Experimental and numerical performance analysis of an active cooling wall module equipped with micro-encapsulated phase change material

The application of phase change materials (PCMs) combined with radiant cooling systems (RCS) in the building sector has attracted enormous interest in recent years owing to its thermal storage potential and feasibility for small-scale energy renovation of existing buildings. Different configurations of these systems and their performance have been experimentally tested and academically investigated. The present study experimentally tested a newly conceived PCM-equipped modular cooling wall and evaluated the impact on thermal performance under different feed water temperatures and PCM concentrations using numerical methods. From the parametric study, we found that the feed water temperature, in comparison to the PCM concentration, is the dominant factor influencing cooling power and the final radiant surface temperature of the wall module. During charging, these two factors impact the time constant τ 95 much more than τ 63. Comparing the time required for the wall surface to reach the set reference temperature of 23 C ∘ during discharging, it takes 2.37 times longer in the 30% PCM scenario than in the scenario without PCM when the feed water temperature is 5 C ∘ . If the feed water temperature increases to 10 and 15 C ∘ , this factor changes to 1.88 and 0.59, respectively. Taken together, the results were intended to optimize the design and definition of the PCM-RCS configuration for various usage scenarios. • A novel active cooling wall module prototype embedded with MPCM is constructed. • A numerical model is developed in COMSOL Multiphysics and verified. • The impact of feed water temperature and PCM concentration is investigated. • The findings offer insights for optimizing design by balancing different performance criteria. • The results serve as a basis for refining the design by considering application scenarios.