Advancements in Energy Efficiency and Life-Cycle Assessment of Phase Change Materials for Thermal Energy Storage Applications

A special issue of Buildings (ISSN 2075-5309). This special issue belongs to the section "Building Energy, Physics, Environment, and Systems".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 September 2025 | Viewed by 1882

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
JUNIA—HEI, Buildings and Urbain Environment Department, 13 Rue de Toul, 59000 Lille, France
Interests: computational fluid dynamics; energy storage; air quality; ventilation; smart building; energy efficiency; renewable energy; heat and mass transfer

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Guest Editor
School of Civil Engineering (ESITC Caen), 1 Rue Pierre et Marie Curie, 14610 Epron, France
Interests: energy efficiency; numerical modeling of heat and mass transfers; smart building

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Guest Editor
School of Civil Engineering (ESITC Caen), 1 Rue Pierre et Marie Curie, 14610 Epron, France
Interests: civil engineering; green materials; concrete; fiber-reinforced concrete; high-performance concrete
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Centre des Recherches et des Technologies de l'Energie, Laboratoire des Procédés Thermiques Engineer, Hammam-Lif 2050, Tunisia
Interests: renewable energy; concentrated solar power; energy efficiency; microclimate management; energy storage, exergy; PCMs; buildings; fluid dynamics; heat exchangers

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Guest Editor
JUNIA—HEI, Buildings & Urbain Environment Department, 13 Rue de Toul, 59000 Lille, France
Interests: energy efficiency; smart materials; smart building

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
JUNIA—HEI, Buildings & Urbain Environment Department, 13 Rue de Toul, 59000 Lille, France
Interests: energy efficiency; thermal energy storage; phase change materials; circular economy; thermophysical characterization; smart buildings; heat transfer; composites

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Incorporating phase change materials (PCMs) into building applications offers a promising solution to reduce energy consumption and improve thermal conditions for building occupants. Despite the growing interest in this area, with many applications having already been considered, research mainly focuses on the energy and economic efficiency of PCMs, while their environmental impact is often neglected.

Hence, this Special Issue focuses on advancements in thermal and energy modeling of PCMs integrated into building applications. It also investigates the impact of PCM integration on energy performance and environmental sustainability, while suggesting ways forward for sustainable building design.

The scope of this Special Issue covers a wide range of related topics, including but not limited to the following: the modeling of phase change materials, life-cycle assessment (LCA) of phase change materials, heat and mass transfer in buildings, simulation for energy storage systems, life-cycle assessment, building materials and products for energy efficiency, and simulation and experiments on PCM-incorporated building envelopes for energy efficiency.

We kindly invite researchers to contribute to this Special Issue titled "Advancements in Energy Efficiency and Life-Cycle Assessment of Phase Change Materials for Thermal Energy Storage Applications".

Dr. Zohir Younsi
Dr. Naoual Belouaggadia
Dr. Nassim Sebaibi
Dr. Salwa Bouadila
Dr. Nicolas Youssef
Dr. Mohamed Lachheb
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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

  • environmental impact
  • energy efficiency
  • energy storage
  • life-cycle assessment
  • phase change material
  • buildings
  • sustainable development
  • numerical simulations

