Experimental study on the thermal performance of capric acid-myristyl alcohol/expanded perlite composite phase change materials for thermal energy storage

Abstract Thermal energy storage with phase change materials (PCM) is of great significance for increasing energy efficiency and energy saving. In this paper, a novel capric acid-myristyl alcohol/expanded perlite composite PCM (CPCM) with two phase change peaks were prepared. The capric acid-myristyl alcohol (CM) were synthesized by capric acid (CA) and myristyl alcohol (MA) (WCA and WMA = 9:1). Three kinds of expanded perlites (EP) were employed as support materials in the prepared CPCM. The chemical structure, morphology, thermal properties, leakage and thermal energy storage performance of the CM/EPPCM were investigated. The results indicate that the CM/EPPCM has a good thermal stability and leakage-proof performance. In addition, the thermal characteristics of the CM/EPPCM were investigated using a building model. The experimental results shows that the application of the CM/EPPCM for building envelope can effectively reduce temperature fluctuation and improve the thermal comfort of the building.