Construction and Building Materials 262 (2020) 120088

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Construction and Building Materials

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/conbuildmat

Assessment of PCM/SiC-based composite aggregate in concrete:

Mechanical, physical and microstructural properties
Hong Gi Kim a, Abdul Qudoos b, In Kyu Jeon a, Jae Suk Ryou c,⇑
a
Civil & Environmental Engineering Department, Room 415, Jaesung Civil Engineering Building, 222 Wangsimni-ro, Seongdong Gu, Seoul, South Korea
b
Head of Civil Engineering Department, Balochistan University of Engineering and Technology, Khuzdar 89100, Pakistan
c
Civil & Environmental Engineering Department, Room 404, Jaesung Civil Engineering Building, 222 Wangsimni-ro, Seongdong Gu, Seoul, South Korea

h i g h l i g h t s

 Mechanical, physical, and microstructural properties of concrete made with PCM/SiC composite aggregates were investigated.
 Concrete specimens were exposed to high temperature as well.
 Concrete with composite aggregates presented less desirable results; however, met the designed strength.

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: This study used PCM/SiC-based composite aggregates made using slag aggregate, paraffin wax, and sili-
Received 5 October 2019 con carbide. Concrete samples were prepared by replacing natural coarse aggregates with PCM/SiC-based
Received in revised form 26 April 2020 composite aggregates at various replacement ratios. Compressive strength tests, Fourier-transform infra-
Accepted 25 June 2020
red spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, X-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy-
energy dispersive microscopy analysis were carried out to investigate the mechanical, physical, and
microstructural properties of concrete samples. The results reveal that physical properties of the concrete
Keywords:
samples made with PCM/SiC-based composite aggregate were less desirable than those made without
Composite aggregate
Thermal energy storage
PCM/SiC-based composite aggregates. However, the targeted designed strength was not compromised
Paraffin wax with the addition of PCM/SiC-based composite aggregate. The results of microstructural analyses con-
Silicon carbide firmed the presence of various hydration products, paraffin wax, and SiC particles in the cement
Compressive strength composites.
FTIR Ó 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
XRD
SEM

1. Introduction highly required in the construction industry to reduce the energy

Worldwide energy demand is growing and is anticipated to
increase annually. The energy consumption of United States, China
and the European Union increased by 85% from 1980 to 2012. It is
interesting to mention here that the building sector has a higher
energy demand than the commercial sector [1]. In 2010, world-
wide energy demand of approximately 115 EJ was reported for
the building sector; contributing 32% of total worldwide energy
demand [2]. Most of this energy is utilized on conditioning the
inside temperature of houses and buildings. For this purpose, con-
struction materials with better thermal insulation properties are
⇑ Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: dmkg1404@hanyang.ac.kr (H.G. Kim), qudoos.engnr@gmail.
com (A. Qudoos), jsryou@hanyang.ac.kr (J.S. Ryou).
consumption.
Conventionally, thermal performance of cement composites can
be improved by the incorporation of air voids. This can be achieved
with the help of using porous aggregates or aerating the cement
matrix. Even though, the presence of air voids in cement compos-
ites improves the thermal insulation, it negatively affects the
mechanical properties as well. It is anticipated that every 1% of
air volume cause a reduction of 5% in compressive strength of con-
crete. Considering the problems associated with conventional ther-
mal insulation techniques, phase change materials (PCMs) can be
an effective solution.
Phase change materials are capable of absorbing and releasing
high latent heat during phase changes i.e. solid to liquid and vice
versa [3–5]. The utilization of PCMs in construction materials is
not new. For instance, Oliver [6] investigated the thermal perfor-
mance of gypsum boards made with 45% by weight of PCM. The

