Solar Energy 237 (2022) 122–134

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Solar Energy
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/solener

Building hollow clay bricks embedding phase change material: Thermal

behavior analysis under hot climate
Said Hamdaoui a, *, Abdelhadi Bouchikhi b, Mohammed Azouggagh c, Mohamed Akour d,
Abdelouahad Ait Msaad a, Mustapha Mahdaoui e
a
Ecole Supérieure de Technologie-Fès, U.S.M.B.A, Route d’Imouzzer, BP 2427, Fès, Morocco
b
Institut Mines Telecom, LGCgE-GCE, 941 rue Charles Bourseul, 59500 Douai, France
c
Faculté des Sciences de Meknès, Université Moulay Ismail, Morocco
d
Laboratoire d’énergétique, Equipe d’Energie Thermique et Environnement, Faculté des Sciences de Tétouan, Université Abdelmalek Essaâdi, Morocco
e
Equipe de Recherche en Transferts Thermiques & Énergétique – FSTT, Université Abdelmalek Essaâdi-Tétouan, Morocco

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Numerous studies are focused on the thermal behavior evaluation of Hollow Clay Bricks (HCBs) integrating a
Solar energy storage Phase Change Material (PCM). In the major of these studies, the alveolar space is filled with PCM (macro-
Building energy efficiency encapsulation). However, the air trapped in the alveoli is one of the assets of hollow bricks. Therefore, the
PCM
present work is focused on the study of the thermal effects of integrating PCM into solid parts of HCBs (micro-
Hollow Clay Brick
Heat management
encapsulation). Four types of HCBs of different dimensions and alveoli numbers (three, six, eight and twelve
alveoli noted HCB-3, HCB-6, HCB-8 and HCB-12 respectively) were investigated. The thermal characteristics of
PCM-Bricks such as thermal response, thermal storage capacity and thermal insulation capacity of the various
HCBs were numerically evaluated and compared. The 2D-numerical simulations were carried out using Fluent
software, based on the finite volume analysis and the enthalpy porosity based method. The results show that HCB
type has notable effects on the thermal performance e.g. the phase shift induced by HCB-3, HCB-6, HCB-8 and
HCB-12 was respectively of about 1 h, 1 h 43 min, 2 h 27 min and 4 h. In addition, the use of a PCM allowed to
improve bricks thermal behavior. The HCB-3 with PCM exhibited equivalent thermal behavior to the HCB-6.
Likewise, the HCB-8 with PCM offered equivalent thermal response to that of the HCB-12. Consequently, sig­
nificant savings in volume, matter and energy have been achieved by introducing PCM in bricks. The volume of
HCB has been reduced by up to 30% and a savings on matter was estimated to 35%.

1. Introduction
In several strategic sectors (energy, infrastructure, construction,
transport, etc.), the demand for non-renewable natural resources is
constantly increasing. The use and exploitation of renewable resources
and other alternatives to meet the vital needs of the growing population
are now more than ever a necessity. United Nations Member States
(UNMS) have established seventeen sustainable development goals
grouped together in 2030 agenda relating to energy, environment and
sustainable use of natural resources (Diaz-Sarachaga et al., 2018). e.g.
by 2030 i) to increase the share of renewable green energy, ii) to
guarantee free access to reliable and affordable energy services iii) to
improve efficiency in energy use. To achieve these objectives, various
programs have been launched at regional and international levels.
In 2015, the residential sector was in the third position most energy-
consumer after industry and transport sectors in the European Union
(Castellazzi et al., 2018). Moreover, more than one-third of the elec­
tricity generated in the world is being consumed in the residential sector
(RS) (Umbark et al., 2020). In many countries, the share of energy
consumption in RS and tertiary sectors is around 40% of total final en­
ergy demand (Pylsy et al., 2020). The RS is responsible for about 27% of
the global energy consumption and 17% of CO2 emissions (Nejat et al.,
2015). Air conditioning and ventilation systems used to meet indoor
thermal comfort standards are one of the main factors which explain the
increase of energy consumption in residential and tertiary sectors (Chen
et al., 2020; Wan et al., 2020; Yin et al., 2020). Accordingly, most recent
conducted studies in building field are directed toward smart technology
and the use of materials able to reduce the energy consumption and
improve comfort in buildings (Akadiri et al., 2013; Boussaba et al., 2021;

