Numerical study on the thermal performance of new composite wall with phase change material in a building located in Marrakech

Abstract

Phase change materials (PCMs) hold promise for enhancing building energy efficiency. Smart walls with PCMs effectively control indoor temperatures, reducing heating and cooling energy use. This study examines five PCM configurations within a smart wall, including a reference wall, PCM1 wall, PCM2 wall, a dual PCM wall, and a novel configuration in Marrakech, Morocco. The primary aim is to find the most effective configuration for improving smart wall thermal performance. We employ numerical simulations in the ANSYS CFD environment to analyze the transient thermal behavior of walls with varying melting temperature PCMs.Results show that a novel dual-PCM wall significantly improves temperature stability and reduces energy consumption compared to the reference wall. This configuration excels in thermal energy storage and thermal conductivity. Overall, these findings highlight the effectiveness of a composite layer design for PCM-integrated smart walls. The new wall configuration with PCMs 1 and 2 reduces energy consumption by 89% in winter and 20.46% in summer. Additionally, a wall with two PCMs (1 and 2) in parallel layers reduces energy consumption by 89.5% in winter and 21.76% in the summer.