Phase change material based ventilation module - Numerical study and experimental validation of serial design

Abstract

There is an increasing demand for innovative, efficient, and environmentally friendly cooling technologies as alternatives to the conventional vapor compression-based technologies. In this study, a theoretical and experimental investigation of a Phase Change Material (PCM)-based module for a ventilation system is presented. An in-situ application employing the considered PCM module is investigated. A one-dimensional numerical model is developed to predict the dynamic performance of the PCM-driven ventilation system. In addition, the model is validated with data collected from the experimental application and the PCM hysteresis behavior is calibrated. The developed model predicts the system well, with an average deviation of less than 6% and less than 4% for the PCM and air temperatures, respectively. Parametric analysis is conducted to assess the impact of design and operational parameters on the performance. This includes, volume flow rate, PCM mass and PCM phase change temperature interval. Larger PCM mass is found to decrease efficiency of the PCM module but increase the peak heat transfer. An optimal PCM melting temperature of 20 °C is found to increase the cooling provided per kg of PCM and peak cooling capacity as compared to the reference melting temperature of 22.32 °C by 38.4% and 71.1%, respectively.