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: said.hamdaoui001@gmail.com (S. Hamdaoui).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2022.03.073
Received 9 December 2021; Received in revised form 19 March 2022; Accepted 31 March 2022
0038-092X/© 2022 International Solar Energy Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
S. Hamdaoui et al.
Nomenclature
A amplitude (◦ C)
D diameter (m)
f liquid fraction of the PCM
→g acceleration of gravity vector (m/s2)
H height (m)
h enthalpy (J/kg)
hin internal convective heat transfer coefficient (W/(m2K))
hout overall external convective heat transfer coefficient (W/
(m2K))
hc convective heat transfer coefficient (W/(m2K))
hr radiative heat transfer coefficient (W/(m2K))
L width (m)
Lf latent heat of fusion of the PCM (J/kg)
p pressure (Pa)
S source term
T temperature (◦ C)
Tin inner surface temperature (◦ C)
Tm melting temperature (◦ C)
Tout daily atmosphere temperature (◦ C)
t time (s)
u fluid’s velocity in the direction of axis (m/s)
→
V velocity vector (m/s)
El Ouali et al., 2019; Hamdaoui et al., 2018; Mofidi and Akbari, 2020;
Ralegaonkar and Gupta, 2010). Phase change materials (PCMs) are
actually a preferable solution for improving the thermal performance of
building envelopes by increasing its thermal inertia. They are also used
in heating, cooling and electricity generation applications (Du et al.,
2018). According to the thermal characteristics of PCMs, specifically,
high latent heat of fusion, suitable melting temperature range for com­
fort and smaller volume change per unit mass during phase transition,
PCMs allow to store and manage heat and thermal energy. During the
day, the PCM absorbs thermal energy of solar radiation and blocks the
heat waves, which causes the PCM melt. Since the PCM has high latent
heat. This process takes a relatively long time, depending on the volume
and location of the PCM layer. The thermal energy stored during the day
is spontaneity released when indoor or outdoor temperature rises or falls
beyond the melting point (Tyagi and Buddhi, 2007). Therefore, inte­
grating PCM into the building envelope will allow delaying peak air
conditioning demand hours until later in the evening. This finding is
proven by different previous studies (Hamdaoui et al., 2019; Kant et al.,
2017; Sarri et al., 2021). Saxena et al. (2019) have assessed experi­
mentally the reliability of using bricks containing PCMs for building
energy conservation under the climate of Delhi, India. Among the con­
clusions of the authors; the incorporation of the appropriate PCM in the
brick allows a substantial decrease of temperature fluctuation, up to
10 ◦ C. Also, heat gain is reduced by 8% and 12% respectively by
incorporating bricks with phase change materials Eicosane and OM35,
compared to the conventional bricks. In another context, to integrate
PCM in building elements, various techniques can be used such as nano-
encapsulation (Maleki et al., 2020), micro-encapsulation (Cabeza et al.,
2020), macro-encapsulation (Tunçbilek et al., 2020b) and shape-
stabilization (Lu et al., 2020). Several thermal processes such as ther­
mal conduction, free and forced convection, melting and solidification,
are combined in passive designs in order to meet particular needs,
considering the climate and occupants activities (Tyagi and Buddhi,
2007).
In other hand, clay bricks remain the most widely used construction
elements in modern buildings (Laaroussi et al., 2017). This material
provides various advantages including a relatively high insulation
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Solar Energy 237 (2022) 122–134
Greek letters
β coefficient of volumetric thermal expansion (K− 1)
ρ density (kg/m3)
μ dynamic viscosity (Pa.s)
λ thermal conductivity (W/(m.K))
τ viscous stress tensor for a Newtonian fluid
Abbreviations
PCM Phase Change Material
HCB Hollow Clay Brick
IST Internal Surface Temperature
TSC Thermal Storage Capacity
TIC Thermal Insulation Capacity
IEA International Energy Agency
COP Conference Of Parties
Subscripts
x space variable (m)
f fusion
in inner
m melting
out outer
pcm phase change material
ref reference
scb solid clay brick
capacity, due to the low thermal conductivity of the air trapped in the
alveoli (Aditya et al., 2017). However, its performance is limited in re­
gions where climatic conditions are drastic (Lachheb et al., 2019;
Samuel et al., 2017). The integration of PCM in bricks is proposed to
overcome this limitation. Previous studies have shown the positive in­
fluence of the incorporation of PCMs into brick-holes and the impact of
these materials on inner temperature fluctuations. Tunçbilek et al.
(Tunçbilek et al., 2020a) have studied numerically the thermal perfor­
mance of a conventional brick incorporating PCM and examined its
impact on seasonal and annual heating and cooling loads under the
climatic conditions of Marmara region – Turkey. Authors examined the
effect of the PCM melting temperature, PCM quantity and location in the
brick. They concluded that the optimum melting temperature under
Marmara climate is 18 ◦ C, incorporating PCM to the brick allows a
decrease in annual thermal loads of 17.6%. Saxena et al. (Saxena et al.,
2021a, 2020) have investigated experimentally the impact of adding
PCM to bricks, utilizing fins. They have shown that incorporating PCM
in bricks was a good solution for passive building improvement and they
concluded that the use of PCM could reduce the heat transfer between
40% and 60% during the day. Similarly, Vicente and Silva (Vicente and
Silva, 2014) have assessed experimentally the thermal behavior of a
brick masonry wall filled with a macro-encapsulated PCM. Three brick-
wall specimens were tested and evaluated: one is a typical brick masonry
wall (reference case, M1) and the two others incorporate a macro-
encapsulated PCM in which one of them has an insulation layer of
XPS (M3). The obtained results show that specimens M2 and M3 with
PCM have registered high amplitude reduction of about 50% and 80%
respectively. On the other hand, time-delay is approximately of 1 h for
M1 and 3 h for M2 and M3. Finally, others prove that PCM is a potential
alternative for thermal regulation of internal space conditions. Gao et al.
(2020) performed experiments and numerical simulations to improve
the thermal behavior of hollow bricks by filling PCM in hollow cavities.
The major conclusion of this study is that bricks incorporating PCMs can
improve the thermal inertia of building envelope.
For the studies above, PCMs are mainly incorporated into brick-holes
or as wall layer mixed with mortar or gypsum. While, in a recent study
conducted by Mahdaoui et al. (2020) a numerically investigation of heat
S. Hamdaoui et al. Solar Energy 237 (2022) 122–134

