"Matter": 3D printed polymer phase change composite materials for indoor temperature regulation!

In daily life, every household needs to adjust the indoor temperature through heating, fans, air-conditioning and other equipment
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According to statistics, the energy consumed by people's active thermal control of buildings accounts for almost 20% of the national energy consumption
.
Therefore, in the thermal management of buildings, new technologies that reduce temperature fluctuations and maintain an ideal and comfortable environment have the potential to revolutionize the global energy landscape
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Among them, the thermal energy storage system using phase change materials (PCMs) for latent heat storage is an ideal choice for passively controlling the heating and cooling of buildings
.
? Texas A&M University Emily B.
Pentzer et al.
proposed a simple method for producing and printing PCM-based ink through direct ink writing (DIW) technology
.
The author used PCM particles as a viscosity modifier and thermal buffer in 3D printing, and successfully printed an ink with a PCM content of up to 63 wt%
.
These inks have excellent thermal regulation capabilities and have almost no leakage during 200 melting/solidification cycles
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After heating, the temperature of the house printed with PCM-based ink is 40% lower than the external environment
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PCMs with different melting points can be integrated into the resin for printing at the same time without compromising its structure or integrity
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This method is suitable for various photocurable polymer matrix and PCM, without the need for microencapsulation of PCM
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The research was published in "Matter" as a paper entitled "Thermal energy regulation with 3D printed polymer-phase change material? Composites"
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Highlights of the article: (1) The author reports a simple method for producing and printing PCM-based inks through DIW technology, in which PCM particles are used as the viscosity modifier in the light-curable resin matrix and are uniformly dispersed in the resin
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The author evaluated the influence of ink composition on viscosity to optimize its printability and thermal management performance
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? (2) Leakage test and DSC thermal analysis results show that the resin matrix effectively encapsulates the PCM during multiple solid-liquid phase change cycles, and the leakage is negligible
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Since the ink formulation does not depend on a certain PCM, multiple PCMs with different melting points can be integrated into one ink, thereby achieving a wider operating temperature window and improving thermal management capabilities
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? (3) The author 3D printed houses with hollow structures, which can be used as effective heat buffers within the melting temperature range of PCM
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Compared with houses without PCM, PCM-based houses reduce temperature fluctuations, the temperature during heating is reduced by 10%, and the temperature during cooling is 40% higher
.
? This method eliminates the need for PCMs to be microencapsulated before being integrated into composite materials, thereby facilitating the integration of PCMs into building materials, greatly simplifying the manufacturing process and reducing costs
.