Int J Thermophys (2011) 32:674–692 DOI 10.1007/s10765-010-0900-z A Novel Technique for Experimental Thermophysical Characterization of Phase-Change Materials Zohir Younsi · Laurent Zalewski · Stéphane Lassue · Daniel R. Rousse · Annabelle Joulin Received: 19 May 2010 / Accepted: 27 November 2010 / Published online: 29 December 2010 © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2010 Abstract The major objective of this project is to use phase-change materials (PCMs) as integrated components in passive solar heat recovery systems. The sug- gested approach involves experimental investigations and characterization of the global behavior of a parallelepiped “material wrap” filled with the PCM. The experi- mental apparatus permits simultaneous measurements of heat fluxes and temperatures. It also allows imposing and measuring temperatures variations with respect to selected time scales between the two predominant faces of the sample. The instantaneous heat flux measurements allow the determination of the “apparent” or overall heat storage capacities and thermal conductivities of the PCM—in the solid and liquid states—and that of the latent heat of melting. Results were found to be very satisfactory. Keywords Calorimetry · Heat flux measurement · Heat storage · Phase-change material · Thermophysical properties L. Zalewski · S. Lassue · A. Joulin Université Lille Nord de France, Lille, France L. Zalewski · S. Lassue (B ) · A. Joulin Université d’Artois, LGCgE, 62400 Béthune, France e-mail: stephane.lassue@univ-artois.fr Z. Younsi Hautes Etudes d’Ingénieur (HEI), 59000 Lille, France D. R. Rousse Department of Mechanical Engineering, École de Technologie Supérieure, Université du Québec, Montréal, Canada 123