Study of improving the thermal response of a construction material containing a phase change material

Abstract

The use of phase change materials (PCMs) for improving the thermal comfort in buildings has become an attractive application. This solution contributes to increasing the thermal inertia of the building envelope and reducing power consumption. A building element filled with a PCM and equipped with ventilation tubes is proposed, both for increasing inertia and contributing to refreshing building envelope. A numerical simulation is conducted by the finite element method in COMSOL Multiphysics, which aims to test the thermal behaviour of the developed solution. An experimental study is carried out on a concrete block containing a PCM with ventilation tubes. The objective is to see the effect of PCM coupled with ventilation on increasing the inertia of the block. The results show the ability of this new solution to ensure an important thermal inertia of a building.