ASTM C1784-13
Standard Test Method for Using a Heat Flow Meter Apparatus for Measuring Thermal Storage Properties of Phase Change Materials and Products

Standard No.

ASTM C1784-13

Release Date

2013

Published By

American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM)

Status

Be replaced

Replace By

ASTM C1784-14

Latest

ASTM C1784-20

Scope

5.1 Materials used in building envelopes to enhance energy efficiency, including PCM products used for thermal insulation, thermal control, and thermal storage, are subjected to transient thermal environments, including transient or cyclic boundary temperature conditions. This test method is intended to enable meaningful PCM product classification, as steady-state thermal conductivity alone is not sufficient to characterize PCMs.

Note 3—This test method defines a dynamic test protocol for complex products or composites containing PCMs. Due to the macroscopic structure of these products or composites, conventional measurements using a Differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC) as specified in E793 and E967, which use very small samples, are not representative of the relationship between temperature and enthalpy storage of full-scale PCM products due to the sample size limitation.

5.2 Dynamic measurements of the thermal performance of PCM products shall only be performed by qualified personnel with understanding of heat transfer and error propagation. Familiarity with the configuration of both the apparatus and the product is necessary.

5.3 This test method focuses on testing PCM products used in engineering applications, including in building envelopes to enhance the thermal performance of insulation systems.

5.3.1 Applications of PCM in building envelopes take multiple forms, including: dispersed in, or otherwise combined with, a thermal insulation material; a separate object implemented in the building envelope as boards or membranes containing concentrated PCM that operates in conjunction with a thermal insulation material. Both of these forms enhance the performance of the structure when exposed to dynamic, that is, fluctuating, boundary temperature conditions.

5.3.2 PCMs can be studied in a variety of forms: as the original “pure” PCM; as a composite containing PCM and other embedded materials to enhance thermal performance; as a product containing PCM or composite (such as micro- or macro-encapsulated PCM); or as a system, comprising arrays or assemblies of PCM products.

5.4 This test method describes a method of using a heat flow meter apparatus to determine key properties of PCM products, which are listed below. Engineers, architects, modelers, and others require these properties to accurately predict the in-situ performance of the products (2).

5.5 The objective is generally to conduct a test under temperature conditions that will induce a phase transition (for example, melting or freezing) in the PCM product during the course of the test.

5.6 Determination of thermal storage properties is the objective of this test method, and key properties of interest include the following:

5.6.1 PCM Active Range, that is temperatures over which the phase transitions occur, for both melting and freezing of the PCM product or composites containing PCMs.

5.6.2 Specific heat of the fully melted and fully frozen product, de......

ASTM C1784-13 Referenced Document

• ASTM C168 Standard Terminology Relating to Thermal Insulation
• ASTM C518 Standard Test Method for Steady-State Thermal Transmission Properties by Means of the Heat Flow Meter Apparatus
• ASTM E793 Standard Test Method for Enthalpies of Fusion and Crystallization by Differential Scanning Calorimetry
• ASTM E967 Standard Practice for Temperature Calibration of Differential Scanning Calorimeters and Differential Thermal Analyzers

ASTM C1784-13 history

• 2020 ASTM C1784-20 Standard Test Method for Using a Heat Flow Meter Apparatus for Measuring Thermal Storage Properties of Phase Change Materials and Products
• 2014 ASTM C1784-14 Standard Test Method for Using a Heat Flow Meter Apparatus for Measuring Thermal Storage Properties of Phase Change Materials and Products
• 2013 ASTM C1784-13 Standard Test Method for Using a Heat Flow Meter Apparatus for Measuring Thermal Storage Properties of Phase Change Materials and Products