Numerical and experimental study on heat pump water heater with PCM for thermal storage

An air source heat pump water heater with phase change material (PCM) for thermal storage was designed to take advantage of off-peak electrical energy. The heat transfer model of PCM was based upon a pure conduction formulation. Quasi-steady state method was used to calculate the temperature distribution and phase front location of PCM during thermal storage process. Temperature and thermal resistance iteration approach has been developed for the analysis of temperature variation of heat transfer fluid (HTF) and phase front location of PCM during thermal release process. To test the physical validity of the calculational results, experimental studies about storing heat and releasing heat of PCM were carried. Comparison between the calculational results and the experimental data shows good agreement. Graphical results including system pressure and input power of heat pump, time-wise variation of stored and released thermal energy of PCM were presented and discussed.     

Thermal storage and nonlinear heat-transfer characteristics of PCM wallboard

For the materials with constant thermophysical properties, the thermal performance of wallboards (or floor, ceiling) can be described by decrement factor f and time lag φ. However, the phase change material (PCM) may charge large heat during the melting process and discharge large heat during the freezing process, which takes place at some certain temperature or a narrow temperature range. The behavior deviates a lot from the material with constant thermal physical properties. Therefore, it is not reasonable to analyze the thermal performance of PCM wallboard by using the decrement factor f and time lag φ. How to simply and effectively analyze the thermal performance of a PCM wallboard is an important problem. In order to analyze and evaluate the energy-efficient effects of the PCM wallboard and floor, two new parameters, i.e., modifying factor of the inner surface heat flux ‘α’ and ratio of the thermal storage ‘b’, are put forward. They can describe the thermal performance of PCM external and internal walls, respectively. The analysis and simulation methods are both applied to investigate the effects of different PCM thermophysical properties (heat of fusion H_m, melting temperature T_m and thermal conductivity k) on the thermal performance of PCM wallboard for the residential buildings. The results show that the PCM external wall can save more energy by increasing H_m, decreasing k and selecting proper T_m (α < 1); that the PCM internal wall can save more energy by increasing H_m and selecting appropriate T_m, k. The most energy-efficient approach of applying PCM in a solar house is to apply it in its internal wall.     

Thermo-physical behaviour and energy performance assessment of PCM glazing system configurations: A numerical analysis

The adoption of Phase Change Materials (PCMs) in glazing systems was proposed to increase the heat capacity of the fenestration, being some PCMs partially transparent to visible radiation.The aim of the PCM glazing concept was to let (part) of the visible spectrum of the solar radiation enter the indoor environment, providing daylighting, while absorbing (the largest part of) the infrared radiation.In this paper, the influence of the PCM glazing configuration is investigated by means of numerical simulations carried out with a validated numerical model. Various triple glazing configurations, where one of the two cavities is filled with a PCM, are simulated, and PCM melting temperatures are investigated. The investigation is carried out in a humid subtropical climate (Cfa according to Köppen climate classifi-cation), and “typical days” for each season are used.The results show that the position of the PCM layer (inside the outer or the inner cavity) has a relevant influence on the thermo-physical behaviour of the PCM glazing system. PCM glazing systems (especially those with the PCM layer inside the outermost cavity) can be beneficial in terms of thermal comfort. The assessment of the energy performance and efficiency is instead more complex and sometimes controversial. All the configurations are able to reduce the solar gain during the daytime, but sometimes the behaviour of the PCM glazing is less efficient than the reference one.     

Radiant floors integrated with PCM for indoor temperature control

The control of indoor thermal comfort in buildings through thermal inertia during the summer season plays a fundamental role in the design of energy efficient buildings, especially in the Mediterranean climate. In fact, lightweight, highly insulated buildings cannot provide the necessary mass to buffer thermal gains. Phase change materials (PCM) have been used to provide lightweight building components with the required thermal inertia without increasing their overall mass. So far the integration of PCM into lightweight piped radiant floors for the control of thermal comfort during summer cooling regimes has not been investigated. This paper reports the development of a lightweight piped radiant floor prototype with an integrated PCM layer aimed at buffering internal gains at constant temperature during summer cooling regimes without affecting its winter warming capacity. Both the construction of the laboratory specimens and the development of the optimized finite element models are detailed and the assessment of the floor performance in a simulated room is discussed.     

