Article
Engineering, Chemical
Adeel Arshad, Anurag Roy, Tapas K. Mallick, Asif Ali Tahir
Summary: By combining poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) with silica aerogel (Si-ag), a smart insulation composite material has been developed to balance thermal and visual comfort in buildings. This composite material has the ability to obstruct near-infrared light while maintaining visible transparency, and exhibits temperature-dependent switchable hydrophobic/hydrophilic characteristics. The thermal performance evaluation shows that the composite material can effectively reduce indoor temperature and be used for window retrofitting.
INDUSTRIAL & ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Thibault Harle, Ronan L. Hebert, Giao T. M. Nguyen, Beatrice A. Ledesert
Summary: This paper presents the thermal and mechanical characterizations of a composite material made of plaster and home-made solid-solid Phase Change Material (s-s PCM). The incorporation of s-s PCM into the plaster matrix does not change the thermal properties of PCM. The preliminary results suggest that s-s PCM can be considered further for incorporation into plasterboard to improve thermal comfort in building applications.
ENERGY AND BUILDINGS
(2022)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Ahmad Wadee, Pallavi Achanta, Pete Walker, Nick McCullen, Veronica Ferrandiz-Mas
Summary: This study developed a novel gypsum plaster with high energy storage phase change material (PCM) loaded granules to reduce energy consumption in buildings.PCM gypsum plaster achieved the maximum thermal comfort, while incorporating PCM granules into cement blocks resulted in the highest energy savings.
CONSTRUCTION AND BUILDING MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Lu Liu, Xuelai Zhang, Xiaofeng Xu, Xiangwei Lin, Yi Zhao, Lingeng Zou, Yifan Wu, Huifan Zheng
Summary: The study prepared a DA-LA/EG composite phase change material with high thermal performance and stability, showing promising application prospects in vaccine cold chain logistics.
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Ghazal Enteshari, Ebrahim Najafi Kani
Summary: In this study, microencapsulated phase change material (MEPCM) was developed using the emulsion-polymerization method for application in gypsum plaster tiles as a passive thermal energy storage (TES) solution. The addition of MEPCM was found to impact the thermal conductivity, density, and mechanical strength of the gypsum plaster tiles. The synthesized MEPCM exhibited high encapsulation efficiency and thermal stability.
JOURNAL OF MATERIALS IN CIVIL ENGINEERING
(2022)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Girolama Airo Farulla, Vincenza Brancato, Valeria Palomba, Yannan Zhang, Giuseppe E. Dino, Andrea Frazzica
Summary: In this paper, the cement mortar IN200 integrated with solid-solid PlusIce X25 commercial PCM was characterized for the first time through experimental tests and numerical simulations. The composite showed advantages in terms of temperature reduction, heat flux reduction, and enhanced damping effect on average temperature. The model developed based on the experimental results was used to analyze the influence of PCM mass fraction, phase transition temperature, and PCM mortar thickness on the energy saving potential. Additionally, the model was used to simulate long-term transition processes in Mediterranean climatic conditions.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Xing Yang, Liangjun Lu, Yu Li, Yue Wu, Ziquan Li, Jianping Chen, Linjie Zhou
Summary: Integrated Mach-Zehnder interferometers (MZIs) with phase-change materials offer low power consumption and compact size for reconfigurable photonic processors. However, they suffer from low optical extinction ratio and limited switching cycles due to material loss and poor reversible repeatability. A non-volatile electrically reconfigurable MZI with a low-loss phase-change material (Sb2Se3) encapsulated in Al2O3 layers is demonstrated. By dividing the Sb2Se3 patch into small sub-cells to restrict material reflow, more than 10,000 reversible phase-change cycles and 6-bit multilevel switching states are achieved.
ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Junshi Zhao, Qi Liang, Ying Chen, Sifan Zhang, Zhitang Song, Sannian Song, Zhongyuan Ma, Liangcai Wu
Summary: The RST phase change material has significantly improved data retention, fast operation speed, high resistance ratio, small density change, low operation voltage, and power consumption, making it a promising material for high performance applications.