Table 2
Hollow bricks dimensions and composition.
Building hollow Height (H) Width (L) H-alv L-alv PCM
bricks [cm] [cm] [cm] [cm] Portion[%]

Hollow Brick (3 15 5 3.66 3,00 16

holes)
Hollow Brick (6 15 7 3.66 2,00 16
holes)
Hollow Brick (8 19 10 3.50 3.50 16
holes)
Hollow Brick 20 15 4,00 3.66 16
(12 holes)
Fig. 1. The different hollow clay bricks studied (Annour, 2021).

physical properties of bricks and PCM are shown in Table 1. The hol­
Table 1 low clay bricks with PCM have cylindrical capsules dispersed around the
Thermo-physical properties of building brick materials (Hichem et al., 2013). air cavities. Dimensions and composition of each hollow brick are
illustrated in Table 2.
Building hollow Density[kg/ Thermal conductivity Specific heat capacity
brick m3] [W/(m K)] [J/(kg K)]
3.1. Mathematical formulation
Clay brick 664,00 0.207 741,00
Air 1,22 0.026 1001,44
For an isolated building, unshaded wall is generally subjected to an
homogeneous thermal stress for each orientation (in particular the south
transfer through a building brick integrating PCMs in the solid matrix facade). The heat transfer will therefore be considered as two-
was made. The influence of several parameters such as outdoor and dimensional. Due to the small size of PCM capsules, only the conduc­
indoor weather conditions and PCM characteristics on the hollow clay tion heat transfer regime is considered in the PCM. The Ansys-Fluent
brick thermal response (inner surface temperature variation) was software was used to model and simulate the dynamic heat transfer
assessed and discussed. The main results of this study show that the and the melting and solidification processes through the HCBs incor­
introduction of PCM into HCB stabilizes the indoor temperature in and porate PCM (Fluent, 2013). The finite volume discretization of the
around building thermal comfort range. equations (1)-(8) on a 2D unstructured mesh is employed. The physical
domain is meshed (decomposed into small cells). Grid and bricks di­
2. Subject of the study mensions are displayed in Fig. 2
The governing equations inside the alveoli can be described as
In the last two decades, experimental and numerical studies were follow:
increasingly carried out about the incorporation of PCM into HCBs ∂ρ →
applied as an intelligent building materials (Abbas et al., 2021; Al-Yasiri + ∇(ρ V ) = 0 (1)
∂t
and Szabó, 2021; Dabiri et al., 2018; Jia et al., 2021; Saxena et al.,
2021b, 2019b) under several possible climatic conditions. In the present →
∂(ρ V ) →→
study which represents the continuation of a previous publication + ∇.(ρ V V ) = − ∇p + ∇(τ) + ρref (1 − β(T − Tref ))→
g (2)
∂t
(Mahdaoui et al., 2020), four hollow clay bricks are evaluated: HCB-8
and HCB-12 (intended for external walls construction) and HCB-6 and ∂ →
(ρh) + ∇.(ρ V h) = ∇(λ∇T) + S (3)
HCB-3 (mainly used in internal separating walls). The integration of ∂t
PCMs in the bricks aims to improve the inertia of the walls, to manage
τ is the viscous stress tensor for a Newtonien fluid:
excess heat and to prove the possibility of replacing, in each pair of
( )
bricks, the thicker brick by the thinner one incorporating PCM. There­ τ = μ ∇u + (∇u)T (4)
fore, a comparison was made between each of the two types of bricks,
based on the time lag and decrement factor indicators. These indicators In the solid clay brick, the energy equation is described as follow:
are the most used in similar studies (Fathipour and Hadidi, 2017; ∂
Quagraine et al., 2020; Rathore et al., 2020; Toure et al., 2019). (ρ hscb ) = ∇(λscb ∇Tscb ) (5)
∂t scb
The N-nonadecane PCM, with a melting temperature of 32 ◦ C, is
To model the heat transfer in PCM with melting-solidifying process,
selected according to the climatic conditions of Moroccan hot regions in
the energy equation is given by:
order to meet summer comfort. The pre-mentioned melting temperature
seems a little higher compared to the upper limit of summer comfort, ∂
(ρ hpcm ) = ∇(λpcm ∇Tpcm ) (6)
27 ◦ C, according to Yang et al. (Yang et al., 2014), whilst in dry and hot ∂t pcm
regions a set temperature up to 30 ◦ C can be adopted as limit of internal
Where
comfort, based on the adaptive thermal comfort principal (Nicol, 2004;
∫
Nicol and Humphreys, 2002). The PCM rate incorporated in bricks has Tpcm
hpcm = href + cp pcm Tpcm + f .Lf pcm (7)
been limited to 20 % to not affect the mechanical strength of the HCBs. Tref
This substitution rate is recommended by Drissi et al (Drissi et al., 2019)
for a mortar panel. Where: Lf latent heat of the PCM.

