The correct estimation of building energy consumptions is assuming an always increasing importance, and a detailed reproduction of building structures, with all the single components involved, is necessary to achieve this aim. In addition, the current ecological development tries to limit the...

Composite adsorbents, comprising activated carbon and expanded natural graphite, have been developed, and their thermal conductivity, permeability and adsorption performance were tested. The thermal conductivity varied with the ratio of activated carbon to expanded natural graphite. Thermal...

The aim of this study is to prepare a novel form-stable phase change material (PCM) for latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES) in buildings. A eutectic mixture of capric acid (CA) and myristic acid (MA) is incorporated with expanded perlite (EP). Thermal properties, thermal reliability, and...

An experimental study performed to investigate the effect of Cu nanoparticle on the efficiency of a flat-plate solar collector. The weight fractions of the nanoparticles tested in this study having average diameter of 10 nm, were 0.2% and 0.3% of the nanofluid. A one-step method was used to...

The issue of natural and forced groundwater movements, and its effect on the performance of ground heat exchangers is of great importance for the design and sizing of borehole thermal energy systems (BTESs). In Scandinavia groundwater filled boreholes in hard rock are commonly used. In such...

The influence of expanded graphite (EG) and carbon fiber (CF) as heat diffusion promoters on thermal conductivity improvement of stearic acid (SA), as a phase change material (PCM), was evaluated. EG and CF in different mass fractions (2%, 4%, 7%, and 10%) were added to SA, and thermal...

Thermal conductivity and thermal borehole resistance are basic parameters for the technical and sustainable design of closed ground source heat pump (GSHP) systems. One of the most common methods to determine these parameters is the thermal response test (TRT). The response data measured are...

In this paper different approaches to groundwater flow and its effect in the vicinity of a borehole ground heat exchanger are discussed. The common assumption that groundwater flow in hard rock may be modelled as a homogeneous flow in a medium with an effective porosity is confronted and models...

Structured form-stable phase change composites were prepared by wet milling and hot-compaction of microencapsulated phase change material (MPCM), expanded graphite (EG) and high density polyethylene (HDPE). In the composites, MPCM serves as a latent heat storage material, EG as a heat transfer...

Aerogel is a kind of synthetic porous material, in which the liquid component of the gel is replaced with a gas. Aerogel has specific acoustic properties and remarkably lower thermal conductivity (≈0.013W/mK) than the other commercial insulating materials. It also has superior physical and...