Transient thermal response of a PCS heat storage system

Over the last years the use of phase change slurries (PCSs) based on microencapsulated phase change material (MEPCM) increased considerably due to their capacity of adaptation to various heat storage systems. PCSs are obtained by dispersing a microencapsulated PCM (particle diameter 5-20 μm) into a heat carrier fluid (e.g. water). Heat storage systems are used in applications where the available energy supply is not synchronous with the demand, such as solar thermal and waste heat recovery systems. The theoretical study conducted here - based on heat transfer and energy conservation equations - is intended to developing a theoretical model of the heat storage properties of phase change slurries capable of predicting the transient thermal response of a thermal energy storage system (TES). Most of the research work was focused on investigating the enthalpy-temperature curves resulting from a heating-cooling cycle around the melting point of the PCM. The influence of other parameters such as mico-particles diameter was assessed.     

Dynamic performances of solar heat storage system with packed bed using myristic acid as phase change material

This paper is aimed at analyzing the thermal characteristics of packed bed containing spherical capsules, used in a latent heat thermal storage system with a solar heating collector. Myristic acid is selected as phase change material (PCM), and water is used as heat transfer fluid (HTF). The mathematical model based on the energy balance of HTF and PCM is developed to calculate the temperatures of PCM and HTF, solid fraction and heat release rate during the solidifying process. The latent efficiency, which is defined as the ratio between the instantaneous released latent heat and the maximum released heat, is introduced to indicate the thermal performances of the system. The inlet temperature of HTF (50 °C), flow rate of HTF (10 kg/min) and initial temperature of HTF (66 °C) were chosen for studying thermal performances in solar heat storage system. The influences of inlet temperature of HTF, flow rate of HTF and initial temperatures of HTF and PCM on the latent efficiency and heat release rate are also analyzed and discussed.     

Effects of wallboard design parameters on the thermal storage in buildings

The phase change material (PCM) could be added to the wallboard to increase the thermal mass to decrease in indoor temperature fluctuation and improve thermal comfort. In this study, experimentally validated simulation was performed to investigate the effects of various parameters of PCM including the nominal average phase change temperature, its range, the convective heat transfer coefficients and the wallboard thickness on the thermal storage performance of the wallboard such as the thermal energy storage and the time shift.It was found that the average phase change temperature should be close to the average room temperature to maximize the thermal heat storage in the wallboards. The phase change temperature should be narrow to maximize the thermal heat storage in the PCM wallboards. The thermal heat storage increased with the convective heat transfer coefficient, and the optimal average phase change temperature to maximize the storage shifted a bit to a higher temperature with it. The time shift was found to decrease with the convective heat transfer coefficient and the phase change temperature range.     

Development and testing of PCM doped cool colored coatings to mitigate urban heat island and cool buildings

In this study the performance of organic PCMs used as latent heat storage materials, when incorporated in coatings for buildings and urban fabric, is investigated. Thirty six coatings of six colors containing different quantities of PCMs in different melting points were produced. Accordingly, infrared reflective (cool) and common coatings with the same binder system and of the same color were prepared for a comparative thermal evaluation. The samples were divided in six groups of different color and eight samples each: three PCM coatings of different melting temperatures (18 °C, 24 °C, 28 °C) each one of two different PCM concentrations (20% w/w, 30% w/w), an infrared reflective and a common coating of matching color. Surface temperature of the samples was recorded at a 24 h basis during August 2008. The results demonstrate that all PCM coatings present lower surface temperatures than infrared reflective and common coatings. Analysis of the daily temperature differences showed that peak temperature differences occur between PCM and common or cool coatings from 7 am to 10 am. Investigating the temperature gradient revealed that for this time period the values for PCM coatings are lower compared to infrared reflective and common. From 10 am to 12 pm, temperature gradients for all coatings have similar values. Thus coatings containing PCMs store heat in a latent form maintaining constant surface temperatures and discharge with time delay. PCM doped cool colored coatings have the potential to enhance thermal inertia and achieve important energy savings in buildings maintaining a thermally comfortable indoor environment, while fighting urban heat island when applied on external surfaces.     

