EFFECT OF NANOMATERIALS ON THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY ENHANCEMENT OF PHASE CHANGE MATERIALS FOR GREEN BUILDING APPLICATIONS

Abstract

Buildings contribute to 33.3% of the world greenhouse gas emission and 40% of the world energy consumption (Building Construction Authority, 2013). These figures are still on a rise throughout the decades causing the rise in global temperature. It is therefore paramount to investigate and explore methods to reduce energy consumption and emission of greenhouse gases in view of environmental concerns. In recent years, a large amount of attention and studies have been placed on thermal energy storage systems with the use of Phase Change Material (PCM). However, the limited effect of PCM such as low thermal conductivity, low energy storage capacity and large volume changes (Ma et al., 2016) has created the birth of Nano-enhanced Phase Change Material (NePCM) as the newer and better alternative. In this paper, it is discovered that nano-graphite yielded the most satisfactory result of more than double in thermal conductivity as the thermal enhancement factor is recorded at 53.1% with 5wt% added. Other good performing nano-enhancers include carbon nanotube and nano- copper. Keywords: Nano-enhanced Phase Change Material, Phase Change Material, Nano Enhancer, Thermal Conductivity, Thermal Property, Energy Consumption, Green Building, Singapore,