Abstract
The recent significant rise in space cooling energy demand due to the massive use of air-conditioning systems has adversely changed buildings’ energy use patterns globally. The updated energy technology perspectives highlight the need for innovative cooling systems to address this growing cooling demand. Phase change material embedded radiant chilled ceiling (PCM-RCC) has lately acquired popularity as they offer more efficient space cooling together with further demand-side flexibility. Recent advancements in PCM-RCC applications have increased the necessity for reliable simulation models to assist professionals in identifying improved designs and operating settings. In this study, a transient simulation model of PCM-RCC has been developed and validated using measured data in a full-scale test cabin equipped with newly developed PCM ceiling panels. This model, developed in the TRNSYS simulation studio, includes Type 399 that uses the Crank-Nicolson algorithm coupled with the enthalpy function to solve transient heat transfer in PCM ceiling panels. The developed model is validated in both free-running and active operation modes, and its quality is then evaluated using several validation metrics. The results obtained in multiple operating scenarios confirm that the model simulates the transient behaviour of the PCM-RCC system with an accuracy within ±10%. Aided by this validated model, which offers the user detailed flexibilities in the system design and its associated operating schemas, PCM-RCC’s potentials regarding peak load shifting, energy savings, and enhanced thermal comfort can be investigated more reliably.
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Data availability statement
Raw data were generated at the University of Melbourne. Derived data supporting the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author Behzad Rismanchi on request.
Abbreviations
- C p :
-
specific heat capacity [kJ kg−1 K−1]
- d :
-
diameter [m]
- dx :
-
pipe spacing [m]
- H :
-
specific enthalpy [J kg−1]
- k :
-
thermal conductivity [kJ hr−1 m−1 K−1]
- L :
-
latent heat of fusion [J kg−1]
- ṁ :
-
mass flow rate of water [kg hr−1]
- Q̇ :
-
energy gain [kJ hr−1]
- R p :
-
thermal resistance of pipe [K W−1]
- R w :
-
thermal resistance of water [K W−1]
- R x :
-
thermal resistance of pipe spacing [K W−1]
- R z :
-
thermal resistance of panel depth [K W−1]
- Re :
-
Reynolds number [—]
- t :
-
time [s]
- T :
-
temperature [K]
- β :
-
PCM liquid fraction [—]
- δ :
-
thickness [m]
- Conv:
-
convection
- hf:
-
heat flux
- in:
-
inner
- l:
-
active layer
- out:
-
outer
- p:
-
pipe
- pw:
-
pipe wall
- rad:
-
radiation
- S:
-
surface
- w:
-
water
- AC:
-
air-conditioning system
- ACH:
-
air change rate
- AEST:
-
Australian Eastern Standard Time
- ANSI:
-
American National Standards Institute
- ASHRAE:
-
American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-conditioning Engineers
- ASTM:
-
American Society for Testing and Materials
- CC:
-
correlation coefficient
- CI:
-
confidence interval
- FDM:
-
finite difference method
- HF:
-
heat flux
- IEQ:
-
indoor environmental quality
- IES:
-
Illuminating Engineering Society
- M&S:
-
modelling and simulation
- NMBE:
-
normalised mean bias error
- PCM:
-
phase change material
- RCC:
-
radiant chilled ceiling
- RH:
-
relative humidity
- CVRMSE:
-
coefficient of variation of the root mean squared error
- RTD:
-
resistance temperature detector
- TABS:
-
thermally activated building system
- TRNSYS:
-
TRaNsient SYstems Simulation program
- 2D:
-
two-dimensional
- 3D:
-
three-dimensional
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank their industry partner, InvAus Pty Ltd, for preparing the test cabin. The authors are also grateful to A/Prof. Stephen Livesley and Mr. Pui Kwan Cheung for providing weather data for the period of measurements, and Dr. Sheikh Khaleduzzaman Shah for helpful comments and suggestions. This work was conducted within the Department of Infrastructure Engineering as a part of the PhD thesis of the first author, who has been supported by the University of Melbourne’s Research Scholarship (MRS). This work was also partly enabled with the analytical support of the AuScope Subsurface Observatory Program via the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS).
Funding
Funding note: Open Access funding enabled and organized by CAUL and its Member Institutions.
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Seyedmostafa Mousavi: conceptualisation, methodology, software, validation, formal analysis, investigation, data curation, visualisation, writing—original draft. Behzad Rismanchi: conceptualisation, resources, writing—review & editing, supervision, project administration, funding acquisition. Stefan Brey: resources, writing—review & editing. Lu Aye: Writing—review & editing, supervision.
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The authors have no competing interests to declare that are relevant to the content of this article.
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Mousavi, S., Rismanchi, B., Brey, S. et al. Development and validation of a transient simulation model of a full-scale PCM embedded radiant chilled ceiling. Build. Simul. 16, 813–829 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12273-023-0985-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12273-023-0985-5