Abstract
Thermal energy storage using phase change materials (PCMs) plays a significant role in maintaining thermal comfort and reducing energy consumption in a building because of its ability to absorb/release heat within small temperature variations. In this paper, the thermal performance of roofs has been investigated based on various factors like the integration of a single PCM layer, integration of a double PCM layer, the thickness of the PCM, phase transition temperature and heat of fusion of the PCM. The analysis shows that integration of a single PCM layer of different thickness and phase transition temperature and heat of fusion in roof structures is unable to maintain a comfortable constant temperature inside the building due to incomplete solidification and melting of the PCM. However, the analysis shows that with multi-PCM layers of appropriate thickness it is possible to maintain a constant comfortable temperature of about 28 °C in the building throughout the day in Chennai, India. The analysis also shows that there is reduction in heat gain by 17 to 26% for a single PCM layered roof and 25 to 36% for a double PCM layered roof compared to the roof without PCM layer for the different months of the year.
Highlights
For a long time, several active and passive methods have been adopted by human beings to improve thermal comfort and reduce temperature fluctuation in buildings
The thickness of the brick layer, concrete layer, phase change materials (PCMs) layer and the gypsum board layer are respectively taken as 0.08 m, 0.08 m, 0.02 m, and 0.02 m
(about 53.4 ◦ C) is marginally higher than that of the roof without a PCM layer. This effect is due to heat accumulation in the phase change material and its low conductivity in the liquid phase which results in the addition of heat to the top roof surface. It can be observed from the figure that in the base layer the maximum average temperature attained by the PCM-integrated roof is delayed by about 2 h compared to the roof without a PCM layer, which respectively occur at 5:00 PM
Summary
Several active and passive methods have been adopted by human beings to improve thermal comfort and reduce temperature fluctuation in buildings. The novelty of the present work includes a thermal performance evaluation of the building roof by comparing different characterization of PCM such as the thickness of a single PCM layer, phase transition temperature of the PCM, and the use of multi-layered PCMs with different thicknesses for tropical climate conditions. The optimization of these parameters is elemental to determine the potential of success of integration of PCMs in a building structure. The paper presents monthly heat reduction rates and energy savings because of the integration of PCM layers (a single layer and double layers) in a building roof
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