Experimental investigation of the impact of shape-stabilized phase change material integration on the thermal performance of brick walls in buildings

Abstract

The increase in the amount of energy consumed to meet the specific needs of users in buildings has accelerated the research on the enhancement of building materials with high thermal energy storage capacity in recent years. In the present study, the effect of using a new shape-stabilized phase change material (SSPCM) instead of conventional hollow bricks in the building envelope was investigated. SSPCM was prepared by combining methyl palmitate (MP) used as phase change material (PCM) and expanded vermiculite (EV) as support material. In order to obtain optimum thermal performance, filling of SSPCM into hollow bricks constituting the outer envelope of buildings was evaluated by considering different configurations regarding amount and location. While lower indoor temperatures were provided in the test room during the daytime when maximum temperatures were observed with SSPCM-filled bricks, higher indoor temperatures were achieved at night regarding the maintenance of temperatures. By applying the proposed composite (EV/MP), a cooler indoor environment was created with a maximum difference of 7.05 °C compared to the reference during the hours when solar radiation intensity increases the ambient temperature. At night, when ambient temperatures dropped, a maximum advantage of 2.16 °C in indoor temperature was determined. The study findings show that the use of EV/MP integrated bricks in building applications plays an important role in reducing heating/cooling loads by contributing to the realization of temperature control. © 2026, Gumushane University. All rights reserved.