Physical and Mechanical Properties of Cement Mortars with Direct Incorporation of Phase Change Material

Abstract

The world economic evolution causes a significant intensification in the energy consumption. So, the energy efficiency of buildings is very important because this is one of the principal areas, responsible of the energy consumption in developed countries. The phase change materials (PCM) are smart materials, with the capacity to control the temperature variation, due to their capacity of absorbing and releasing energy. The PCM can be integrated into construction materials using different techniques, such as encapsulation, shape stabilization, direct incorporation, and immersion. The most common form of this material utilization is through encapsulation. It should be noted that, currently, there are still high production costs involved with PCM encapsulation. Thus, it is imperative to develop mortars with PCM incorporation based on raw materials and techniques with lower costs, such as PCM direct incorporation, to address the high production costs of macro- or microencapsulated PCM. The main objective of this work was the study of the physical and mechanical properties of mortars with direct incorporation of PCM, with a melting temperature of about 22 °C. Based on the results obtained, it can be concluded that the addition of this material caused some changes in the fresh and hardened properties of cement mortars.