- f: Liquid fraction of the PCM, it is evaluated as

3. Physical model
⎧
⎪
⎪ f = 0, Tpcm < TSolidus ,
⎪
Different configurations of clay hollow bricks, of three (HCB-3), six ⎪
⎨ Tpcm − TSolidus
(HCB-6), eight (HCB-8) and twelve (HCB-12) alveoli, (see Fig. 1) are f = , TLiquidus < Tpcm < TSolidus , (8)
⎪
⎪ TLiquidus − TSolidus
used for wall construction. The thermal response of these bricks incor­ ⎪
⎪
⎩
porating a PCM was numerically evaluated and analyzed. The thermo- f = 1, Tpcm > TLiquidus .

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Fig. 2. HCBs mesh and dimensions.

The conjugate heat transfer model at the interface between PCM and ( )
2π
solid region (clay) is considered. The model is described as follow: Tout = 35 + 10.sin t (10)
24
λpcm ∇Tpcm = λscb ∇Tscb (9)
The boundary condition at the interior and exterior surfaces of the
wall were (Rai, 2021):
3.2. Boundary conditions
⃒
∂T ⃒
− λ ⃒⃒ = hin (Tin − Tx=xin ) (11)
The studied hollow brick is subjected to a heat flux; sinusoidal ∂x x=xin
temperature (Eq. (10)) and an overall coefficient of heat transfer
⃒
(hout = 20Wm− 2 K− 1 ) on the left side. hout, combines both convective and ∂T ⃒⃒
− λ = hout (Tout − Tx=xout ) (12)
radiative heat transfer coefficients. A Tin = 26 C is imposed on the right ∂x ⃒x=xout
◦

vertical side of the brick with an internal heat transfer coefficient,

hin = 5Wm− 2 K− 1 .
3.3. Model validation and solution procedure

Ansys-Fluent software was used to solve the mathematical model

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Fig. 3. (A). Average inner surface temperature (IST) variation, and comparison
with the experimental data of Hichem and al. (Hichem et al., 2013). (B) Nu­
merical temperature variation of PCM wall and comparison with experimental
results of Kuznik and Virgone (Kuznik and Virgone, 2009).
consisting of the density, momentum and energy conservation equations
as well as the PCM fusion / solidification processes. The numerical
model used in this investigation is validated using experimental data
from literature (Hichem et al., 2013; Kuznik and Virgone, 2009). Fig. 3
(A) shows the experimental average temperature (Hichem et al., 2013)
compared to the obtained numerical average temperature of the interior
surface of the hollow brick. The Average Error between simulation and
experimental data is of about 5.19%. A second validation was made
considering the PCM melting/solidification processes. In this latter our
numerical results were confronted with experimental data of an inves­
tigation carried out on a cubical test cells with and without PCM realized
by (Kuznik and Virgone, 2009). The authors have evaluated the thermal
response of the test sample, subjected to a sinusoidal thermal wave
varies between 15 ◦ C and 30 ◦ C. Fig. 3 (B) shows our numerical results
compared with the measured inner and outer temperatures evolution of
the tested cell wall composed of (aluminum plate 2 mm, polyurethane
foam 60 mm and 5 mm PCM panel), data reported in (Kuznik and Vir­
gone, 2009). Thus, as can be seen, the agreement between our numerical
results and experimental data is excellent.
To evaluate heat flux and temperature evolutions inside the HCBs
with PCM, the CFD software (ANSYS Fluent) was used, based on the
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Solar Energy 237 (2022) 122–134
Fig. 4. Grid size independence. (A) Inner temperature and (B) Liquid fraction
versus time for different mesh sizes.
finite volume method (FVM). The governing equations controlling the
physical phenomena, flow equations, energy equation, and enthalpy
equation, were solved using the SIMPLE algorithm with a first-order
upwind scheme, the solver being pressure-based and transient. The
convergence is verified at each time step, with a convergence criterion of
10-6 for all variables.
In this work, the numerical study was carried out using an unstruc­
tured grid (quadrilateral in the alveoli and triangular in the solid matrix
and PCM capsules) and several meshes and time steps to provide precise
results. The grid size and the time step were selected after an analysis of
the autonomy of the results to these parameters. A time step of (0.1 s)
was found sufficient to provide accurate results. Regarding mesh, to
verify the solution independence to the grid size a mesh sensitivity study
was conducted. e.g for the HCB-3, four meshes were tested; M0 = 2716
cells, M1 = 7904 cells, M3 = 14140 cells and M4 = 51198 cells. Fig. 4
illustrates (A) the IST variation and (B) the liquid fraction versus time for
the four meshes. From these two figures and after zooming in on the
result, it can be seen that the curve related to M0 is a little offset, while
the three others are almost superimposed. Therefore, from the mesh M1
the result is independent. The considered mesh in this study was M1 =
7904 cells. Similar study was conducted for the other configurations,
and the grid size adopted for the hollow clay bricks was 10,282 cells for
HCB-6, 12,644 for HCB-8 and 25,851 for HCB-12.
S. Hamdaoui et al. Solar Energy 237 (2022) 122–134

