltage, and the reflective film and insulation board effectively minimize the heat transfer towards the bottom of the device, thus enhancing the heating efficiency. The automatic temperature control device can also decrease energy consumption. The temperature increase and power-on time of the device are affected by the ambient temperature. The temperature change and distribution obtained by FE thermal analysis are in good agreement with the experimental results. Finally, the number and spacing of CFT are optimized to improve the performance of the heating system, and more uniform temperature distribution can be achieved using more CFTs with the same power consumption.