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Comprehensive analysis of thermal performance & optimization over a dual-PCM ceiling-floor heating/cooling system

Author

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  • Qiao, Xu
  • Kong, Xiangfei
  • Jiang, Lina

Abstract

Phase change material (PCM), as a competent functional material for this purpose in thermal energy storage has been maintained a rapid development in recent decades. For its building indoor thermal comfort improvement ability, individual PCM application has been widely studied. However, cascaded phase change heating system possesses better quality in doing so. Consequently, for building thermal comfort enhancement, a dual-PCM ceiling-floor heating/cooling system (DPCM-CF) is proposed in this study. And the system configuration optimization has been done based on several dominant impact factors. Moreover, in order to quantitatively evaluate the system thermal behavior, principal component analysis has been conducted. Results show that with parallel connected pipes, 30-oC heat transfer fluid (HTF) circulated in Down-feed/Up-return manner, pipe pitch of 15 cm inserted at the middle layer of the 4-cm PCM panels, floor/roof PCM with 23/28 °C of phase change point, 180/200 J/g in enthalpy and 3.78/3.45 W/(m·K) in thermal conductivity, would the system performance be in optimum situation, taken former system summer optimization results into consideration as well. Besides, the indoor temperature weighs more in cooling condition compared with the heating counterpart, while for the connection type and HTF circulation, they weigh more in heating mode compared with their cooling performance.

Suggested Citation

  • Qiao, Xu & Kong, Xiangfei & Jiang, Lina, 2025. "Comprehensive analysis of thermal performance & optimization over a dual-PCM ceiling-floor heating/cooling system," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 242(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:242:y:2025:i:c:s0960148125000771
    DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2025.122415
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    References listed on IDEAS

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