Experimental investigation and numerical simulation analysis on the thermal performance of a building roof incorporating phase change material (PCM) for thermal management

Thermal storage plays a major role in a wide variety of industrial, commercial and residential application when there is a mismatch between the supply and demand of energy. Latent heat storage in a phase change material (PCM) is very attractive, because of its high-energy storage density and its isothermal behavior during the phase change process. Several promising developments are taking place in the field of thermal storage using phase change materials (PCM) in buildings. It has been demonstrated that for the development of a latent heat storage system (LHTS) in a building fabric, the choice of the PCM plays an important role in addition to heat transfer mechanism in the PCM. Increasing the thermal storage capacity of a building can enhance human comfort by decreasing the frequency of internal air temperature swings, so that the indoor air temperature is closer to the desired temperature for a longer period of time. This paper attempts to study the thermal performance of an inorganic eutectic PCM based thermal storage system for thermal management in a residential building. The system has been analyzed by theoretical and experimental investigation. Experiments are also conducted by circulating water through the tubes kept inside the PCM panel to test its suitability for the summer months. In order to achieve the optimum design for the selected location, several simulation runs are made for the average ambient conditions for all the months in a year and for the various other parameters of interest.