Thermal and mechanical properties of building external walls plastered with cement mortar incorporating shape-stabilized phase change materials (SSPCMs).

• The SSPCM was employed to prepare cement mortars for plastering masonry brick walls. • An experimental setup was utilized to perform thermal performance test on the wall specimens. • The wall specimens were under ambient temperature conditions of two different cities of Iran. • The physical and mechanical properties of SSPCM-incorporated mortars were measured and analyzed. • The developed SSPCM incorporated in plaster mortar provides thermal energy storage capability. Phase change materials (PCMs) have been widely proven to provide thermal energy storage (TES) capacity in building systems. However, some potential problems associated with the incorporation of PCMs in building materials may cause uncertainty about their real performance. Among such problems, the leakage possibility of PCMs in the molten state has been greatly addressed in the literature. In this regard, this study is aimed to evaluate the mechanical and thermal behavior of a shape-stabilized PCM (SSPCM) as a TES component in the conventional wall system of buildings in Iran. For this purpose, PEG 600 was shape-stabilized in the porous structure of the silica fume as the supporting material using the vacuum impregnation method. The SSPCM was further employed to prepare cement mortars for plastering masonry brick wall specimens. The mechanical experiments on the SSPCM-incorporated mortars indicated satisfactory results to be used as the finishing plaster for masonry walls. Moreover, a novel experimental setup was utilized to perform thermal performance test on the wall specimens plastered with SSPCM-incorporated mortar under ambient temperature conditions of two different cities. Accordingly, the developed SSPCM exhibited the promising potential to provide TES capacity in external masonry wall systems by reducing the peak temperature as well as mitigating indoor temperature fluctuations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]