JOURNAL OF ALLOYS AND COMPOUNDS
(2021)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Jicheng Liu, Yuanbo Zhang, Zijian Su, Dingyao Huang, Ding Xu, Manman Lu, Shuo Liu, Tao Jiang
Summary: This study proposed a novel, low-cost composite phase-change material and demonstrated its potential in high-temperature heat storage through various experimental methods. The results indicate that the material has high stability and good thermal conductivity, showing promising performance in practical applications.
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Chuanchang Li, Weixuan Wang, Xiaoliang Zeng, Chunxuan Liu, Rong Sun
Summary: This study prepared a new form-stable phase change thermal interface material by melt blending paraffin wax (PW) and low-density polyethylene (LDPE), and the thermal conductivity of the material was improved by adding aluminum (Al) powder. The influence of Al powder addition on the internal structure, thermal properties, and phase change behavior of the PW/LDPE matrix was systematically studied. The results confirmed that the addition of Al powder improved the thermal conductivity of the material without a significant impact on other properties, and the thermal conductivity increased with the increase of Al addition. Therefore, morphologically stable PW/LDPE/Al is an important development direction for thermal interface materials.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MINERALS METALLURGY AND MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Chenzhen Liu, Qingjiang Cheng, Xinjian Liu, Huanxin Cao, Shaocai Jin, Yifan Liu, Zhonghao Rao
Summary: In this study, NanoEPCM with excellent thermal properties and spherical morphology were successfully synthesized, which indicates great potential for its application in thermal energy storage.
SOLAR ENERGY MATERIALS AND SOLAR CELLS
(2022)
Review
Energy & Fuels
A. Palacios, M. E. Navarro-Rivero, B. Zou, Z. Jiang, M. T. Harrison, Y. Ding
Summary: Encapsulation is a strategy to improve the thermal performance of Thermal Energy Storage systems. It provides a protective layer, prevents PCM from being in contact with the environment, and helps control volume change during phase change. This paper reviews different encapsulation techniques and provides a flowchart to guide the selection and validation of encapsulation materials and methods based on application variables.
JOURNAL OF ENERGY STORAGE
(2023)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Liqing Zou, Yingying Luo, Jianyang Zhang, Xinxin Sheng, Ying Chen, Pengcheng Lin
Summary: Researchers propose a novel method of processing phase change materials (PCMs) for thermal management of miniature electronic components. The granulated PCMGPs have suitable size for microelectronic components and enhanced thermophysical properties due to boron nitride hybridization. By packaging PCMGPs in a smart phone, the working temperatures of the CPU can be significantly decreased and thermal shock can be prevented under different working conditions.
JOURNAL OF ENERGY STORAGE
(2023)
Review
Energy & Fuels
Jiyuan Liang, Xuelai Zhang, Jun Ji
Summary: Passive temperature and humidity independent control technology plays a significant role in building construction, with factors such as moisture buffer value, phase change materials, and microcapsule technology enhancing energy efficiency and humidity control. Materials like hygroscopic phase change composite materials (HPCCMs) combine advantages to meet indoor thermal comfort requirements.
JOURNAL OF ENERGY STORAGE
(2021)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Shuo Wang, Xiangyu Zhao, Zhiyuan Wang, Yuanqiang Zhang, Hao Wang, Deqiu Zou
Summary: The application of liquid metal (LM) in electronic thermal management is gaining attention, but its leakage can lead to environmental pollution and corrosion of electronic equipment, affecting safety. To overcome these issues, LM-based microcapsules with high thermal conductivity and storage capacity were developed. The micro-encapsulated phase change material (MEPCM), composed of liquid metal Sn-Bi-In core and PMMA shell, exhibited good morphology and efficient thermal storage capacity (246.46 J cm(-3)) even after 300 thermal cycles. The MEPCM-based composite, when applied to LED chip, resulted in a temperature 11.2 degrees C lower than that of thermal gel, highlighting the potential of MEPCM-based composites in electronic thermal management.
JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION
(2023)
Article
Polymer Science
Li Qian, Yaxian Wang, Ying Lu, Yongfeng Men
Summary: Research on the crystallization behaviors of two impact copolymer polypropylenes (ICP) revealed differences in their crystallization peaks at different cooling rates, with ICP-A and ICP-B showing distinct behaviors. These differences can be attributed to their different chain microstructures.
Article
Polymer Science
Beibei Wu, Yuqing Lai, Yongfeng Men
Summary: In this study, the form II to I transition in isotactic polybutene-1 (PB-1) at room temperature was investigated using spherulites with few inter-crystalline links between adjacent lamellae, which were obtained by isothermally crystallizing two different molar mass PB-1 samples. Surprisingly, the spherulite of the higher molar mass PB-1 exhibited a higher gross transition rate at the late stage compared to the lower molar mass one.
Article
Polymer Science
Yanan Qin, Wenbo Song, Ming Chen, Victor Litvinov, Yongfeng Men
Summary: Crystallization and melting processes have significant effects on the entanglement density of polymers. Faster crystallization and higher molecular weight lead to lower disentangling degree. The entanglement density increases during melting and approaches its equilibrium value. In addition, the relative density of chain segments forming interlamellar links increases with molecular weight and faster crystallization rate.
Article
Polymer Science
Tingting Guan, Xiaohan Wang, You-Liang Zhu, Li Qian, Zhongyuan Lu, Yongfeng Men, Jian Li, Yuting Wang, Junqi Sun
Summary: In this study, poly(urethane-urea) elastomers with high mechanical strength and damage resistance were fabricated. The elastomers also showed the ability to heal and resist damage. Conductors with similar properties were conveniently fabricated by loading ionic liquids. The key to the excellent performance of these materials lies in the disintegrable hydrogen-bond arrays and strain-induced crystallization of the polymer chains.
Article
Polymer Science
Hai Wang, Dongtao Liu, Dongmei Cui, Yongfeng Men, Kohji Tashiro
Summary: The solubility of syndiotactic polymethoxystyrene (OMe-SPS) in organic solvents is influenced by the position of methoxy (OMe) groups substitution. For para- and ortho-substitution, the polymer is easily dissolved by organic solvents like tetrahydrofuran (THF) and toluene (TOL) even at room temperature. However, the meta-substituted OMe units form crystalline complexes (delta form) with solvents (THF and TOL) at room temperature, inducing a beta-to-delta phase transition.
Article
Polymer Science
Hongru Wang, Li Zhang, Kar Wee Eddie Peh, Qianli Yu, Ying Lu, Wenqiang Hua, Yongfeng Men
Summary: Thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), composed of alternating soft and hard segments, exhibits complicated thermal behaviors during heating. The dynamics of enthalpy relaxation and the effects of phase separation and crystallization on it were investigated using fast scanning chip calorimetry (FSC).
Article
Polymer Science
Peiru Liu, Li Peng, Jiajie Chen, Bo Yang, Yanan Chen, Zhongfu Luo, Charles C. Han, Xianbo Huang, Yongfeng Men
Summary: The tensile creep properties of isotactic polypropylene were investigated under different loads and temperatures. The analysis of the true strain-time creep curves revealed a constant increment of strain during the secondary creep, independent of stretching temperature and stress level. The end of the secondary creep and the creep failure time were reached when the deformation of the crystalline skeleton reached its limit. The relationship between creep failure time and temperature followed an Arrhenius behavior, which could be used for predicting creep failure time at lower temperatures.
Article
Polymer Science
Ying Lu, Dong Lyu, Cenhui Han, Xiao Yang, Patrick C. Lee, Yongfeng Men
Summary: The crystallization behavior of polybutene-1 (PB-1) into different polymorphs under supercritical carbon dioxide (CO2) was investigated. The results showed that form I' and form III nucleated and grew faster than form II under high CO2 pressures, suggesting competition between nucleation of different forms. The findings provide insights for controlling crystal polymorphism in PB-1 using supercritical fluid approach.
