Exterior finish coatings for building façade applications combined with phase change materials and thermochromic paint

The durability of building materials is an important criterion to ensure long-term performance of buildings exposed to various environmental loads. Particularly, exterior building surfaces are exposed to high solar radiation and temperature differences during the year which can considerably influence their durability due to thermal stresses. Additionally, in light of the increasing need for energy saving in buildings, reducing this thermal stress and temperature fluctuations on exterior surfaces of buildings could help with indoor room temperature regulation in buildings. This project is focused on developing two different coatings that can reduce the thermal stresses caused by solar and thermal loads. A cementitious plaster, and a polyurethane coating will be developed that can be applied to exterior surface of building facades. In order to regulate the solar and thermal loads, two advanced materials are combined with the cement plaster and the polyurethane coatings. Phase change materials (PCMs) are added to store thermal energy and control temperature fluctuations, and thermochromic paint that can control the amount of solar radiation absorbed or reflected from the surface by changing colors.

Faculty Supervisor:

Bryan Koivisto

Student:

Shahrzad Soudian

Partner:

Science Discovery Zone

Discipline:

Engineering - mechanical

Sector:

Construction and infrastructure

University:

Ryerson University