相变材料球蓄热槽放热特性的数值分析

用数值模拟的方法，将填充了相变材料球的蓄热槽内部划分为蓄热体和热媒体两个计算区域，分别建立数学模型，解决了两区求解时互为条件的耦合问题，并应用焓法计算蓄热体内部的相变过程，得出了与国外实验结果吻合的结果。     

Use of microencapsulated PCM in concrete walls for energy savings

This paper studies a new innovative concrete with phase change materials (PCM) on thermal aspects. The final objective is to develop a product which would achieve important energy savings in buildings. The work here presented is the construction and experimental installation of two real size concrete cubicles to study the effect of the inclusion of a PCM with a melting point of 26 °C. The cubicles were constructed in the locality of Puigverd of Lleida (Spain). The results of this study show the energy storage in the walls by encapsulating PCMs and the comparison with conventional concrete without PCMs leading to an improved thermal inertia as well as lower inner temperatures.     

Experimental tile with phase change materials (PCM) for building use

The use of phase change materials (PCM) and their possible architectural integration is a path in the search for optimizing energy efficiency in construction. As part of this path, a pavement has been designed which, in combination with the PCM, serves as a passive thermal conditioning system (new patent n°. ES2333092 A1) [1]. The prototype has been tested experimentally and the results proved that it is a viable constructive solution improving the energy performance of sunny locals.     

Energetic efficiency of room wall containing PCM wallboard: A full-scale experimental investigation

A wallboard new PCM material is experimentally investigated in this paper to enhance the thermal behavior of light weight building internal partition wall. The experiments are carried out in a full-scale test room which is completely controlled. The external temperature and radiative flux dynamically simulate a summer repetitive day. The differential test concern walls with and without PCM material under the same conditions. The PCM allows to reduce the room air temperature fluctuations, in particular when overheating occurs. A numerical modeling has been used to investigate energy storage. Five millimeters of PCM wallboard double the energy that can be stocked, and destocked, during the experiment. The experiments are fully described so that the results can be used for the validation of numerical models dealing with phase change materials.     

相变材料用于控制混凝土水化热的研究

为了控制混凝土在浇注过程中由于温度应力而产生裂缝,研究了将相变材料加入到混凝土中,利用其相变潜热,以及吸放热过程完全由温度控制的性能,从而控制大体积混凝土中的水泥水化热,防止混凝土中产生温度裂缝.初步的研究结果表明,相变材料能有效地控制水泥水化过程中过快的温度上升,但是对强度将会有较大影响.     

Experimental and modelling study of twin cells with latent heat storage walls

An experimental and numerical simulation study of the application of phase change materials (PCMs) in building components is presented for thermal management of a passive solar test-room. The experimental study was conducted in an outdoor test cell constituted of two small rooms separated with a wall containing PCM. A specific wall made of hollow glass bricks filled with PCM was studied. Three PCMs were tested: fatty acid, paraffin, and salt hydrate whose melting temperatures are 21 °C, 25 °C and 27.5 °C respectively.Indoor and outdoor temperatures were measured with thermocouples. Ten fluxmeters located at the centre of each wall allowed us to measure the heat fluxes across the walls. Tests were carried out in real climatic conditions.A one-dimensional numerical model has been developed to simulate the transient heat transfer process in the walls. Reasonable agreement between the simulation and the experimental results was observed.     

A comparative performance study of some thermal storage materials used for solar space heating

One of the most common methods used in passive heating is the utilization of a massive wall for heat storage. Many factors affect the performance of the wall, such as the thickness and the media used for heat storage. A numerical study has been conducted on a zone heated by a thermal storage wall. Three different storage materials are examined, namely concrete, the hydrated salt CaCl₂·6H₂O and paraffin wax (N-eicosane). A numerical model is presented in this paper which judges the suitability of these materials as thermal storage mediums under the actual weather conditions of Iraq. For that purpose, the room temperature fluctuation in the zone is evaluated for each material using different thickness for each wall. The study concluded that an 8-cm-thick storage wall made from the hydrated salt is capable of maintaining the comfort temperature in the zone with the least room temperature fluctuation.     