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2020.120088
0950-0618/Ó 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
2 H.G. Kim et al. / Construction and Building Materials 262 (2020) 120088
results of his study revealed that gypsum boards made with PCM
can store 5 times more energy in comparison with the conven-
tional laminated gypsum boards. Silva, et al. [7] reported that the
walls with PCM delayed the time to reach peak temperature up
to 3 h and reduced the indoor temperature swing from 10 °C to
5 °C. There are various ways to incorporate PCM into cement com-
posites. The simplest one is to mix PCM in cementitious mixtures
as a constituent material. Cunha et al. [8] have stated that the addi-
tion of PCM in concrete mixtures caused an increase in workability
and reduced the absorption. Sukontasukkul et al. [9] have reported
that PCM mortar demonstrated better water retention and worka-
bility. Also, compressive strength and the pull-out increased with
the increasing content of PCM. Mortar containing PCM used to
plaster the exterior walls depicted better thermal storage perfor-
mance. However, leakage of PCM after a number of temperature
cycles was frequently observed. In order to prevent the leakage
of PCM, encapsulation techniques has been introduced. [10–12].
However, the addition of encapsulated PCM resulted in a weak
bond strength and increase in porosity which caused a reduction
in strength. Cao et al. [13] investigated the thermal storage perfor-
mance microencapsulated PCM containing concrete. The results of
their study revealed that the compressive strength decreased up to
51% due to poor bond and increased porosity. For this purpose, por-
ous coarse aggregates i.e. air-cooled blast furnace slag aggregates
can be an efficient used to carry PCM.
Air-cooled blast furnace slag (ACBFS) aggregate is a nonmetallic
industrial byproduct. It is generated by the solidification of molten
slag that forms at the top of molten iron in a blast furnace’s ambi-
ent conditions. In United States, 45% of total ACBFS aggregates pro-
duced is used as a road base or road surface material while 13.1% of
which is used as aggregates in concrete [14]. The increasing trend
of construction in the world has resulted in the depletion of natural
aggregates. Thus, the use of ACBFS aggregate for concrete struc-
tures has attracted considerable interest. Highly porous nature of
ACBFS aggregate make it suitable carrier for PCM [14]. Therefore,
impregnating and coating ACBFS aggregate with paraffin and coat-
ing with SiC may result in an efficient energy storing aggregate.
Among all PCMs, Paraffin wax has been reported to possess
excellent thermal storage due to its low cost, large latent heat,
chemically inert, non-toxic, and non-corrosive behavior [15–17].
However, low thermal conductivity of paraffin wax limits its usage
as PCM. For this purpose, the researchers have attempted to
improve the thermal conductivity of paraffin wax by inserting
metal particles, expanded graphite, and carbon nanotubes into
paraffin [18–20]. Silicon carbide (SiC) has attracted significant
attention for reinforcement due to its excellent properties, includ-
ing high thermal conductivity (50–120 W/Mk), stability, low den-
sity (3.13 g/cm3) and excellent oxidation resistance [21]. Many
studies have been conducted with SiC nanoparticles for the rein-
forcement of monolithic matrices of metals [22,23], polymers
[24,25], and Portland cement [26] because they considerably
improve mechanical properties and thermal conductivity.
This paper focuses on the investigation of mechanical, physical,
and microstructural properties of concrete specimens containing
PCM/SiC-based composite energy storing aggregates. PCM/SiC-
based composite aggregates were prepared using ACBFS aggregate,
paraffin wax, and silicon carbide by impregnating and coating
methods. For this purpose, concrete specimens were prepared by
replacing coarse aggregates with different amounts of PCM/SiC-
Table 1
Physical and chemical compositions of cement.
Compound SiO2 Al2O3
Content (%) 21.0 5.2
based composite aggregates. The mechanical, physical, and
microstructural properties of the resulting specimens were exam-
ined via compressive strength tests, Fourier-transform infrared
spectroscopy (FT-IR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray
diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM).
2. Experimental section
2.1. Materials
This study used ordinary Portland cement (OPC) conforming to
ASTM C150 [27]. Table 1 presents the physical and chemical prop-
erties of OPC. Paraffin wax, slag aggregates, and silicon carbide
were used to develop energy-storing aggregates. The paraffin
wax with a latent heat of 135 J/g used in this study was obtained
from Nippon Seiro in Japan. OPC and SiC were supplied by SSang
Yong Company and Han Sung Global Company of Republic of
Korea, respectively. Natural coarse aggregate with a specific grav-
ity of 2.60 was used. The physical properties of the paraffin wax
and SiC are shown in Tables 2 and 3, respectively. These properties
were provided by the suppliers of these materials. Table 4 shows
the physical properties of the air-cooled blast furnace slag
aggregate.
2.2. Procedure for the preparation of PCM/SiC-based composite
aggregate
Paraffin wax was kept in a bowl and heated to 100 °C, which
caused the wax to melt completely. Then, slag aggregates were
added to the bowl and kept at a temperature of 100 °C for 4 h. After
4 h, the slag aggregates were taken out and put in an ice chamber
for 10 min. The aggregates were then removed and passed through
a sieve. Finally, SiC was coated on the surface of the aggregates
using a mixture of polymer latex and PVA coating material. Fig. 1
shows the details of the aggregate preparation process.
2.3. Mix proportions and experimental methods
Concrete mix was designed to achieve a target strength of
30 MPa. The slump and air content were 180 mm and 4.5%, respec-
tively. The maximum size of the coarse aggregate, water/binder
(W/B), and sand/aggregate ratio (S/a) were 25 mm, 0.45, and
0.46, respectively. In addition, the PCM/SiC-based composite
aggregate was replaced with 30%, 50%, 70%, and 100% of the natural
coarse aggregate. Furthermore, fine aggregate was replaced with
5% SiC. The mix proportions of the concrete are shown in Table 5.
Concrete cylinders of dimensions 100  200 mm3 were pre-
pared. Cylinders were subjected to compressive strength test after
3, 7, and 28 days according to ASTM C39 [28]. The modulus of elas-
ticity is one of the utmost important elastic properties of cement
composites since it influences the performance and serviceability
of concrete structures. It is closely linked to the stiffness of the
aggregates, the property of the cement paste, and the way of its
measurement. Static modulus of elasticity was evaluated following
ASTM C 469 [29]. Strain gauges were attached to the opposite side
surfaces of the cylindrical specimens at mid-height and the strain
values were obtained. The load was measured using the load cell
of universal testing machine. The static modulus was calculated
Fe2O3 CaO MgO SO3 LOI
3.1 62.2 3.2 2.2 1.3
 H.G. Kim et al. / Construction and Building Materials 262 (2020) 120088
Table 2
Physical properties of paraffin.
Melting point (℃) Oil content (%) Color (saybolt)
47 0.5 +30
Table 3
Physical properties of silicon carbide.
Melting point (℃) Specific heat (cal/g.℃) Molar heat capacity
2300 0.13–0.28 +30
Table 4
Physical properties of the air-cooled blast furnace slag aggregate.
Content Result
Gmax (mm) 25
Absolute dry specific gravity 2.59
Absorption (%) 3.42
Fineness modulus (F.M.) 3.12
Unit volume weight (kg/L) 1.54
from the slope between the two points on a stress–strain curve.
The first point is taken at 50 millionths of longitudinal strain and
the second point is corresponding to the 40% of the ultimate load.
The pieces of the samples obtained after compressive strength test
were used to make samples for SEM and XRD, TGA, and FT-IR anal-
yses. Samples for SEM analysis were prepared following the
instructions mentioned in Ref [30]. SEM analysis was carried out
using a scanning electron microscope (voltage, 0.2 to 30 kV; probe
current 10E-12 to 10E-5 A, SEI resolution of 3.5 mm (WD = 8 mm,
acc = 35 kV)). Edax analysis was conducted to examine the pres-
ence of various hydration compounds. Powdered samples were
obtained for XRD, TGA, and FT-IR analyses. An X-ray diffractometer
(Rigaku, CuK radiation; voltage 30 kV, current 20 Ma, scanning
speed 2°/min, step size 0.01°) was used for XRD analysis. A Ther-
mogravimetric analyzer (TGA7 PERKIN ELMER, TA instruments)
was used for Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The test was con-
