Composite Building Materials with Minimal Thermal Conductivity for Enhanced Energy Efficiency

A special issue of Buildings (ISSN 2075-5309). This special issue belongs to the section "Building Materials, and Repair & Renovation".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 24 August 2026 | Viewed by 414

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Guest Editor
1. Department of Architectural Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
2. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
Interests: building energy efficiency; residential and commercial building envelope systems evaluation; building science and energy efficiency of buildings; full-scale structural and environmental testing of building envelope systems; evaluation of building (structural and nonstructural) envelope systems under natural hazard and environmental load effects
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

It is estimated that over 25% of building energy loss occurs through building envelopes, and energy efficiency continues to be one of the most important building design criteria; therefore, the prevention of heat loss through conduction requires the use of materials with low thermal conductivity or high thermal resistance for manufacturing building components such as beams, columns, walls, floors, foundations, roofs, and envelopes.

The aim of this Special Issue is to consider developments in composite building materials such as various cementitious-concrete-type composites, fiber-reinforced composites, wood-based composites (e.g., plywood, oriented strand boards, glue-laminated timber, laminated veneer lumber, cross-laminated timber), structural insulated panels, organic-based composites, and plastic-based composites (e.g., PVC, LDPE, HDPE). Such materials can be used for load-bearing structural components, non-load-bearing or nonstructural/architectural components, building envelope components (e.g., cladding, siding, roofing, windows), interior finish components (e.g., drywall, flooring, ceiling), etc.

This Special Issue also welcomes contributions that, in addition to investigating methods for lowering thermal conductivity, also address lowering carbon footprints, as minimizing embodied energy is another prominent trend in innovative material design.

Prof. Dr. Ali Memari
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Buildings is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • buildings
  • energy efficiency
  • composite materials
  • thermal conductivity
  • thermal resistance
  • heat conduction
  • low carbon footprint
  • embodied energy

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

25 pages, 16489 KB  
Article
Multiscale Hygrothermal Assessment of Bio-Fiber-Reinforced Materials for Energy-Efficient Building Envelopes
by Kenza Sidqui, Yousra Taouirte, Michael Marion, Ionut Voicu, Anne-Lise Tiffonnet and Hasna Louahlia
Buildings 2026, 16(12), 2456; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings16122456 (registering DOI) - 21 Jun 2026
Abstract
Earth-based materials are promising candidates for balancing thermal performance, hygrothermal regulation, and environmental sustainability. The objective of this study is to evaluate and compare the hygrothermal behavior of two earthen materials, structural cob and lightweight insulating earth, against conventional reference concrete, taking into [...] Read more.
Earth-based materials are promising candidates for balancing thermal performance, hygrothermal regulation, and environmental sustainability. The objective of this study is to evaluate and compare the hygrothermal behavior of two earthen materials, structural cob and lightweight insulating earth, against conventional reference concrete, taking into account not only their insulating properties but also their ability to regulate coupled heat and moisture transfers. Experimental tests show a significantly higher hygroscopic buffering capacity for earth-based materials, with an MBV of 2.23 g/(m2∙%RH) for the structural material and 1.21 g/(m2∙%RH) for the insulation material, compared to less than 0.5 g/(m2∙%RH) for concrete. The sorption isotherms confirm distinct water storage behaviors, with an average sensitivity to relative humidity of 10.47% for the insulation material, compared to 3.8% for concrete and 2.25% for the structural material, in addition to an average reduction of 26% in the adsorption capacity between 23 °C and 45 °C for both earthen materials. Coupled heat–moisture simulations in COMSOL quantitatively demonstrate the hygrothermal superiority of bio-based materials over conventional concrete, as concrete promotes interstitial moisture accumulation due to its low vapor permeability. The parametric sensitivity analysis highlights the effect of hygrothermal properties, where diffusivity controls transport kinetics and sorption governs water storage, while thermal conductivity modulates the spatial redistribution of thermo-hygric fields. The next and final step made it possible to link the phenomena observed at the material scale to the actual energy performance of the building, confirming the potential of the double-wall cob + lightweight earth system to reduce heating and cooling requirements and maintain stable indoor comfort, where the annual heating demand is reduced by approximately 24% compared to the conventional prototype. Full article
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