Building brick thermal analysis containing a new bio-based phase change material

Integrating phase change materials (PCMs) in the building envelope can significantly improve the building’s energy performance and thermal comfort. This paper analyzes numerically the effectiveness of integrating a new Bio-based PCM in a 15 × 25 cm brick block by comparing its energy storage performances to those of other PCMs. The new bio-based PCM was developed and characterized, and a numerical analysis was conducted using the finite element method under COMSOL Multiphysics environment. The obtained results show that incorporating the new bio-based PCM improves the brick block's thermal inertia. Furthermore, increasing the amount of PCM reduces heat exchange in the inner brick surface by up to 37.17% for a 3-cm-diameter PCM. Furthermore, the new bio-based PCM outperforms other PCMs with a diameter of 3 cm in terms of reducing heat transfer on the inner surface of the brick. The highest energy storage capacity is achieved when the new bio-based PCM is placed as a single rectangle in the middle of the central vertical axis of the block.