ducted in a dry nitrogen atmosphere with a heating rate of 5 °C/
min. FT-IR analysis was carried out using a spectrometer (Nicolet
iS50, Thermo Fisher Scientific). The IR pellets were made using
1 mg of oven dried powder samples and 100 mg of KBr. The IR
spectra of the samples were recorded in the wave number range
4000–400 cm-1 with the 32 average scans and at a resolution of
2 cm-1.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Compressive strength and static modulus of elasticity
Compressive strength test was conducted on the concrete spec-
imens at 3, 7, and 28 days of curing. Fig. 2a displays the results of
compressive strength test for various concrete specimens. It is
obvious from the results that compressive strength decreased with
the addition of PCM/SiC-based composite aggregates. For instance,
control specimens demonstrated a compressive strength of
25.8 MPa, 40.4 MPa, and 47.1 MPa at 3, 7, and 28 days of curing,
respectively. The specimens containing 30%, 50%, 70%, and 100%
of PCM/SiC-based composite aggregates presented a compressive
3
Flash point (℃) Specific gravity (g/cm3) Penetration (0.1 mm)
25 °C 35 °C
202 0.769 30
Heat conductivity (W/M.K) Specific gravity (g/cm3) Chemical composition
25.5–40 3.22 SiC ＞94, Fe2O3＜0.7, F.C＜0.5
strength of 23.1 MPa, 20.1 MPa, 19.2 MPa, and 17.4 MPa at 3 days
of curing, respectively. A compressive strength of 37.3 MPa,
31.8 MPa, 30.2 MPa, and 29.2 MPa at 7 days; 41.2 MPa,
39.0 MPa, 36.5 MPa, and 34.4 MPa at 28 days, was observed for
the concrete specimens made with 30%, 50%, 70%, and 100% of
PCM/SiC-based composite aggregates, respectively. The reduction
in compressive strength with increasing amount of PCM/SiC-
based composite aggregates may be attributed to the weak bond-
ing of the aggregate and cement paste [31,32]. Additionally, the
coating of paraffin caused the aggregates less stiffer and compact
than the natural aggregates [31,33].
The addition of silicon carbide improved the compressive
strength of the specimens as compared to those made without sil-
icon carbide. For instance, a compressive strength of 27.7 MPa,
43.4 MPa, and 48.0 MPa was measured for the plain specimens
containing SiC, at 3, 7, and 28 days of curing, respectively. Similar
trend was observed for the specimens containing PCM/SiC-based
composite aggregates. For example, the specimens made with
30%, 50%, 70%, and 100% of PCM/SiC-based composite aggregates
and SiC particles demonstrated a compressive strength of
24.2 MPa, 21.1 MPa, 20.2 MPa, and 18.8 MPa at 3 days of curing,
respectively. The specimens containing 30%, 50%, 70%, and 100%
of PCM/SiC-based composite aggregates and SiC presented a com-
pressive strength of 38.1 MPa, 32.1 MPa, 32.2 MPa, and 30.8 MPa at
7 days; 41.8 MPa, 39.0 MPa, 36.8 MPa, and 35.3 MPa at 28 days,
respectively. It may be due to the reason that SiC particles are finer
than fine aggregate particles. It caused densification of the
microstructure due to filling effect and resulted in higher compres-
sive strength values [34]. Even though, compressive strength
decreased with the addition of PCM/SiC-based composite aggre-
gates. However, the specimens containing PCM/SiC-based compos-
ite aggregates satisfied the target design strength of 30 MPa. These
results suggest that PCM/SiC-based composite aggregates can be
used to make concrete of a minimum compressive strength of
30 MPa.
Fig. 2b depicts the stress–strain curves for various specimens
measured at 28 days of curing. It can be seen from stress-strain
profiles that the specimens containing 0% PCM/SiC-based compos-
ite aggregates demonstrated a brittle behavior as compared to
those containing PCM/SiC-based composite aggregates. Similar to
the results of compressive strength test, the addition of SiC parti-
cles made the specimens brittle compared to the specimens with
0% SiC particles. Modulus of elasticity was measured based on
the stress–strain curves of concrete specimens. Two sets of
stress–strain curves were used to obtain the values for static mod-
ulus of elasticity. The specimens containing 0%, 50%, and 100% of
PCM/SiC-based composite aggregates presented a static modulus
of elasticity of 37.5 GPa, 17 GPa, and 15.8 GPa, respectively. On
the other hand, a static modulus of elasticity of 47.7 GPa, 24.6
4 H.G. Kim et al. / Construction and Building Materials 262 (2020) 120088

