This study is focused on the preparation and performance of a building energy storage panel (BESP). The BESP was fabricated through a mold pressing method based on phase change material particle (PCMP), which was prepared in two steps: vacuum absorption and surface film coating. Firstly, phase change material (PCM) was incorporated into expanded perlite (EP) through a vacuum absorption method to obtain composite PCM; secondly, the composite PCM was immersed into the mixture of colloidal silica and organic acrylate, and then it was taken out and dried naturally. A series of experiments, including differential scanning calorimeter (DSC), scanning electron microscope (SEM), best matching test, and durability test, have been conducted to characterize and analyze the thermophysical property and reliability of PCMP. Additionally, the thermal performance of BESP was studied through a dynamic thermal property test. The results have showed that: (1) the surface film coating procedure can effectively solve the leakage problem of composite phase change material prepared by vacuum impregnation; (2) the optimum adsorption ratio for paraffin and EP was 52.5:47.5 in mass fraction, and the PCMP has good thermal properties, stability, and durability; and (3) in the process of dynamic thermal performance test, BESP have low temperature variation, significant temperature lagging, and large heat storage ability, which indicated the potential of BESP in the application of building energy efficiency.

Geopolymers are considered to be green materials with excellent fire resistance performance and potential substitutes for ordinary Portland cement (OPC). This review article focuses on the adhesion of geopolymer coatings subjected to elevated temperature. Their high adhesion strength is the basis for geopolymers being used as coating materials to work with the substrate. The adhesion strength is related to many factors, such as chemical composition of the raw materials, the formulation of the geopolymer, substrate type, surface roughness of the substrate, etc. The Si/Al ratio has different effects on compressive strength and bonding strength. The water content affects the polymerization process—the adhesion strength decreases with increasing water content. Careful tailoring of the mix ratio design is essential to make the geopolymer coating have excellent adhesive performance. These mix design factors include Si/Al ratio, Al/Na ratio, water content, precursor type, alkali cation type, curing conditions, etc.

Phase change material (PCM) used in buildings can reduce the building energy consumption and indoor temperature fluctuation. A composite PCM has been fabricated by the binary eutectic mixture of tetradecanol (TD) and lauric acid (LA) absorbed into the expanded perlite (EP) using vacuum impregnation method, and its thermal conductivity was promoted by aluminium powder (AP) additive. Besides, the styrene-acrylic emulsion has been mixed with the composite PCM particles to form the protective film, so as to solve the problem of leakage. Thus, a novel PCM panel (PCMP) has been prepared using compression moulding forming method. The thermal property, microstructure characteristic, mechanical property, thermal conductivity, thermal reliability and leakage of the composite PCM have been investigated and analysed. Meanwhile, the thermal performance of the prepared PCMP was tested through PCMPs installed on the inside wall of a cell under outdoor climatic conditions. The composite PCM has a melting temperature of 24.9 °C, a freezing temperature of 25.2 °C, a melting latent heat of 78.2 J/g and a freezing latent heat of 81.3 J/g. The thermal conductivity test exposed that the thermal conductivity has been enhanced with the addition of AP and the latent heat has been decreased, but it still remains in a high level. The leakage test result has proven that liquid PCM leaking has been avoided by the surface film method. The thermal performance experiment has shown the significant function of PCMP about adjusting the indoor temperature and reducing the heats transferring between the wall inside and outside. In view of the thermal performance, mechanical property and thermal reliability results, it can be concluded that the prepared PCMP has a promising building application potential.

For the past few years, China’s urbanization process has been in a state of rapid and variable development. With many migrants flowing from rural to urban area, the change in the urban structure and the trend of the economic development has led to a rapid development of the real estate market. However, the conflict between the migrants and the local low- and middle-income groups in respect of demand for basic housing has become a concern. Based on Chinese time-series data from 2008 to 2018, this study establishes an evaluation indicator system to consider the influence of urbanization, housing prices, and affordable housing and analyzes the comprehensive development level and coordination relationship using the methods of range standardization, entropy weight model, and coupling coordination. The results show that the comprehensive development levels of housing prices and affordable housing are both in a state of fluctuating growth. From 2008 to 2018, the coupling degree between urbanization, housing prices, and affordable housing was high, while the coupling coordination degree between the three subsystems increased from reluctant coordination to satisfactory coordination; this clearly shows that the relationships between urbanization, housing prices, and affordable housing are mutually coupled and promoted. Furthermore, based on the coupling coordination relationships between the three subsystems, this study discusses the sustainable development of urbanization and provides some suggestions for regional government. The conclusions have practical significance for China and other developing countries to coordinate housing prices and affordable housing in the process of rapid urbanization.

Assembled methods play a critical role in the construction of precast concrete structures. However, conventional dry-connections-like sleeve grouting joints in precast concrete structures lagged at a low construction and management efficiency with poor quality control. In this study, a novel steel joint for precast reinforced concrete beam-column components is proposed to improve constructability. New joints transform the assembled method from reinforced concrete members into a steel structure by setting a pre-embedded steel connector at both ends of reinforced concrete beams and columns, showing outstanding economic, durability, and fire resistance capabilities. The construction process, construction efficiency, economy, and energy consumption were discussed based on the material, structure, and construction hybrid characteristics. Numerical simulation and structural health monitoring methods are used to monitor and evaluate the deformation and stress state of the proposed system in the whole construction process, so as to optimize the construction scheme and ensure safe and orderly construction. The results reveal that the FEA-simulated values of key building components during construction are in good agreement with the actual monitoring values, which verifies the feasibility of the FEM models and provides a guarantee for construction safety; the construction period of the proposed assemble system is reduced by approximately 56% and 40%, compared with the conventional reinforced concrete frame structure and cast-in-place joints in the precast concrete frame structure, respectively. Meanwhile, the energy consumption of buildings decreases by 20%. This research provides a theoretical basis for the design, calculation, and application of assembled precast structural systems.

The real estate market is vital for national economic development, and it is of great significance to research an early warning method to identify an abnormal status of the real estate market. In this study, a real estate early warning system based on the PSO-LSSVR model was created to train and test the indicator data of Beijing from 2000 to 2020, and to predict the early warning indicator of the Beijing real estate market from 2021 to 2030. The results showed that the warning status of the Beijing real estate market went from a fluctuation status to a stable “Normal” status from 2000 to 2020, and the warning status is expected to be more stable under a “Normal” status in the next decade under the same political and economic environment. The PSO-LSSVR model was found to have accurate prediction ability and demonstrated generalization ability. Furthermore, the warning status of the Beijing real estate market was analyzed in combination with national historical policies. Based on the results, this paper proposes policy recommendations to promote the healthy and sustainable development of the real estate market.