Experimental Investigation on the Properties of Cement-PCM Mortars

In recent decades, the drastic changes in the environment have created the demand for better living conditions in buildings. The significant need in regulating better atmospheric temperature inside buildings has led to the development in materials like phase change materials (PCM) for construction applications. The most common methods of incorporating PCM in the building are micro and macro encapsulation techniques, these techniques are complex to implement, and the cost of implementing is high. Among the existing techniques, non-encapsulation or direct mixing methods seems to be more convenient and cost cutting. However, the addition of PCM directly into cement mortar can modify the characteristics of mixture. So, it is essential to first explore the properties of the mixture. The main objective of this work is to identify the behaviour of physical, mechanical and chemical properties of the cement-PCM mortars with five proportions of PCM. From the results, it is possible to conclude that addition of PCM in mortars has created only a minor difference in their behaviour and properties. Differences in compression strength and density vary up to 16 and 19% for PCM-10 and from DSC-TGA; it is possible to say more hardening time needed for PCM incorporated samples. Moreover, the significant properties were not anomalous, and hence, it can be further subjected to analyse the thermal behaviour of the mixture for utilizing in optimum applications.