Fig. 1. Details of the slag aggregate coating procedure.

Table 5
Mix proportions of the concrete.

Type W/B S/a W (kg) cement (kg) Fine SiC (kg) Coarse PCM/SiC-based composite Water
aggregate (kg) aggregate (kg) aggregates (kg) reducer (kg)
Plain 0.45 0.46 180 401 766 – 914 – 2.01
EA30 640 274
EA50 457 457
EA70 274 640
EA100 – 914
P + SiC 727.7 38.3 914 –
EA30 + SiC 640 274
EA50 + SiC 457 457
EA70 + SiC 274 640
EA100 + SiC – 914

GPa, and 20.6 GPa was measured for the specimens containing 0%,
50%, and 100% of PCM/SiC-based composite aggregates and SiC
particles.
3.2. SEM-Edax analysis
Scanning electron microscopy and Energy-dispersive spec-
troscopy was carried on the concrete specimens to analyze the
hydration products. The specimens containing 0% and 100% of
PCM/SiC-based composite aggregates were investigated. Figs. 3,
4, and 5 displays the SEM micrographs and Edax results for the
specimens cured for 3, 7, and 28 days, respectively. The
microstructure of the specimens cured for 3 days (Fig. 3) presented
various hydration products and increased porosity. Major hydra-
tion products include calcium hydroxide, calcium silicate hydrate
gel, and ettringite. Plate-like crystal represent CH crystals while
needle-like crystals indicate the presence of ettringite. It can be
seen from the figures that microstructure of the specimens cured
for 3 days are less compact and contained a higher amount of cal-
cium hydroxide and ettringite. However, the microstructure of
EA100 specimens was somewhat denser with less amount of etr-
ringite and calcium hydroxide. The presence of these crystals were
further verified with Edax results.
Fig. 4 displays the SEM micrographs and Edax analysis results
for the specimens at 7 days of curing. It can be seen that the
microstructure of the specimens cured for 7 days was denser in
 H.G. Kim et al. / Construction and Building Materials 262 (2020) 120088 5

Fig. 2. (a) Compressive strength and (b) static modulus of elasticity of concrete specimens.

Fig. 3. SEM micrographs and Edax analysis results for (a) Plain, (b) EA100, (c) Plain + SiC, and (d) EA100 + SiC specimens cure for 3 days.
6 H.G. Kim et al. / Construction and Building Materials 262 (2020) 120088

Fig. 4. SEM micrographs and Edax analysis results for (a) Plain, (b) EA100, (c) Plain + SiC, and (d) EA100 + SiC specimens cure for 7 days.

comparison with those cured for 3 days. Also, the microstructure
contained less amount of calcium hydroxide. This is due to the con-
tinued hydration of cement compounds. From the Fig. 4c and d, the
presence of SiC particles can be justified. Silicon carbide particles
were well sandwiched between the C-S-H gels.
Fig. 5 depicts the SEM micrographs and Edax analysis results for
the specimens at 28 days of curing. It is obvious that the
microstructure of the specimens cured for 28 days were compact
and denser as compared to those cured for 3 and 7 days. A predom-
inance of C-S-H gels is clearly seen in these images. Additionally,
the strong bond of SiC particles in between C-S-H gels can be
observed. It is due to this reason the specimens made with SiC par-
ticles demonstrated higher compressive strength compared to
those made without SiC particles [35].
3.3. XRD analysis
XRD analysis was conducted on various specimens at 3, 7, and
28 days. Figs. 6, 7, and 8 displays the X-ray diffractograms for
the specimens cured for 3, 7, and 28 days, respectively. From the
figures, it can be seen that major compounds present in the con-
crete specimens were portlandite, quartz, calcite, C-S-H gels, alite/
belite, and silicon carbide. The peak intensity for alite/belite
decreased while the peak intensity for portlandite increased from
3 to 7 days. It suggests the continued hydration of cement com-
pounds forming calcium hydroxide and calcium silicate hydrate
gel. In the same way, after 28 days the peak intensity for port-
landite decreased while the peak intensity for C-S-H gel increased.
It means the hydration of cement causes the formation of C-S-H
 H.G. Kim et al. / Construction and Building Materials 262 (2020) 120088 7

Fig. 5. SEM micrographs and Edax analysis results for (a) Plain, (b) EA100, (c) Plain + SiC, and (d) EA100 + SiC specimens cure for 28 days.

gels at later ages. From the results, it was also noticed that the
specimens containing SiC particles as sand replacement displayed
peaks at 35.8° due to the presence of SiC particles. However, the
specimens without SiC particles did not show any peak at this 2-
theta value. Apart from this, the peak appeared at 27.44° may be
due to the internal standard. These results are in accordance with
the findings of SEM-Edax analysis.
3.4. TGA and FT-IR analyses
Thermogravimetric analysis provides information about physi-
cal phenomena such as phase transitions, absorption, and desorp-
tion as well as chemical phenomena caused by thermal
decomposition and solid–gas reactions such as oxidation or reduc-
tion [36]. TGA analysis was conducted on different powdered con-
crete samples after 28 days of curing. Fig. 9 depicts the results of
TGA and first-order derivative (DTG) of the TGA results for the
specimens containing 0% SiC particles. TGA/DTG profiles presented
three distinct stages of weight loss for almost all the samples. The
first stage of weight loss between 105 °C and 420 °C is caused by
the dehydration reaction of C-S-H, ferroaluminate hydrate, and
aluminate hydrate [37]. Another major weight loss was observed
at 400 °C. This was caused by the dehydration of calcium hydrox-
ide (CH) [37]. Weight loss of paraffin wax starts at 140 °C while
thermal degradation of paraffin molecular chains occurs at temper-
atures between 200 °C to 350 °C [38]. Fig. 10 displays the TGA/DTG
profiles for the specimens containing SiC particles. Similar behav-
ior was observed as compared to the specimens containing 0%
SiC. However, high thermal and chemical stability of SiC particles
reduced the overall mass loss due to decomposition [39].
FT-IR analysis was carried out on the powdered concrete
specimens cured for 28 days to investigate the characteristics of
8 H.G. Kim et al. / Construction and Building Materials 262 (2020) 120088