Table 3
Thermo-physical properties of PCM (n – Nonadecane).
Melting temperature 32 [◦ C]

Latent heat of fusion 243,500 [J kg− 1]

Density (solid/liquid) 722 [kg m− 3]
Thermal conductivity (solid) 0.264 [W m− 1 ◦ C− 1]
Thermal conductivity (liquid) 0.2 [W m− 1 ◦ C− 1]
Specific heat capacity (solid) 2153 [J kg− 1 ◦ C− 1]
Specific heat capacity (liquid) 2330 [J kg− 1 ◦ C− 1]

Fig. 6. (A). IST variation of the HCB-3 and HCB-6 with and without PCM. (B).
IST variation of the HCB-6 without PCM and HCB-3 with PCM.

4. Results and discussion

In the present study, the effect of incorporating PCM into building

Fig. 5. (A). IST variation of the different bricks without PCM. (B). Time lag and
amplitude decrease between outer and inner surface temperatures and (C). IST
variation and comfort range.
hollow clay bricks on summer energy requirements (cooling) and heat
transfer management was numerically investigated. Four commercially
available bricks of different shapes and thickness (see Fig. 1), were
considered. First, the thermal response of bricks without PCM was
evaluated and compared. Secondly, two types of bricks were selected to
be integrated by PCM and a parametric study was conducted in the aim
to improve their thermal performance, stabilize the inner temperature
around comfort range and decrease the walls thickness by exploiting the
high storage capacity offered by PCMs.

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Fig. 7. (A). IST variation of HCB-8 and HCB-12 with and without PCM. (B).
IST variation of the HCB-12 without PCM and HCB-8 with PCM.
A sinusoidal exterior temperature oscillating between 25 ◦ C and
45 ◦ C was imposed on the outer surface of the bricks. The imposed wave
reflects the mean daily variation of summer temperature in the hot re­
gions of Morocco (Ouarzazate, Marrakech, Erfoud etc.). Fig. 5 (A) shows
the internal surface temperature variation of the different types of bricks
compared to the imposed external temperature. From this figure, it is
clear that the inner surface temperature amplitude decreases propor­
tionally with the brick dimensions (thickness). Thus, the HCB-12 ap­
pears as the most efficient. Time lag defined as the time delayed when
the temperature wave reaches the low level from the outside to the inner
surface of the brick, is almost 1 h for the HCB-3, 1 h 43 min for the HCB-
6, 2 h 27 min for the HCB-8 and almost 4 h for the HCB-12 (see Fig. 5
(B)). This result highlights the importance of the sensible storage that is
directly related to the brick dimensions (mass) and holes number.
The next step of this study investigates the advantage and benefits of
integrating a PCM into hollow bricks. In this context, the thermal
response of the HCB-6 and HCB-3 with and without PCM has been
assessed and compared. Then a second comparison was made between
bricks; HCB-8 and HCB-12, with and without PCM. Bricks dimensions
and PCM proportions are reported in Table 2 and Table 3.
The aim is to stabilize the interior temperature within the comfort
range. The latter is defined between 20 ◦ C and 26 ◦ C (Park et al., 2019),
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Solar Energy 237 (2022) 122–134
Fig. 8. (A). IST variation of the HCB-8 with PCM for different melting tem­
peratures. (B). Total liquid fraction versus time of the HCB-8 with PCM for
different melting temperatures.
i.e. if the temperature rises above 26 ◦ C, a cooling system must be
activated so that it stabilizes at 26 ◦ C. However, in dry and hot climates,
an indoor temperature up to 30 ◦ C is considered comfortable according
to (Nicol, 2004; Nicol and Humphreys, 2002). Thus, the insertion of
PCMs in HCBs aims to remove the peak temperatures above 30 ◦ C, as
shown in colored part Fig. 5 (C). This energy efficiency action could
make it possible to obtain passive thermal comfort, lower the cooling
requirements and indeed reduce the energy bill related to mechanical
cooling systems and mitigate their negative environmental impacts.
Fig. 6 (A) displays the IST of the bricks HCB-6 and HCB-3 with and
without PCM. Therefore, it seems clear that PCM affects the thermal
behavior of bricks. The IST has undergone an amplitude decrease of
about 1.7 ◦ C and a time lag of about 1 h 25 min. In addition, the most
important result of this part is that the HCB-3 with PCM exhibits
equivalent thermal behavior of the HCB-6 without PCM (Fig. 6 (B)).
In the second comparison between the HCB-8 and the HCB-12 Fig. 7
(A), it has appeared that the thermal response of the HCB-8 with PCM
was more stable compared to the IST of the HCB-12 (without PCM).
Thus, a slight decrease in the amplitude and a relatively important time
lag between the two curves can be remarked. This result is clearly
S. Hamdaoui et al. Solar Energy 237 (2022) 122–134

