Thermal buffering in a prototype cold storage during power failure: A numerical and experimental analysis of organic and hydrated salt <scp>PCMs</scp>

Abstract In regions with unreliable power supply, cold storage facilities require passive thermal buffering to protect perishables during power outages. This study investigates the effectiveness of phase change materials (PCMs) for thermal stabilization in a prototype cold storage unit during power failure conditions. A three‐dimensional transient computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model was developed using ANSYS Fluent 2022 R2 software based on finite element method (FEM), and experimentally validated under three operating cases: without PCM, with hydrated salt PCM (HS01), and with organic mixture PCM (OM03). Key thermo physical parameters and transient temperature responses were analyzed over a simulated 600 s power‐failure period. Results show that PCM integration significantly delayed temperature rise inside the cold room. The HS01 PCM exhibited superior thermal buffering compared to OM03, maintaining lower average air temperatures (277.54 vs. 277.43 K) and extending the temperature stability period by approximately 600 s. Furthermore, the PCM‐assisted system reduced compressor cycling, yielding an estimated energy saving of 6%–7%. The findings demonstrate that PCM integration is a viable and cost‐effective strategy for enhancing thermal resilience and energy efficiency of small‐scale cold storage systems in regions with unstable power supply.