Enhancing thermal performance of gypsum with luffa fiber-based phase change materials for application in advanced indoor finishing material

To reduce building energy consumption, the indoor temperature must be maintained constant. To achieve this, thermal storage performance of indoor finishing materials must be improved. Among indoor finishing materials, gypsum is consistently used owing to its high processability and low price. Phase-change material (PCM) was applied in a shape-stabilized PCM (SSPCM) form to improve thermal storage performance of gypsum. Since luffa fibers have proven suitable for PCM impregnation and applicability to building materials, they were used as the support material for SSPCM. Microstructure of the composite was analyzed to evaluate its PCM loading ability. Chemical bonding and thermogravimetric analyses were performed to evaluate the suitability of the composite material as a building material. Insulation performance and latent heat amount were analyzed to evaluate thermal performance of composite material. Composites yielded latent heat outcomes in the range of 30–40 J/g and their thermal conductivity was approximately 55.14% lower than that of pure gypsum. Dynamic heat transfer and thermal imaging analyses were performed to confirm the thermal storage performance of composites, and the peak temperature reduction effect and time-lag effect were confirmed. Therefore, high-insulation and thermal storage performance can be achieved by using composite materials as indoor finishing materials.