Bamboo-PCM: synergy for thermal energy storage in building materials

Abstract

In a world seeking sustainability, where the construction industry plays a significant role in environmental impacts, all research endeavors are on a relevant path if they aim to enhance the environmental efficiency of buildings, especially when linked to the use of materials from renewable sources. In this context, this work sought to combine the abundant lignocellulosic biomass matrix of bamboo, with its advantageous attributes, such as its capacity to sequester carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and its physical-mechanical resistance, with the use of Phase Change Materials (PCMs) and their remarkable thermal characteristics. In tropical climates, the high incidence of solar radiation affects the building envelopes directly due to their exposure to significant climate variations and extremes, making materials with favorable thermal behavior important for environmental comfort and reducing the use of high-energy-cost thermal conditioning. This is the case with PCMs, whose potential has been explored by the latest cutting-edge research. The main objective of this work was to develop, analyze, and assess the performance of prototypes produced with bamboo culm matrix from four different and important bamboo species present in South America, impregnated with PCM, primarily through characterizations, comparative tests, and qualitative assessments of the qualities of the resulting objects. To present these processes and their results and facilitate understanding, the content of this thesis was divided into two main parts. The first part aimed to provide an overall presentation of the research, while the second part presented three articles with the successive exposition of the experiments conducted and their results. The article 1 investigated the PCM impregnation of Phyllostachys aurea bamboo culms to validate the suggested hypothesis. Article 2 compared this same species with three others, Bambusa tuldoides, Dendrocalamus giganteus, and Guadua augustifolia, to analyze the influence of this variation on thermal behavior after impregnation. Article 3 presented a thermal variation analysis in a wind tunnel, also exposing some conventionally used building materials for comparative purposes. This study confirmed that PCM impregnation in bamboo is possible in a quantity that functions for the desired thermal effects and that the specific characteristics of bamboo species and environmental factors such as wind influence this outcome.