Fig. 9. (A). IST variation of the HCB-3 with PCM for different melting tem­
peratures. (B). Total liquid fraction versus time of the HCB-3 with PCM for
different melting temperatures.

showed in Fig. 7 (B).

Based on the above, it is possible to replace the HCB-12 (15 cm thick)
intended for exterior walls construction by the HCB-8 (10 cm thick) with
PCM, and to use the HCB-3 (5 cm thick) with PCM in the construction of
separating walls instead of the HCB-6 (7 cm thick). Therefore, inte­
grating PCM into bricks has two advantages. First, it allows to reduce
walls thickness and in fact the initial investment of the project (savings
in material and space). Secondly, it allows improving internal thermal
comfort and stabilizes IST around the set temperature of comfort
(considerable time lag and reduction in the temperature amplitude).
In the next part, the study will be focused on the two most efficient
configurations HCB-3 and HCB-8 with PCM. Indeed, to highly benefit
from the PCM incorporated in these bricks, a parametric study will be
conducted to evaluate and select the most affecting PCM characteristics
and operating conditions. Fig. 10. (A). IST variation of the HCB-8 with PCM for different latent heats. (B).
Temperature variation in the center of the HCB-8 with PCM for different latent
heats. (C). Total liquid fraction versus time of the HCB-8 with PCM for different
4.1. Effect of PCM properties latent heats.

• Effect of PCM melting temperature

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Fig. 11. (A). IST variation of theHCB-3 with PCM for different latent heats. (B).
Total liquid fraction versus time of the HCB-3 with PCM for different
latent heats.
To select the appropriate melting temperature for this application
under the present study conditions, three PCMs with different melting
temperatures (28 ◦ C, 32 ◦ C and 37 ◦ C) were tested and evaluated for the
two bricks HCB-3 and HCB-8.
Fig. 8 (A) depicts the IST of HCB-8 with and without PCM for the
three melting temperatures pre-mentioned. Thus, it can be noted that
the presence of PCM in the structure of brick improved their thermal
behaviors regardless the (Tm) of the PCM. Brick with PCM (Tm = 32 ◦ C)
exhibited significant reduction of the external thermal wave fluctuations
and kept the IST (Tin) more stable and closer to the temperature of
summer comfort. The IST curve at Tm = 37 ◦ C, conserved the sinusoidal
form while (Tin) curves shape for the two other melting temperatures
(Tm = 28 ◦ C and Tm = 32 ◦ C) was highly modified. This modification is
due to the PCM melting and solidification processes.
Fig. 8 (B) displays the temporal variation of the global PCM liquid
fraction of the HCB-8 for the three melting temperatures. Thus, as can be
seen, the molten fraction exceeded 60% for the two PCMs of melting
temperatures Tm = 28 ◦ C and Tm = 32 ◦ C, while it was less than 40% for
the PCM of (Tm = 37 ◦ C). So, it’s obvious that the higher the molten
fraction, the higher was the thermal energy absorbed / released by PCM.
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Solar Energy 237 (2022) 122–134
Fig. 12. (A). IST variation of the HCB-8 with PCM for different external tem­
perature amplitudes. (B). Total liquid fraction versus time of the HCB-8 with
PCM for different external temperature amplitudes.
Therefore, the most appropriate melting temperature for this application
was Tm = 32 ◦ C. It offered better heat transfer management and allowed
to stabilize the IST around or below the required temperature of summer
comfort, i.e. 30 ◦ C.
Fig. 9 (A) plots the IST variation of the HCB-3 with PCM for different
melting temperatures. It can be noticed that the present result shows the
same trend as in the previous case (HCB-8). However, a small increase in
the amplitudes due to the reduced thickness of the HCB-3 compared to
the HCB-8 appeared. Likewise, Tm = 32 ◦ C remained the most suitable
melting temperature. This conclusion is confirmed in Fig. 9 (B), where
the global molten fraction for the three different melting temperatures
was displayed.
• Effect of PCM latent heat
Latent heat is an important parameter in the choice of a PCM. It
defines the latent mode storage capacity of such material. The impact of
this PCM’s characteristic on the IST variation of bricks was assessed.
Fig. 10 (A) displays the temporal variation of the IST of the HCB-8 for
different values of the latent heat of fusion. So, it can be noted that, for
S. Hamdaoui et al. Solar Energy 237 (2022) 122–134

