Fire behaviour of a mortar with different mass fractions of phase change material for use in radiant floor systems

• Thermal behaviour and fire reaction of cement mortars with GR27 have been analyzed.
• The GR27 enthalpy–temperature curves have been obtained with a T-history installation.
• An estimation of the thermal diffusivity of these PCM mortars has been accomplished.
• The PCM mortars have shown low capacity to spread the flame in case of fire.
• 10% GR27 mortar could be used in radiant floor systems with convenient protection.

The present work focuses on the reaction to fire of a cement mortar containing phase change material (PCM), which is embedded in a lightweight aggregate, for buildings. Several samples containing different PCM mass fractions have been prepared and tested in order to study the influence of the quantity of PCM on fire behaviour. The enthalpy–temperature of the PCM curve has been measured using the T-history method, and the effect of the PCM on the thermal behaviour of the cement mortar material has been studied using an experimental setup. With the aim of characterizing the reaction of the composite material to fire, various small scale laboratory tests have been carried out, paying special attention to the production of burning drops during combustion, smoke release and flame persistence.