周期性热作用下相变材料内部相变传热特征实验研究

为了揭示周期性热作用下相变材料内部相变传热特征,为建筑外表相变隔热设计和计算提供支撑,本文设计制作了能模拟太阳运行、提供周期性加热的装置,并将正18烷封装于塑料圆桶容器中,使容器底部和侧面绝热,制作了测试试件.利用热电偶和巡检仪自动记录了周期性热作用下相变材料内部各层温度的变化.测试结果表明,在稳定周期性热作用下,材料内部相变传热特征主要可表述为:1)材料在非稳态周期性相变传热阶段,各层温度在达到相变温度点之前,温度变化明显;相界面会随着周期性加热次数的增加间断性地向内部扩展;温度平均值和振幅值向稳态周期性相变传热时的平均值和振幅值靠近.2)材料在稳态周期性相变传热阶段,内部各点温度也表现出与外界热作用等周期性变化,温度振幅从外到内依次减小.这与发生在固体中的周期性传热特性类似.但材料内温度变化呈现折转现象,在温度明显升高前出现等温滞后,在温度降低时会出现等温冷却.这与发生在固体中的传热现象有很大的区别.3)材料在稳定周期性热作用下,内部不会出现多个相界面共存现象.4)空气流速对相变材料中温度振幅和相界面移动速率都有较大影响,提高空气流速可以降低温度振幅和减慢相变进程.这意味着当相变材料用于建筑外表进行相变隔热时,可以通过组织自然通风减少其用量.     

蓄冷材料相变温度与相变潜热实验研究

阐述了自行研制的蓄冷材料相变温度与相变潜热实验装置的特点,并在该实验装置上测试了蓄冷材料的相变温度和相变潜热,获得了较准确的结果。     

高温相变共晶盐潜热蓄冷介质的配制与测试

配备了一种高相变温度蓄冷介质并进行了性能测试,该介质的熔点为１０ ．０ ～１０ ．５℃,固—液相变潜热为１２８ ．６ ｋＪ／ｋｇ（１８５ ．２ ｋＪ／ｄｍ３） ,主要成分为Ｎａ２ＳＯ４·１０Ｈ２ Ｏ,ＮＨ４Ｃｌ,硅胶及ＳｉＯ２ ,其特点是原料来源丰富,潜热和显热蓄冷量较大,是一种有发展前途的蓄冷介质     

夜间通风相变贮能堆积床系统降温效果实验研究

提出了夜间通风相变贮能堆积床系统的概念，介绍了在北京搭建的系统实验装置，分析了系统的实测降温效果，与普通的夜间通风降温方法作的比较表明，该系统降温效果显著。     

New concepts and approach for developing energy efficient buildings: Ideal specific heat for building internal thermal mass

The shortcomings or limitations of the traditional approach to developing energy efficient buildings are that they can not determine: (1) the ideal thermophysical properties of building envelope material, where “ideal” means that such material can use ambient air temperature variation and/or solar radiation efficiently to keep the indoor air temperature in the thermal comfort range with no additional space heating or cooling; (2) the best natural ventilation strategy; (3) the minimal additional energy consumption for space heating in winter or air-conditioning in summer. To overcome these problems, some new concepts for developing energy efficient buildings are put forward in this paper. They are the ideal thermophysical properties of the building envelope material, the ideal natural ventilation rate, and a minimal additional space heating or cooling energy consumption. A new approach for determining these properties is also developed. In contrast to the traditional approach (the thermophysical properties of building envelope material are known and constant so that the relating equations describing the indoor air temperature tend to be linear differential equations), the new approach solves the inverse problem (thermophysical properties, etc. of a buildings are unknown), whose solution can be a function instead of a value. As a first step, the ideal specific heat of the building envelope material for internal thermal mass is analyzed for buildings located in various cities in different climatic regions of China, such as Beijing, Shanghai, Harbin, Urumchi, Lhasa, Kunming and Guangzhou. We found that the ideal specific heat is composed of a basic value and an excessive one which is of δ function for the cases studied. Some limitations that would need further study are introduced in the end of the paper.