EXPERIMENTAL AND NUMERICAL STUDY ON THE IMPACT OF THERMAL CHARACTERISTICS OF DIFFERENT PCM IN DOUBLE GLAZED WINDOWS

Abstract

Green building designs are gaining traction in the current scenario, as today's energy source has a significant environmental impact due to its reliance on fossil fuels. Furthermore, fossil fuel sources are depleting at the same time as energy demand is quickly increasing. The construction or industrial facilities sector accounts for up to 40% of worldwide energy demand. Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems are responsible for more than 60% of overall energy usage in buildings, with glass windows being the primary source of heat load. Because windows are an essential aspect of a building's system for obtaining natural light, they cannot be overlooked when designing a structure. The present work investigates the effect of the phase transition or melting temperature of PCMs when used in double-glazed windows. Its impact on the heat and light transfer characteristics were analyzed using experimental and numerical methods. The PCM acts as latent heat storage and reduces the heat in leak to the inner space. The goal of this study is to limit the amount of heat that is conveyed to the inside through the glass. An experiment was conducted for each PCM material with different phase transition temperatures to determine the glazing's inner and outer surface temperatures in a controlled environment. To validate the experimental results ANSYS FLUENT software was utilized to conduct the numerical analysis. Windows with PCM filled between two glazing’s were discovered to efficiently reduce the inner surface temperature of the glazing along with reduction in heat transfer. The main parameter that was taken into consideration in this work is the phase transition temperature. PCMs having different melting temperatures are used to establish that the phase transition temperature plays an important role in the proper usage of PCM in double-glazed windows. In the investigation, it was observed that the utilization of PCMs diminishes as phase transition temperatures rise. We must choose the right width for the double glazing to make up for this. The solidification of the liquefied PCM happens slowly and the glazing's ability to transmit light is unaffected if the PCM's melting temperature and thickness of the PCM layer is selected based on the atmospheric condition.