Fig. 13. (A). IST variation of the HCB-3 with PCM for different external tem­ Fig. 14. (A). IST variation of the HCB-8 with PCM for different external
perature amplitudes. (B). Total liquid fraction versus time of HCB-3 with PCM convective heat transfer coefficients. (B). Total liquid fraction versus time of the
for different external temperature amplitudes. HCB-8 with PCM for different external convective heat transfer coefficients.

the three latent heat evaluated, the inner temperature was below the another thicker brick or to use another PCM with higher latent heat of
required temperature of comfort (30 ◦ C). In order to clearly show the fusion.
effects of this measure, the temperature variation in the brick center for
the three latent heats (Lf, 2*Lf and Lf/2) has been displayed (Fig. 10
4.2. Effect of outdoor conditions
(B)). In other hand, the high latent heat of fusion (2*Lf) decreased the
temperature peaks and dampened the thermal variation. The phase
Outdoor conditions such as ambient temperature, solar radiation and
change occurred at a constant temperature corresponding to the melting wind speed change constantly over time. For these reasons, this section
temperature of the PCM, 32 ◦ C. Moreover, the time lag in this case was
deals with a thermal performance evaluation of the HCBs under different
considerable compared to the two other cases (Lf and Lf/2). The next climatic conditions.
figure (Fig. 10 (C)) displays the molten fraction versus time for the three
latent heats pre-mentioned. It has been found that the higher the latent • Effect of the external thermal wave amplitude
heat of fusion, the lower the molten fraction.
For the HCB-3 with PCM, the IST (Fig. 11 (A)) and the melted frac­ Fig. 12 (A) shows the thermal response of the HCB-8 with PCM for
tion versus time (Fig. 11 (B)) kept the same trend of the HCB-8. How­
different external thermal wave amplitude. It is obvious that when the
ever, the inner temperature for the three tested latent heat as plotted in amplitude of the outside temperature is low, the temperature of the
Fig. 11 (A) oscillated above the temperature of comfort (30 ◦ C). This
inside surface exhibits better stability. Also, for the three amplitudes (5,
thermal behavior is due to the low thickness of the brick. It is therefore 10 and 15 ◦ C) the IST remained close to or below the temperature
incapable of dampening the imposed temperature below 30 ◦ C even by
suitable for human comfort in hot climate. Thus, the studied brick could
the addition of PCM. Therefore, in order to achieve the goal (IST below withstand temperature fluctuations varying between 50 ◦ C and 20 ◦ C
30 ◦ C) in this case, it is recommended either to replace the HCB-3 with
(35 ± 15 ◦ C).

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S. Hamdaoui et al. Solar Energy 237 (2022) 122–134

Fig. 15. (A). IST variation of the HCB-3 with PCM for different external Fig. 16. (A). IST variation of the HCB-8 with PCM for different internal
convective heat transfer coefficients. (B). Total liquid fraction versus time of the convective heat transfer coefficients. (B). Total liquid fraction versus time of the
HCB-3 with PCM for different external convective heat transfer coefficients. HCB-8 with PCM for different internal convective heat transfer coefficients.

