Abstract

During the cold winter season, all in-situ construction activities are halted, leading to economic losses. Hence, shifting to precast elements represents an optimum solution. However, the high energy intensity heat curing process for precast elements represents a challenge. On the other hand, microencapsulated phase change materials (MPCMs) was used to improve cementitious material thermal storage capacity. However, a reduction in mechanical properties and losing thermal efficiency were reported due to MPCMs breakage during the construction process. Hence, this dissertation proposed two solutions: 1) Modifying cementitious mixtures design to reduce MPCMs fracturing risk while maintaining adequate performance and 2) Novel smart external curing sheets. Results reveal that incorporating limestone filler in mixtures was a promising green sustainable solution. Moreover, maintain adequate MPCMs in the mixtures was found to improve the later thermal performance for elements, which is considered additional benefits. The external use of MPCMs in the curing process had resulted in shorting the required curing period to achieve targeted strength. Optimizing thermal capacity and heat curing process for precast elements will increase work efficiency and economic benefits for the precast industry. It will also reduce the energy demand and cut down the precast industry's carbon footprint, leading to a higher level of sustainability.