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<p>The building sector is among the largest energy consumers, accounting for nearly 60% of global energy use, with a significant share attributed to heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems. Phase change materials (PCMs) have emerged as promising solutions to reduce thermal energy demand and enhance passive building performance. In recent years, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) solvers have been increasingly applied to simulate the melting and solidification processes of PCMs in building envelopes. This systematic literature review examines two key areas: (1) previous research and recent developments in the integration of PCMs into passive building designs, particularly within building envelopes, and (2) numerical approaches, including simulation techniques and CFD software, employed to analyze these systems. CFD offers a cost-effective and robust alternative to experimental studies, enabling detailed parametric analyses of PCM-based thermal storage in buildings. The findings highlight that the enthalpy–porosity technique combined with the finite volume method represents the most widely adopted approach in CFD analyses of PCM-enhanced building envelopes, with ANSYS Fluent being the predominant software. Furthermore, incorporating PCMs into bricks is identified as a practical and effective strategy. This review also outlines research gaps and provides recommendations for advancing CFD applications in this field.</p>

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A comprehensive review of numerical analysis and solution methods for thermal performance prediction in the integration of phase change materials into building envelopes

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年8月3日

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  • Bachir Allam,
  • Mohamed Lamine Benlekkam,
  • Hamza Zeroual

摘要

The building sector is among the largest energy consumers, accounting for nearly 60% of global energy use, with a significant share attributed to heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems. Phase change materials (PCMs) have emerged as promising solutions to reduce thermal energy demand and enhance passive building performance. In recent years, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) solvers have been increasingly applied to simulate the melting and solidification processes of PCMs in building envelopes. This systematic literature review examines two key areas: (1) previous research and recent developments in the integration of PCMs into passive building designs, particularly within building envelopes, and (2) numerical approaches, including simulation techniques and CFD software, employed to analyze these systems. CFD offers a cost-effective and robust alternative to experimental studies, enabling detailed parametric analyses of PCM-based thermal storage in buildings. The findings highlight that the enthalpy–porosity technique combined with the finite volume method represents the most widely adopted approach in CFD analyses of PCM-enhanced building envelopes, with ANSYS Fluent being the predominant software. Furthermore, incorporating PCMs into bricks is identified as a practical and effective strategy. This review also outlines research gaps and provides recommendations for advancing CFD applications in this field.