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

28 pages, 7246 KiB  
Article
Numerical Simulation of a Shear Wall Model in Interlocking Masonry with Dry Vertical and Horizontal Joints in Compressed Earth Blocks
by Basile Koudje and Edmond Adjovi
Buildings 2025, 15(4), 627; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings15040627 - 18 Feb 2025
Viewed by 167
Abstract
This study investigates the mechanical behavior of masonry walls constructed using interlocking compressed earth blocks with dry vertical and horizontal joints. Numerical simulations were conducted to evaluate the performance of this innovative system compared to traditional masonry and to validate experimental findings from [...] Read more.
This study investigates the mechanical behavior of masonry walls constructed using interlocking compressed earth blocks with dry vertical and horizontal joints. Numerical simulations were conducted to evaluate the performance of this innovative system compared to traditional masonry and to validate experimental findings from previous studies, which identified an orthotropic and non-linear behavior in dry-joint interlocking masonry. The results show that while interlocking masonry exhibits performance comparable to traditional masonry under in-plane loads, it suffers an approximate 20% reduction in resistance under out-of-plane loads, primarily due to the absence of mortar in the horizontal joints. Despite this limitation, the system demonstrates significant economic benefits, achieving cost savings of up to 20% for masonry and 14% for reinforced concrete in conventional construction. These findings highlight the potential of interlocking masonry as a sustainable alternative, although its mechanical behavior under certain load conditions requires further investigation to optimize its structural applications. Full article
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14 pages, 3737 KiB  
Article
Parametric Optimization of Concentrated Photovoltaic-Phase Change Material as a Thermal Energy Source for Buildings
by Ali Hasan Shah, Ahmed Hassan, Shaimaa Abdelbaqi, Hamza Alnoman, Abbas Fardoun, Mahmoud Haggag, Mutassim Noor and Mohammad Shakeel Laghari
Buildings 2025, 15(3), 327; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings15030327 - 22 Jan 2025
Viewed by 554
Abstract
A concentrated photovoltaic system is evaluated as a thermal energy source employing phase change material to meet the domestic water heating demand. A paraffin wax-based phase change material is selected with a 58 °C melting point to store enough thermal energy to match [...] Read more.
A concentrated photovoltaic system is evaluated as a thermal energy source employing phase change material to meet the domestic water heating demand. A paraffin wax-based phase change material is selected with a 58 °C melting point to store enough thermal energy to match the hot water demand in the buildings. The energy performance of the concentrated photovoltaics containing phase change materials is compared to that of the reference to determine the increased energy outputs due to the heat removal by the material. The concentrated photovoltaics-phase change material achieved 30% higher energy output compared to the reference concentrated photovoltaic, thus providing a strong justification for the improved thermal management design. An enthalpy-based thermal model is developed to compare the experimental results with model predictions, confirming a reasonable agreement between the results. The model is used determine the optimum melting point and container size for different phase change materials under different radiation concentrations for the hot climate of the United Arab Emirates. Full article
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15 pages, 23340 KiB  
Article
Influence of the Mass Percentage of Bottom Ash and Its State of Maturation on the Mechanical Performance of a Bio-Composite
by Asmahan Taleb-Ahmed, Nicolas Montrelay, Koffi Justin Houessou, Michèle Quéneudec-t’Kint, Nassim Sebaibi and Rose-Marie Dheilly
Buildings 2024, 14(8), 2586; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings14082586 - 22 Aug 2024
Viewed by 808
Abstract
This study examines the influence of the mass percentage and maturation stage of bottom ash on bio-composite mechanical strength. Two kinds of bottom ash were used: matured and non-matured. To elaborate the composites, several different percentages of bottom ash were mixed with an [...] Read more.
This study examines the influence of the mass percentage and maturation stage of bottom ash on bio-composite mechanical strength. Two kinds of bottom ash were used: matured and non-matured. To elaborate the composites, several different percentages of bottom ash were mixed with an organic matrix. Casein, starch, alginate, polyethylene glycol, pre-vulcanized natural latex, and water are the components of matrix. The idea was to use as much bottom ash as possible, since it can be used as 80% or more as the main charge, which was in prismatic form for mechanical testing after drying. The results show that whatever the state of maturation of the bottom ash, the resistances present a maximum for a percentage of bottom ash equal to 85%. It could also be noticed that non-matured bottom ash composites have better mechanical strengths than composites with matured bottom ash. This is due to the decrease in porosity of the composites and to the improvement in their structural integrity. These new composites could solve some of the solid waste problems created by bottom ash production. As the matrix is made from organic resources, it saves energy and reduces the carbon footprint. This bio-composite contributes to the circular economy by giving waste a second life. Full article
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