Experimental and numerical study of insulation walls containing a composite layer of PU-PCM and dedicated to refrigerated vehicle

Two PU-PCM composites with high energy storage capacities (i.e. high PCM mass rate) are characterized at small and large scales. Although local inhomogeneity of the distribution of PCM microbeads within the composite material is highlighted, the complementary experiments allowed measuring the average PCM mass rates of the composite materials: 35%w and 43%w. Furthermore, the study of the multilayer insulation wall shows the importance of the location of the composite layer inside it. Four multilayer wall geometries were tested to define the optimization trails. The energy crossing the inner face of the insulation wall during the “road delivery period” fell by as much as 18% for the scenario, materials and geometries studied. It was observed that the composite material must be placed close to the external wall of the vehicle.