Jute textile with thermal energy storage properties

Abstract

The growing global energy demand requires solutions that improve energy efficiency. The civil construction sector is responsible for a large part of this consumption. In this context, the objective of this work was to confer thermal energy storage properties to a jute fabric, to be applied in civil construction as reinforcement for cement matrices. In order to do this, a method to incorporate a phase change material (PCM) into the tissue was developed. Jute textiles were immersed in liquid PCM, and then coated with a polymer by immersion in a polymeric suspension. Carboxylated styrene-butadiene copolymers (with or without the addition of 5% zinc oxide) and carboxylated nitrile rubber were evaluated. The mechanical, morphological and chemical characterization of the jute fabric containing PCM was carried out. The results verified the containment of PCM in the capillary pores of the textile with all treatments, but with some damage to its mechanical properties. The treatment with carboxylated nitrile rubber provided better mechanical properties, in addition to forming a thinner and lighter coating layer. The fabric containing PCM was used in the manufacture of a laminated composite called textile reinforced concrete. The evaluation of the mechanical and thermal properties revealed that the presence of PCM causes a negative effect on the mechanical properties of the material, but it was possible to verify the effect of thermal energy storage conferred by the PCM, delaying temperature variations of the composite in the temperature range of the physical state transition of the PCM. It was concluded that the proposed method was valid for the production of cementitious composites reinforced with vegetable fibers with thermal energy storage properties.