Experimental investigation into the room thermoregulation efficiency in tropical climate of novel green phase change material eutectic mixture

In this study, a novel green phase change material (PCM) eutectic mixture was investigated for its applications as potential thermoregulator for temporary structures built in tropical climate regions, such as Vietnam. The tests were conducted in Hanoi (Vietnam) from 1st June 2021 to 26th July 2021 under artificial solar irradiation and in real weather conditions. Thermal performance of the PCM mixture was investigated in a testing system without air conditioner, including two test rooms (i.e. Reference Room and Material Room) with thermal data being automatically collected by an array of temperature data logger recorders. The Reference Room was utilized to ensure similar base-line conditions when comparing data received from the Material Room. Results showed that when combining the PCM mixture with drop ceiling, the thermal performance was superior to that of the traditional drop ceiling and foam insulation combination. With PCM mixture loading of 1.200 g m −2 , the peak temperature point inside testing rooms was delayed up to 4 hours, while the PCM system was also able to completely re-solidify during the subsequent night. These results showed that the novel green PCM mixture can be used for thermoregulation applications in tropical climate regions, such as Vietnam.