The liquid fraction versus time for the different amplitudes of the hourly IST variation of the clay bricks HCB-8 and HCB-3 respectively for
outdoor temperature (Tout) is shown in Fig. 12 (B). Thus, it can be noted different hout. The latter has negligible effect on temperature variation.
that the molten fraction varies proportionally with the amplitude of Tout. For low values of hout, the internal temperature peak is slightly reduced.
In the extreme case (A = 15 ◦ C) the PCM melts partially and the The total liquid fraction versus time presented in figures, Fig. 14 (B) and
maximum value oscillates at around 0,75. Fig. 15 (B) for the two bricks confirm the previous statement.
For the HCB-3 with PCM, Fig. 13 (A) the IST displays more pro­
nounced amplitude compared to the HCB-8. And the melted fraction
4.3. Effect of the internal convective heat transfer
Fig. 13 (B) is also important. In the case of (A = 15 ◦ C) the PCM melts
completely.
The temperature gradient between wall’s surface and ambient air
The HCB-3 with PCM shows poor thermal behavior under the con­
and the airflow in a room are the main factors inducing the variation of
dition of the present study. But, by the fact that the latter is generally
the internal convective heat transfer. The latter is generally lower than
used for the construction of partition walls, the thermal stresses sub­
the exterior convective transfer coefficient. In this part, the impact of
jected will be much lower compared to that of the present study.
this parameter on the internal surface temperature evolution will
Otherwise, to use this brick in the construction of exterior walls, it must
investigated.
be reinforced, either by increasing the amount of PCM incorporated, or
Fig. 16 (A) shows the IST variation of HCB-8 for different convective
by replacing it by another thicker material.
heat transfer coefficients (2.5, 5 and 10 W/m2 K). Thus, as can be seen,
the amplitude was almost the same for the first two cases, while for (hin
• Effects of the external convective heat transfer (hout)
= 10 W/m2. K) the inner surface temperature showed a slight decrease
in the amplitude (see Fig. 16 (B)). Moreover, for a high convective
Considering both figures Fig. 14 (A) and Fig. 15 (A) display the
transfer coefficient (10 W /m2 K), the temperature oscillated around low

132
S. Hamdaoui et al.
Fig. 17. (A). IST variation of the HCB-3 with PCM for different internal
convective heat transfer coefficients. (B). Total liquid fraction versus time of the
HCB-3 with PCM for different internal convective heat transfer coefficients.
values (27◦ ) while the temperature of the interior surface fluctuated
around relatively high values (29.7 ◦ C) for lower heat transfer co­
efficients. By the fact that the stored heat in the brick-wall with PCM is
released towards the interior of the building, the obtained result was
expected. Therefore, a relatively high internal convective coefficient is
desirable. It allows considerable heat restitution and rapid homogeni­
zation of the indoor temperature.
The IST variation and the liquid fraction versus time of HCB-3 for
different internal convective coefficients are displayed in Fig. 17 (A) and
17 (B) respectively. The impact of this parameter in this case is signif­
icant and pretty clear. Thus, it was found that the IST of the brick with
PCM for low convective coefficient was higher than the IST of the brick
without PCM. In addition, the increase of internal convective coefficient
had a positive effect on the amplitude decrease while it affected nega­
tively the time lag.
5. Conclusion
This study deals with mathematical modeling and numerical
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Solar Energy 237 (2022) 122–134
simulation of heat transfer through different configurations of bricks
incorporating Phase Change Material (PCM). The PCM was integrated
into the solid matrix of the bricks as cylindrical capsules. A parametric
study was conducted to assess the effect of different parameters such as
PCM properties (melting temperature and latent heat of fusion), indoor
and outdoor convective heat transfer coefficients and the amplitude of
the exterior temperature, on the thermal behavior of the HCBs. The
obtained results show that the integration of PCM in the clay hollow
bricks has a positive effect on bricks thermal behavior. The main results
and conclusions are as follow:
- The presence of holes in these bricks improves the energy efficiency
of building envelopes, while in hot regions with a drastic climate
these materials exhibit poor thermal behavior. The insulation ca­
pacity and the storage ability translated respectively by the thermal
wave amplitude decrease and the time lag between the outer (Tout),
and the IST are impacted by HCB dimensions. e.g. the phase shift
induced by HCB-3, HCB-6, HCB-8 and HCB-12 is respectively of
about 1 h, 1 h 43 min, 2 h 27 min and 4 h.
- The use of a PCM, with a melting temperature of 32 ◦ C and a latent
heat of fusion of 243.5 kJ/kg, allows improving bricks thermal
behavior. The HCB-3 with PCM exhibits equivalent thermal behavior
to the HCB-6, likewise, the HCB-8 with PCM offers equivalent ther­
mal response to that of the HCB-12. Therefore, it is possible to build
exterior walls with HCB-8 (10 cm thick) impregnating PCM instead
of HCB-12 (15 cm thick), and also the use of HCB-3 (5 cm thick) with
PCM for the construction of separating walls instead of HCB-6 (7
cm thick).
- From an economic perspective, the incorporation of PCM into HCBs
will induce significant savings in volume, matter and energy. The
volume occupied by HCB can be reduced by up to 30% and savings
on matter of clay can be estimated at 35 %.
- Finally, as a perspective of the present work, savings made (in terms
of space and matter) should be compared to the cost of the PCM and
of its implementation. Moreover, the assessment of the PCM-
integration impact on the mechanical behavior of bricks.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
the work reported in this paper.
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