Article
Polymer Science
Yanan Qin, Ying Lu, Victor Litvinov, Yongfeng Men
Summary: The melting behaviors of lamellar structures in iPB-1 and iPB-1/C2 were studied using SAXS and FSC techniques. Hexagonal form I was obtained from tetragonal form II in iPB-1, while hexagonal form I' was directly crystallized in iPB-1/C2. The melting behavior of forms I and I' are distinct due to their different crystal formation processes. Linear relationships between melting temperature and reciprocal lamellar thickness were observed, indicating the influence of chain mobility on melting behavior. The extrapolation of these relationships provided the equilibrium melting temperature T(m)(infinity) for both forms, which reflects the stability of the lamellar crystals. Form I' exhibited a higher T(m)(infinity) than form I, suggesting a less perfect structure caused by the fragmentation of form II lamellae.
Article
Polymer Science
Tao Liao, Xintong Zhao, Phil Coates, Ben Whiteside, Zhiyong Jiang, Yongfeng Men
Summary: This study investigated the microscopic structure and tensile fracture behavior of microinjection molded polyethylene samples with and without a weldline at different mold temperatures. It was found that the fracture characteristic distributions deviate from Gaussian statistics for samples molded at 75 degrees C due to the extent of structural heterogeneity along the shear flow direction. Samples molded at 75 degrees C with a more uniform structural distribution can undergo larger strain before ultimate failure, resulting in a broad non-Gaussian distribution of fracture parameters. The fracture toughness-yield stress relationships revealed that the degree of chain orientation is more important than crystallinity for fracture toughness.
Article
Polymer Science
Ying Lu, Dong Lyu, Xintong Zhao, Yongfeng Men
Summary: The study investigated the Mw-dependent formation of mesophase and a phase in iPP using in situ synchrotron microfocus X-ray scattering and portable fast-scanning chip calorimetry techniques. The results showed that a common crystallization line was shared by the mesophase of all three samples, while different crystallization lines were observed for the iPP samples. Additionally, the melting line of the mesophase overlapped with its crystallization line, unlike the a phase. The study also suggested the presence of an intermediate layer in the multistage crystallization model for the a phase.
Article
Polymer Science
Cenhui Han, Dong Lyu, Ying Lu, Yongfeng Men
Summary: The study investigated the effect of crystallinity and temperature on the modulus of poly(4-methyl-1-pentene), across a wide temperature range including the glass transition. It was observed that the storage modulus of different samples decreases with increasing crystallinity below the glass transition temperature. The storage modulus of different samples is the same at around 45 degrees C where the densities of the crystalline and amorphous phases are identical. A model considering a parallel arrangement of crystalline skeleton and amorphous network allowed for the decomposition of the measured modulus into moduli of both phases. Additionally, a peculiar positive temperature-dependent apparent crystalline phase modulus below the glass transition temperature was observed, which can be attributed to the strong constraint of the crystalline phase by the denser amorphous network at lower temperatures due to different thermal expansion coefficients of the two phases.
Article
Polymer Science
Houwei Wu, Tao Liao, Benhu Zhu, Wei Su, Ying Lu, Yongfeng Men
Summary: The structural evolution of UHMWPE and HDPE samples during heating before fibrillation completion was studied using SAXS and WAXD techniques. Two populations of lamellae were observed, one belonging to the original lamellae that experienced deformation processes and another formed due to fibrillation. Surprisingly, the inclined lamellae exhibited better thermal stability in UHMWPE, while the situation was opposite in HDPE. This higher stability in UHMWPE was attributed to the higher number of tie chains and more stable entangled amorphous network.
Article
Polymer Science
Ce Shi, Yujing Tang, Ying Lu, Yongfeng Men
Summary: The translation mentions that Ethylene vinyl alcohol copolymer (EVOH) is widely used in the packaging industry and its crystallization behavior plays a significant role in production properties. Through the study on the crystallization kinetics and crystalline structure of EVOH, it is discovered that the crystallization rate of EVOH has a bimodal dependence on the crystallization temperature with a preference for different phases at different temperature ranges. The trend of crystallinity and crystallization enthalpy matches as the crystallization temperature increases.