Fig. 6. X-ray diffractograms for specimens at 3 days of curing.

Fig. 7. X-ray diffractograms for specimens at 7 days of curing.

Fig. 8. X-ray diffractograms for specimens at 28 days of curing.

chemical bonding. Figs. 11 and 12 show the FTIR transmission
spectra of various specimens. The IR bands appeared at
3639 cm 1, 3400–3100 cm 1, and 1000 cm 1 are attributed to
O–H stretching of calcium hydroxide, v1 and v2 stretching of the
water molecule, and Si–O stretching of polymeric C-S-H
[37,40,41]. The IR peaks appeared at 1415 cm 1 and 874 cm 1
are attributed to stretching & bending in plane vibrations of C-O
bonds [42]. The specimens containing paraffin displayed IR peaks
at 2916 cm 1 and 2853 cm 1 due to stretching vibrations of –
CH2 and –CH3 functional groups [43]. It can be seen that the peaks
for paraffin were not disappeared from the FT-IR spectra. This sug-
gests that paraffin did not react with the cement compounds and
 H.G. Kim et al. / Construction and Building Materials 262 (2020) 120088 9

Fig. 9. TGA/DTG curves for plain and EA 100 specimens at 28 days.

Fig. 10. TGA/DTG curves of P + SiC and EA 100 + SiC specimens at 28 days.

1 1
Fig. 11. FT-IR spectra of specimens in the range of 4000 cm and 2000 cm .
10 H.G. Kim et al. / Construction and Building Materials 262 (2020) 120088
Fig. 12. FT-IR spectra of specimens in the range of 2000 cm
was present by physical bonding. In this way, the thermal proper-
ties of paraffin were maintained. As a result, these peaks of PCMs
have not disappeared from the FTIR graphs. The peak at
779 cm 1 was attributed to the stretching modes of the Si-C bond
[44].
4. Conclusions
Energy storing aggregates (PCM/SiC-based composite aggre-
gate) were prepared using paraffin wax, silicon carbide, and slag
aggregates. The influence of PCM/SiC-based composite aggregates
on the mechanical, physical, and microstructural properties of
the concrete was investigated. Based on the results, it has been
concluded that the addition of PCM/SiC-based composite aggre-
gates caused a reduction in compressive strength and modulus of
elasticity of the concrete specimens due to poor bonding caused
by the paraffin coating. However, all the specimens containing
PCM/SiC-based composite aggregates met the target designed
strength of 30 MPa. The microstructure of the concrete specimens
made with PCM/SiC-based composite aggregates revealed the
presence of paraffin wax and SiC particles on the surface of slag
aggregates. Additionally, microstructure of the specimens contain-
ing SiC as sand replacement improved in comparison with those
containing 0% SiC. The results of XRD, TGA, and FTIR analysis con-
firmed the presence of various hydration products, paraffin wax,
and SiC particles in the cement composites. The results of this
study suggests that PCM/SiC-based composite aggregates can be
efficiently used in partition walls of the buildings to store the ther-
mal energy and reduce the energy demand of the buildings
Funding sources
This work received funding from research fund of Hanyang
University (HY-2019) and Ministry of Education through National
1 1
and 400 cm .
Research Foundation of Korea (NRF-2019R1I1A1A01061805) under
Basic Science Research Program.
CRediT authorship contribution statement
Hong Gi Kim: Conceptualization, Methodology, Software,
Investigation, Data curation, Writing - original draft. Abdul
Qudoos: Software, Investigation, Writing - original draft, Formal
analysis, Writing - review & editing. In Kyu Jeon: Investigation,
Data curation, Project administration. Jae Suk Ryou: Funding
acquisition, Supervision, Validation.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing finan-
cial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared
to influence the work reported in this paper.
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