Article
Polymer Science
Ying Lu, Dong Lyu, Cenhui Han, Yongfeng Men
Summary: Isotactic polypropylene (iPP) can form a transparent structure with aligned fibrillar/micro-fibrillar crystals embedded into an oriented amorphous network at elevated temperatures. Cavitation-induced stress-whitening occurs during further stretching, attributed to the breakage of load-bearing inter-fibrillar/micro-fibrillar tie chains. The critical stress for triggering cavitation is determined by the weight-average molecular weight (M w) rather than the number-average molecular weight or molecular weight distribution (MWD), indicating the importance of long chains in the fibrillar system.
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Samiran Khorat, Debashish Das, Rupali Khatun, Sk Mohammad Aziz, Prashant Anand, Ansar Khan, Mattheos Santamouris, Dev Niyogi
Summary: Cool roofs can effectively mitigate heatwave-induced excess heat and enhance thermal comfort in urban areas. Implementing cool roofs can significantly improve urban meteorology and thermal comfort, reducing energy flux and heat stress.
ENERGY AND BUILDINGS
(2024)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Qi Li, Jiayu Chen, Xiaowei Luo
Summary: This study focuses on the vertical wind conditions as a main external factor that limits the energy assessment of high-rise buildings in urban areas. Traditional tools for energy assessment of buildings use a universal vertical wind profile estimation, without taking into account the unique wind speed in each direction induced by the various shapes and configurations of buildings in cities. To address this limitation, the study developed an omnidirectional urban vertical wind speed estimation method using direction-dependent building morphologies and machine learning algorithms.
ENERGY AND BUILDINGS
(2024)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Xiaojun Luo, Lamine Mahdjoubi
Summary: This paper presents an integrated blockchain and machine learning-based energy management framework for multiple forms of energy allocation and transmission among multiple domestic buildings. Machine learning is used to predict energy generation and consumption patterns, and the proposed framework establishes optimal and automated energy allocation through peer-to-peer energy transactions. The approach contributes to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and enhances environmental sustainability.
ENERGY AND BUILDINGS
(2024)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Ying Yu, Yuanwei Xiao, Jinshuai Chou, Xingyu Wang, Liu Yang
Summary: This study proposes a dual-layer optimization design method to maximize the energy sharing potential, enhance collaborative benefits, and reduce the storage capacity of building clusters. Case studies show that the proposed design significantly improves the performance of building clusters, reduces energy storage capacity, and shortens the payback period.
ENERGY AND BUILDINGS
(2024)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Felix Langner, Weimin Wang, Moritz Frahm, Veit Hagenmeyer
Summary: This paper compares two main approaches to consider uncertainties in model predictive control (MPC) for buildings: robust and stochastic MPC. The results show that compared to a deterministic MPC, the robust MPC increases the electricity cost while providing complete temperature constraint satisfaction, while the stochastic MPC slightly increases the electricity cost but fulfills the thermal comfort requirements.
ENERGY AND BUILDINGS
(2024)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Somil Yadav, Caroline Hachem-Vermette
Summary: This study proposes a mathematical model to evaluate the performance of a Double Skin Facade (DSF) system and its impact on indoor conditions. The model considers various design parameters and analyzes their effects on the system's electrical output and room temperature.
ENERGY AND BUILDINGS
(2024)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Ruijun Chen, Holly Samuelson, Yukai Zou, Xianghan Zheng, Yifan Cao
Summary: This research introduces an innovative resilient design framework that optimizes building performance by considering a holistic life cycle perspective and accounting for climate projection uncertainties. The study finds that future climate scenarios significantly impact building life cycle performance, with wall U-value, windows U-value, and wall density being major factors. By using ensemble learning and optimization algorithms, predictions for carbon emissions, cost, and indoor discomfort hours can be made, and the best resilient design scheme can be selected. Applying this framework leads to significant improvements in building life cycle performance.
ENERGY AND BUILDINGS
(2024)
